Job Sequencing Problems

In any manufacturing process, materials flow through a sequence for production from one machine to
another to get transformed into finished products It is important to properly schedule the operations so that
the manufacturing facilities (e.g., machines) are properly utilized. The idle time of machines (the time
interval during which a machine remains vacant) should be minimized. Also, the total cycle time of the
manufacturing process should also be minimized.
Sequencing model helps in determining the optimal sequence of jobs which results in minimum elapsed time
and minimum idle time of machines.
BASIC TERMINOLOGY:
(1) Processing Time: The time required by each job at each machine
(2) Processing Order: The order in which machines are required for completing the job.
(3) Elapsed Time: The time between the starting of the first job and completion of the last job.
(4) Idle Time: The time during which a machine remains waiting or vacant during the total elapsed time.
(5) Job Sequence: The order of completion of jobs.

Assumptions:
(1) Each machinery can perform only one type of operation and can undertake only one job at a time.
(2) Only one machine of each type is available
(3) All jobs require the same sequence of operations.

(a) In a two machines problem, each job is processed first on machine A and then on machine B.
(b) In a three machines problem, the sequence of operations is A, B, C.
(4) The processing times of all jobs on all machines are known and remain constant.
(5) Each job must be completed before another job is taken up for processing.
(6) No job is required more urgently than the other.
(7) Transit time to move a job from one machine to another is negligible.

Example 1:
There are five jobs I,II,III,IV&V which need to be processed on two machines A & B in the order A-B( i.e
first on machine A and then on machine B).
The processing time is given below:
Machines
Jobs A B
Processing Time (Hrs.)
I 16 6
II 8 4
III 2 10
IV 8 12
V 10 14
Determine:
a. Sequence of jobs to minimize total elapsed time
b. Idle time for each machine.

Solution:
Note:- We have to make a sequence in which job will be assigned. In order to make this sequence we have to
follow simple rule. In the above example we have 5 jobs so we will first make 5 boxes. And write machine A
on the bottom left and B on the right in sequence.

Machine A Machine B
The next thing which we have to do is start forming the sequence now to form the sequence we will see the
least time given in the question above.
As we can see that the minimum given time in question above is 2 which belongs to Machine A and
corresponds to job III. We will write job III on left hand side since we mentioned machine A on the left hand
side.
III
Machine A Machine B
After that we will see the next least number i.e 4 which belongs to machine B and job II. Since machine B is
on the right hand side we will write II on the right hand side.
III II
Machine A Machine B
The next least Number is 6 which belongs to machine B and job I.
III I II
Machine A Machine B
The next least Number is 8 which belongs to machine A and job IV.
III IV I II
Machine A Machine B
Now the empty spot will be filled with remaining job i.e V
III IV V I II
Machine A Machine B
So the final sequence will look like
III IV V I II
Once the sequence is made we just have to do elapsed time calculation.
 Machines
Jobs A B
Processing Time (Hrs.)
I 16 6
II 8 4
III 2 10
IV 8 12
V 10 14
Elapsed Time Calculation In hrs
Machine A Machine B
Jobs In Out In Out
III
IV
V
I
II

Elapsed Time Calculation In hrs

Machine A Machine B
Jobs In Out In Out
III 0 0+2 = 2 2* 2+10 = 12
IV 2 2+8 = 10 12 12+12 = 24
V 10 10+10 = 20 24 24+14 = 38
I 20 20+16 = 36 38 38+6 = 44
II 36 36+8 = 44 44 44+4 = 48

a. Total min elapsed time = 48 hours.

b. Idle time on machine A = Machine B – Machine A
= 48 – 44 = 4 Hours
c. Idle time on machine B = 2 hours.

Example 2:
There are five jobs I,II,III,IV&V which need to be processed on two machines A & B in the order A-B( i.e
first on machine A and then on machine B).
The processing time is given below:
Machines
Jobs A B
Processing Time (Hrs.)
I 8 3
II 4 2
III 1 5
IV 4 6
V 5 7

Determine:
a. Sequence of jobs to minimize total elapsed time
b. Idle time for each machine.
Solution:
The smallest processing time = 1 Hour. For job III on machine A hence job III will be scheduled first.
III
Machine A Machine B
Next Minimum time = 2 hours for job II on machine B job II will be scheduled next.
III II
Machine A Machine B
Next Minimum time = 3 hours for job I on machine B job I will be scheduled next.
III I II
Machine A Machine B
Next Minimum time = 4 hours for job IV on machine A job IV will be scheduled next.
III IV I II
Machine A Machine B
Now the empty spot will be filled with remaining job i.e V
III IV V I II
Machine A Machine B
Optimal Job Sequence
III IV V I II

