SEQUENCING

MADHUKAR B SORTE

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Sequencing
Sequencing is the selection of an appropriate order in which a number of jobs (operations)
can assigned to the finite number of service facilities ( machines or equipment) so as to
optimise the output in terms of time, cost or profit. One of the common problems in
production processes is allocation of jobs or machines so as to have optimum utilisation. The
assignment or sequencing provides a single procedure for optimum loading of facilities.
Consider a problem of machinists who has to perform three operations namely milling,
drilling and tapping one finite number of different jobs (say 5 jobs) and the time required to
perform these operations (in minutes ) for each job is known. It is also given that each job
first goes for milling, then for drilling and finally for tapping. The problem of machinists is
to decide which job should be decided first, which is to be produced next, and so on. i.e. The
sequence in which the jobs should be performed so as to minimize the total time required to
process all the jobs. This may be considered as an example of five jobs and three machines
sequencing problem.
BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE
 General Sequencing Problem:
A general sequencing problem may be described as:
Let there be n different jobs (1,2,3,......,n) each of which has to be processed, one at a
time on each of m machines (M1, M2, M3.....Mm.) .
The order of the machines in which each job should be performed is given (for example,
each job is processed on machines in the order M1,M2,M3).
In other words, a job is assigned to Machine M1 first and after it has been completely
processed on machine M1 , it is assigned to Machine M2.
If the machine M2 is not free at that moment for processing the same job, then job has to
wait in a waiting line for its turn on Machine M2 , i.e. passing is not allowed.
BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE
The general sequencing problem, therefore is to find the sequence out of (n!)m possible
sequence which minimises total elapsed time between the start of the job on the first
machine and the completion of the last job on the last machine.
In practice, if n=3 and m=3, the total possible sequence will be (3!) 3=216.
Theoretically , it may be possible to find optimal sequence but it will require a large
computational time.
The sequencing technique provides the procedure to find the optimum sequence for
processing the jobs.

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Assumptions underlying the sequencing problems
1. All jobs are completely known and ready for processing before the period under
consideration starts.
2. Machine to be used are of different types....only one machine of each type is available
3. Only one job can be processed on a given machine at a time
4. The processing time on each Machine are exactly known.
5. Processing time independent of the order of the jobs in which they are to be processed.
6. Once a job begin on a machine.it must be completed before its succeeding job can start....A
job once started must be completed.
7. The time required for transport the job from one machine to another is negligible.
8. No job is to be given priority.
BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE
 TERMINILOGY USED IN SEQUENCING
Notations tij = processing time (time required) for job i on the machine j.
T= Total elapsed time for processing all jobs including idle time ,if any
Iij =Idle time on machine j from the end of job (i-1) to the start of the job i.
Number of machines: Number of machines refer to the number of service facilities through
which a job must pass before it is assumed to be completed.
Processing order :It refers to be order /sequence in which the given machines are required for
completing the jobs.
Processing time : It is the time required by a job on each machine.
Idle time on machine : It is the time for which machine does not have a job to process .
Total elapsed time : It is the time interval between the start of the first job to the completion of
the last job including the idle time if any in a particular order by the given set of machines.
BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE
Processing of n jobs through 2 machines
The procedure suggested by Johnson for the optimum sequence for n jobs on 2 machines is as follows :

Job number (j)

Processing time on
machine (i) 1 2 3 … n

M1 t11 t12 t13 … t1n

M2 t21 t22 t23 … t2n

Step 1 : List the jobs with their processing times in a tabular form as shown below
Step 2 : Examine the column for processing times on machines M1 and M2 and find the smallest time in each column i.e.
find out minimum (t1j , t2j ) for all j
Step 3 : If the smallest processing time corresponding to machine M1 then assign the job as the 1st job on M1
and if it corresponds to the machine M2 ,then assign the job as the last job in the sequence.
Step 4:If there is tie in selecting the minimum of all the processing times ,then three situations may be arise as
the follow

