Determining Optimal Flow-Time Schedules for the Multiple-Product Batch-Flow Problem

We explore the problem of batch flow production scheduling on a single machine with deterministic demand and arrivals over a finite horizon. The objective of the production system is to minimize total flow-time over the horizon to reduce in-process inventory levels and to enable a company to compete on reduced lead-times. Prior research has established optimal single job batch quantities. However, with multiple jobs on the shop floor, a job may incur wait time, thus the optimal local batch size for a given job may not result in global minimization of the total flow-time over all jobs. Our algorithm provides optimal results for batching with different products in a capacitated production environment. Numerous recommendations for further research are presented