Machines
Jobs A B
Processing Time (Hrs.)
I 8 3
II 4 2
III 1 5
IV 4 6
V 5 7

Elapsed Time Calculation In hrs

Machine A Machine B
Jobs In Out In Out
III
IV
V
I
II

Elapsed Time Calculation In hrs

Machine A Machine B
Jobs In Out In Out
III 0 0+1 = 1 1* 1+5 = 6
IV 1 1+4 = 5 6 6+6 = 12
V 5 5+5 = 10 12 12+7 = 19
I 10 10+8 = 18 19 19+3 = 22
II 18 18+4 = 22 22 22+2 = 24
 a. Total min elapsed time = 24 hours.
b. Idle time on machine A = Machine B – Machine A
= 24 – 22 = 2 Hours
Idle time on machine B = 1 hour.
Example 3:
There are four jobs I,II,III & IV which need to be processed on two machines A & B in the order A-B( i.e
first on machine A and then on machine B).
The processing time is given below:
Machines
Jobs A B
Processing Time (Hrs.)
I 26 47
II 19 45
III 48 19
IV 16 34

Determine:
c. Sequence of jobs to minimize total elapsed time
d. Idle time for each machine.

Solution:
The smallest processing time = 16 Hours. For job IV on machine A hence job IV will be scheduled first.
IV
Machine A Machine B
Next Minimum time = 19 hours for job II on machine A job II will be scheduled next.
IV II
Machine A Machine B
Next Minimum time = 19 hours for job III on machine B job III will be scheduled next.
IV II III
Machine A Machine B
Now only 1 slot is remaining so it will get allotted by to job I.
IV II I III
Machine A Machine B
Optimal Job Sequence
IV II I III
 Machines
Jobs A B
Processing Time (Hrs.)
I 26 47
II 19 45
III 48 19
IV 16 34

Elapsed Time Calculation In hrs

Machine A Machine B
Jobs In Out In Out
IV
II
I
III

Elapsed Time Calculation In hrs

Machine A Machine B
Jobs In Out In Out
IV 0 0+16=16 16* 16+34=50
II 16 16+19=35 50 50+45=95
I 35 35+26=61 95 95+47=142
III 61 61+48=109 142 142+19=161

A. Total min elapsed time =161 hours.

B. Idle time on machine A = Machine B – Machine A
= 161 – 109 = 52 Hours
Idle time on machine B = 16 hours.

Example 5:
There are seven jobs I,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII which need to be processed on two machines A & B in the order A-
B( i.e first on machine A and then on machine B).
The processing time is given below:
Machines
Jobs A B
Processing Time (Hrs.)
A 20 10
B 30 25
C 10 25
D 20 30
E 55 35
F 60 40
G 50 45

Determine:
 a. Sequence of jobs to minimize total elapsed time
b. Idle time for each machine.

Solution:

C D G F E B A

Machines
Jobs A B
Processing Time (Hrs.)
A 20 10
B 30 25
C 10 25
D 20 30
E 55 35
F 60 40
G 50 45
Elapsed Time Calculation In hrs
Machine A Machine B
Jobs In Out In Out
C
D
G
F
E
B
A

Machine A Machine B
Jobs In Out In Out
C 0 0+10=10 10* 10+25=35
D 10 10+20=30 35 35+30=65
G 30 30+50=80 80* 80+45=125
F 80 80+60=140 140* 140+40=180
E 140 140+55=195 195* 195+35=230
B 195 195+30=225 230 230+25=255
A 225 225+20=245 255 255+10=265
A. Total min elapsed time =265 hours.
B. Idle time on machine A = Machine B – Machine A
= 265 – 245 = 20 Hours
Idle time on machine B = 10+15+15+15+=55 Hours
 Example 6: Five jobs I, II, III, IV, V are to be processed on two machines A & B in the order AB
Find I. Optimal Sequence. ii. Total Elapsed Time iii. Idle time on machine A & B.
The processing time is given below:
Machines
Jobs A B
Processing Time (Hrs.)
I 90 70
II 40 80
III 40 50
IV 30 10
V 25 35
Solution:
The smallest processing time = 10 Hours. For job IV on machine B hence job IV will be scheduled first.
IV
Machine A Machine B
Next Minimum time = 25 hours for job V on machine A job V will be scheduled next.
V IV
Machine A Machine B
Next Minimum time = 40 hours for job III on machine A job III will be scheduled next.
V III II IV
Machine A Machine B
Now only 1 slot is remaining so it will get allotted by to job I.
V III II I IV

Optimal Job Sequence

V III II I IV

Machines
Jobs A B
Processing Time (Hrs.)
I 90 70
II 40 80
III 40 50
IV 30 10
V 25 35

Machine A Machine B
Jobs In Out In Out
V
III
II
I
IV

Total min elapsed time =275 hours.