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Processing of n jobs through 2 machines
i. Minimum among all the processing times is same for the machines i.e. min t1j , t2j =t1 k =t2r
ii. then process the kth job first and rth job last.
iii. If the tie for the minimum occurs among processing time t1j on machine M1 only, then select
the job corresponding to the smallest job subscript first.
iv. If the tie for the minimum occurs among the processing times t2j on machine M2 , then select
the job corresponding to the largest job subscript last ..
Step 5: Cross off the jobs already assigned and repeat step 1 through 4 assigning the remaining
job next to the first or next to last ,until all the jobs have been assigned.
Step 6: Calculate the idle time for machines M1 and M2.
Idle time for machine M1 = (Total elapsed time –Time when the last job in a sequence finishes on
machine M1)

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Example1
Five jobs are performed first on machine M1 and then on machine M2 .Time in hours taken by
each job on each machine is given below:

Job number
Machine
A B C D E
M1 5 1 9 3 10
M2 2 6 7 8 4
Determine the optimum sequence of jobs and the minimum time elapsed
Solution:

B D C E A

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Solution
In the case of two machines and five jobs ,the order of machines is M1 M2.
The smallest processing time between the two machines is 1 which corresponds to job B on machine M1

Thus the job will be processed first as shown below: after job B has been set for processing first ,we are left with 4 jobs and
their processing times are as given below:

Job number
Machine
A C D E
M1 5 9 3 10
M2 2 7 8 4

B D C E A

This complete sequence plan to give the order of processing as

B→D → C → E → A

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Job number
Machine
A B C D E
◦
Example 1 M1 5 1 9 3 10
M2 2 6 7 8 4

Machine M1 Machine M2
Sequence of Jobs Idle time M2
Time in Time out Time in Time out
B 0 1 1 7 1
D 1 4 7 15
C 4 13 15 22
E 13 23 23 27 1
A 23 28 28 30 1

Thus the minimum processing time to complete all jobs by proposed sequence is
30 time units. It is observe that total idle time for M2 is 3 unit .If the cycleiis
repeated then machine M1 will be remain idle for 2 minutes
BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE
 Example 2 :We have nine jobs ,each of which must be processed on two machines I and II in the order I to
II. Processing time in hours are given in the table below: Determine the sequence for jobs that will
minimize the total elapsed time.
Job number
Machine
A B C D E F G H I
M/C I 4 7 6 11 8 10 9 7 6
M/C II 8 10 9 6 5 11 5 10 13

The smallest time between the two machines is 4 which corresponds to job A and machine I .Thus
job A will be assigned first as shown below. The smallest processing time in this reduced set is 5
corresponds to the job E and G both on machine II. Since the corresponding processing time of job
E on machine I is less than the corresponding processing time of job G on machine I, therefore job E
will be assigned first to the last position, and job G to the last but one position as shown. Now the
smallest processing time in this reduced problem is 6 , which corresponds to job C and job I on
machine I and job D on machine II. Thus job C will be assigned to second position and job I to the
third position from the start. Job D on machine II will be assigned to third position fro last (before job
G) as shown:
A C I D G E

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Job number
Machine
A B C D E F G H I
M/C I 4 7 6 11 8 10 9 7 6 68
M/C II 8 10 9 6 5 11 5 10 13 77

Sequence of Machine M1 Machine M2

Idle time M2
Jobs Time in Time out Time in Time out
A 0 4 4 12 4
C 4 10 12 21 -
I 10 16 21 34 -
B 16 23 34 44 -
H 23 30 44 54 -
F 30 40 54 65 -
D 40 51 65 71 -
E 51 59 71 76 -
G 59 68 76 81 -

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 THREE MACHINES AND n JOBS
Suppose the three machines are M1, M2 &M3 and order of processing on these machines is M1→M2 → M3 .
The sequence of jobs in this system can be carried out if at least one of the following conditions is satisfied.,
otherwise the algorithm fails.
1.Smallest processing time of any job on Machine M1 is greater than or equal to maximum processing time of
any job on M2 i.e. process time of all jobs on M1 is more than the corresponding processing time of jobs on
M2.
2. Similarly smallest processing time of any job on Machine M3 should be greater than or equal to maximum
processing time of any job on Machine M2.
If at least one of these conditions is satisfied, then for sequencing the processing times of each job for
machines M1 and M2 and also for machines M2 and M3.
i.e. processing time for job 1 on M1 and M2 = processing time of job 1 on M1 + processing time of job 1 on
M2.=You can this as fictitious Machine X
And processing time for job 1 on M2 and M3 = processing time of job 1 on M2 + processing time of job 1 on
M3.=You can this as fictitious Machine Y

