Tactically delayed versus non-delay scheduling: An experimental investigation (Q1068706)

This paper compares tactically delayed scheduling to non-delay scheduling. While both of these types of schedules belong to the class of active schedules, tactically delayed schedules have the feature of introducing deliberate idle periods into the schedule. Non-delay schedules permit no such delays. To compare these scheduling methods, a number of sample single-machine problems are analyzed. For each problem, all possible non-delay and tactically delayed schedules are enumerated and the resulting tardiness of each schedule is recorded. Non-delay schedules are found to be considerably less numerous with lower total tardiness on average. Tactically delayed schedules appear to have better best case behavior than non-delay schedules. The results here allure further research into active scheduling methods.