Idle time on machine A = Machine B – Machine A
 = – = 50 Hours
Idle time on machine B = =30 Hours

Processing N jobs through Three machines A B & C.

In case there are 3 machines given. We have to convert it into 2 machine problem.

The motive behind this conversion is that it will be easier to find the sequence.

After finding the sequence we can then calculate the total elapsed and idle time of each machinery.

Important rules to convert a 3 machine problem into 2 machine problem:

A 3 machine problem can be converted into 2 machine problem only if One of the below 2 conditions are satisfied.

i. AMIN ≥ BMAX.
ii. CMIN ≥ BMAX.

Condition i. means that if the minimum number of machine A is greater than or equal to the maximum number of
machine B then we can convert the 3 machine problem into 2 machine problem.

Condition ii. means that if the minimum number of machine C is greater than or equal to the maximum number of
machine B then we can convert the 3 machine problem into 2 machine problem.

It is not necessary that both the conditions must be fulfilled. Only 1 condition should be satisfied.

Illustration 7: Five jobs I II III IV & V are to be processed on 3 machines A,B & C in the order ABC.

JOBS Processing Time (Min)

Machine A Machine B Machine C
I 22 21 23
II 25 22 24
III 23 19 22
IV 22 20 25
V 24 19 20
Find:

a. Total elapsed time

b. Idle time for each machine A,B,C

Solution:

First we have to convert these 3 machines into 2 machines and in order to do that we have to see if the condition is
getting fulfilled. As we can see that as per condition AMIN ≥ BMAX. The min no of machine A is 22 at the same time the
max number of machine B is 22.

Hence this condition is satisfied that the smallest no of A is equal to or greater than biggest number of B. now we
can convert it into 2 fictitious machines. G and H

The method used to convert it into 2 machines is that for machine G we add A and B. For machine H we add B and
C.

Jobs Processing Time

Machine A Machine B
I 43 44
II 47 46
III 42 41
IV 42 45
V 43 39
 IV I II III V

JOBS Processing Time (Min)

Machine A Machine B Machine C
I 22 21 23
II 25 22 24
III 23 19 22
IV 22 20 25
V 24 19 20

Jobs Machine A Machine B Machine C

In Out In Out In Out
IV
I
II
III
V

Elapsed time calculation

Jobs Machine A Machine B Machine C

In Out In Out In Out
IV 0 0+22=22 22* 22+20= 42 42* 42+25=67
I 22 22+22 = 44 44* 44+21=65 67 67+23=90
II 44 44+25 = 69 69* 69+22 = 91 91* 91+24=115
III 69 69+23 = 92 92* 92+19 =111 115 115+22=137
V 92 92+24 = 116 116* 116+19 = 135 137 137+20 = 157

Total min elapsed time = 157 mins

Idle time of machine A = Machine C – Machine A = 157 – 116 = 41 mins

Idle time of machine B = 22+2+4+1+5+22 = 56 Min. In case of 3 machinery the last 22 will come from deducting
total of C and B i.e 157 – 135 = 22

Idle time of machine C = 42+1 = 43 min

Illustration 7: Six jobs I II III IV V & VI are to be processed on 3 machines A,B & C in the order ABC.

JOBS Processing Time (Min)

Machine A Machine B Machine C
I 12 3 7
II 8 4 10
III 7 2 9
IV 11 5 6
V 10 2 11
VI 5 4 4
Find:

c. Total elapsed time

d. Idle time for each machine A,B,C
 Solution: Converting 3 machine problem into 2 fictitious machine problem where G & H are the two fictitious
machines.

Since AMIN ≥ BMAX we can convert it into 2 machine problem.