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Example 3
Find the sequence that minimizes the total time in hours to complete the following tasks. What is the minimum
elapsed time ?
Tasks / Jobs
Machines
A B C D E F G
Machine I 3 8 7 4 9 8 7
Machine II 4 3 2 5 1 4 3
Machine III 6 7 5 11 5 6 12
Solution: Minimum processing time on M1 =3
Maximum processing time on M2 =5
Minimum processing time on M3 =5
M1 t min =3,
M2 t max =5 and
M3 t min =5.
1) Tmin of M1 ≥ Tmax of M2 2)Tmin of M3 ≥ Tmax of M2
Condition 2 is satisfied so………..conversion of three machines into two fictitious machines Machine X and
Machine Y as below:

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Tasks / Jobs
Machines
A B C D E F G
Machine I 3 8 7 4 9 8 7
Machine II 4 3 2 5 1 4 3
Machine III 6 7 5 11 5 6 12

Machine/
A B C D E F G
Job

Machine X 7 11 9 9 10 12 10

Machine Y 10 10 7 16 6 10 15

Sequencing for this two machines as per Johnson’s rule as follows:

A D G B F C E

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Tasks / Jobs
Machines
A B C D E F G
Machine I 3 8 7 4 9 8 7 46
Machine II 4 3 2 5 1 4 3 22
Machine III 6 7 5 11 5 6 12 52

MACHINE 1 MACHINE 1I MACHINE III

JOB IDLE M2 IDLE M3
IN TIME OUT TIME IN TIME OUT TIME IN TIME OUT TIME

A 0 3 3 7 7 13 3 7

D 3 7 7 12 13 24 0 0

G 7 14 14 17 24 36 2 0

B 14 22 22 25 36 43 5

F 22 30 30 34 43 49 5

C 30 37 37 39 49 54 3

E 37 46 46 47 54 59 7

46 47 59 25 7
 ‘m’ machines and ‘n’ jobs
Let there be n jobs each of which is to be processed through m machines ,say M1 M2 ….Mn. The
processing time of ach machine as follows:

Processing time on Job number (j)

machine (i) 1 2 3 … n
M1 t11 t12 t13 … t1n
M2 t21 t22 t23 … T2n
.. .. .. … … …
Mm tm1 tm2 tm3 … tmn

The optimum solution to this problem can be obtained ,if either or both of the following conditions are
satisfied :
i) Min tij ≥ Max. tij for i=2,3,…..,m-1
ii) i) Min tmj ≥ Max. tij for i=2,3,…..,m-1

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Procedure to determine the optimal sequence
Step 1 : Find Mintij , Min tmj and maximum of each t2j .t3j…..,tm-ij for all j=1,2,3…,n.
Step 2 : Check the following
i) Min tij ≥ Max. tij for i=2,3,…..,m-1
ii) Min tmj ≥ Max. tij for i=2,3,…..,m-1
Step 3: If inequalities of step 2 are not satisfied ,methods fails .otherwise proceed to next step
Step 4 : Convert the m machines problem into two machine problem by introducing two fictitious machines say
G and H ,such that

tGj = t1j+ t2j +….+t m-1j

tHj = t2j+ t3j +….+t mj
Step 5: Determine the optimal sequence for the jobs and 2 machines by following the
procedure as described earlier
BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE
 Example 4
5 jobs are to be processed on 4 machines. The processing time for each job on each machine is given as
below. Determine the sequence of jobs that minimizes total elapsed time to complete the jobs

Machines Jobs
A B C D E
M1 9 11 7 14 15
M2 2 1 3 - 4
M3 4 5 3 6 2
M4 13 6 11 7 9

i) Min 1 =7
ii) Max 2 =4
iii) Max 3 =6
iv) Min 4 =6

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

Machines Jobs
A B C D E
M1 9 11 7 14 15
M2 2 1 3 - 4
M3 4 5 3 6 2
M4 13 6 11 7 9

A B C D E
Mach x 15 17 13 20 21
Mach Y 19 12 17 13 15

C A E D B

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Machines
Idle time for M1 =68-56=12
Idle time for M2=68-57+47=58
Idle time for M3=68-62+42=48
Idle time for M4=22