Machine G = Machine A + Machine B

Machine H = Machine B + Machine C

Jobs Processing Time

Machine G Machine H
I 15 10
II 12 14
III 9 11
IV 16 11
V 12 13
VI 9 8

III V II IV I VI

JOBS Processing Time (Min)

Machine A Machine B Machine C
I 12 3 7
II 8 4 10
III 7 2 9
IV 11 5 6
V 10 2 11
VI 5 4 4

Jobs Machine A Machine B Machine C

In Out In Out In Out
IV
I
II
III
V

Elapsed time calculation

Jobs Machine A Machine B Machine C

In Out In Out In Out
IV 0 0+7=7 7* 7+2=9 9* 9+9=18
I 7 7+10=17 17* 17+2=19 19* 19+11=30
II 17 17+8=25 25* 25+4=29 30 30+10=40
III 25 25+11=36 36* 36+5=41 41* 41+6=47
V 36 36+12=48 48* 48+3=51 51* 51+7=58
VI 48 48+5=53 53* 53+4=57 58 58+4=62
Total min elapsed time = 62 mins Idle time of machine A = Machine C – Machine A = 62 – 53 = 9 mins

Idle time of machine B = 7+8+6+7+7+2+5= 42 Mins

Idle time of machine C = 9+1+1+4 = 15 mins

 Illustration 8: Five jobs I II III IV V are to be processed on 3 machines A,B & C in the order ABC.

JOBS Processing Time (Min)

Machine A Machine B Machine C
I 5 3 3
II 7 2 7
III 6 5 5
IV 9 5 6
V 6 3 7
Find:

e. Total elapsed time

f. Idle time for each machine A,B,C

Solution:.

Since AMIN ≥ BMAX we can convert it into 2 machine problem.

Machine G = Machine A + Machine B

Machine H = Machine B + Machine C

Jobs Processing Time

Machine G Machine H
I 8 6
II 9 9
III 11 10
IV 14 11
V 9 10

II V IV III I

Elapsed time calculation

Jobs Machine A Machine B Machine C

In Out In Out In Out
II 0 0+7=7 7* 7+2=9 9* 9+7=16
V 7 7+6=13 13* 13+3=16 16 16+7=23
IV 13 13+9=22 22* 22+5=27 27* 27+6=33
III 22 22+6=28 28* 28+5=33 33 33+5=38
I 28 28+5=33 33 33+3=36 38 38+3=41
Total min elapsed time = 41 mins

Idle time of machine A = Machine C – Machine A = 41 – 33 = 8 mins

Idle time of machine B = 7+4+6+1+5 =23 Mins

Idle time of machine C = 9+4 =13 mins

Unsolved Example:
1. Five jobs I,II,III,IV,V are to be processed on two machines A and B in the order AB.
Jobs Processing Time in Hours
Machine A Machine B
I 8 3
II 4 2
III 1 5
IV 4 6
V 5 7
Find:
a. Total minimum elapsed time
b. Idle time for each machine.
Answer: Optimal Sequence III IV V I II

Total Min Elapsed Time = 24 hours

Idle time for Machine A = 2 hrs.

Idle time for Machine B = 1 hr.

Illustration 2: Five jobs I II III IV & V are to be processed on 3 machines A,B & C in the order ABC.

JOBS Processing Time (Min)

Machine A Machine B Machine C
I 12 11 13
II 15 12 14
III 13 9 12
IV 12 10 15
V 14 9 10
Find:

a. Total elapsed time

b. Idle time for each machine A,B,C

Answers:
Optimal Sequence: IV I II III V
Total Min Elapsed Time = 87 hours

Idle time for Machine A = 21hrs.

Idle time for Machine B =36 hrs.

Idle time for Machine C =23 hrs.

Illustration 3: Five jobs I II III IV & V are to be processed on 3 machines A,B & C in the order ABC.

JOBS Processing Time (Min)

Machine A Machine B Machine C
I 10 12 20
II 12 15 26
III 18 10 24
IV 21 8 22
V 15 18 23
Find:

a. Total elapsed time

b. Idle time for each machine A,B,C
Answers:
Optimal Sequence: I II III IV IV
Total Min Elapsed Time = 137 hours

Idle time for Machine A = 61 hrs.

Idle time for Machine B =74 hrs.

Idle time for Machine C =22 hrs.

Illustration 4: FOUR jobs I II III IV are to be processed on 3 machines A,B & C in the order ABC.

JOBS Processing Time (Min)

Machine A Machine B Machine C
I 9 6 7
II 11 8 10
III 12 5 8
IV 10 9 5
Find:

a. Total elapsed time

b. Idle time for each machine A,B,C

Answers:
Optimal Sequence: II IV III I
Total Min Elapsed Time = 55 hours

Idle time for Machine A = 13 hrs.

Idle time for Machine B = 27 hrs.

Idle time for Machine C =25 hrs.