M1 M2 M3 M4
JOB Idle M2 Idle M3 Idle M4
In Time Out Time In Time Out Time In Time Out Time In Time Out Time

C 00 7 7 10 10 13 13 24 7 10 13
A 7 16 16 18 18 22 24 37 6 5 0
E 16 31 31 35 35 37 37 46 13 13 0
D 31 45 45 45 45 51 51 58 10 8 5
B 45 56 56 57 57 622 62 68 11 6 4
56
BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE
57 62 68 47 42 22
56 10 20 46
Example 5
There are four jobs each of which has to be processed on machines A,B,C, D ,E and F in the order
ABCDEF. Processing time in hours is given below. Find out the optimal sequencing of jobs ,minimum
time required to process these jobs and the idle time for each of these machines

MACHINES
JOBS

A B C D E F

1
15 8 6 14 6 26
2
17 7 9 10 15 22
3
21 7 12 9 11 19
4
18 6 11 12 14 17

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 JOBS
MACHINES
1 2 3 4 Min tA 15
A 15 17 21 18 Max tB 8
B 8 7 7 6 Max tC 12
C 6 9 12 11 Max tD 14
D 14 10 9 12 Max tE 15
E 6 15 11 14 Min tF 12
F 26 22 19 17

G 49 58 60 61
H 60 63 58 60

1 2 4 3

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 MACHINES
JOBS
A B C D E F
1 15 8 6 14 6 26
2 17 7 9 10 15 22
3 21 7 12 9 11 19
4 18 6 11 12 14 17
71 28 38 45 46 84

Machine A Machine B Machine C Machine D Machine E Machine F

JOB Idle B Idle c Idle D Idle E Idle F

In Out In Out In Out In Out In Out In Out

1 0 15 15 23 23 29 29 43 43 49 49 75 15 23 29 43 49

2 15 32 32 39 39 48 48 58 58 73 75 97 9 10 5 9 0

4 32 50 50 56 56 67 67 79 79 93 97 114 11 8 9 6 0

3 50 71 71 78 78 90 90 99 99 110 114 133 15 11 11 6 0

71 78 90 99 110 133 50 52 54 64 49

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Processing Two Jobs through m machines

Let there be two jobs A and B each of which is to be processed on m

machines say M1, M2,....,Mm in two different orders. The technological
ordering of each of the two jobs through m machines is known in advance.
The processing time on given machines are also known. Each machine can
perform only one job at a time. The objective is to determine an optimal
sequence of processing the jobs so as to minimize the total elapsed time.
The optimal sequence in such cases may be obtained by making use of
graph.
The procedure can be illustrated by taking an example..

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

Use the graphic method to find the minimum elapsed time
sequence of 2 jobs and 5 machines when the following
information given.
Machines

Job 1 Sequence A B C D E
Time in hours 2 3 4 6 2
Job 2 Sequence C A D E B
Time in hours 4 5 3 2 6

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

Solution:
Step 1 : Draw two axes X and Y at right angle to each other. X-axis
representing processing time for job 1 while job 2 remains idle, Y axis
representing the processing time for job 2 while job 1 is idle.
Step 2: Mark the processing times for job 1 and job 2on X and Y axis
respectively according to the given order of machines.
In the given problem for job 1 machine A takes 2 hours.......machine E 2 hrs.
Step 3: Construct the various blocks (rectangles) for various machines starting
from the origin by pairing the same machine until the end point....Machine
A required 2 hour for job 1 and 5 hour for job 2....rectangles can be prepared.

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

Step 4 Draw the line starting from origin to end point by moving horizontally,
vertically and diagonally along a line which makes an angle of 45 degree
with the horizontal line (base) till the point marked finish is reached.
The horizontal segment of this line indicates the first job is under process
while the second job is idle..
Similarly, the vertical segment of the line indicates that the second job is under
process while the first job is idle .
The diagonal segment of the line shows that both the jobs are under process
simultaneously .
Step 5: Find the optimal path. A optimal path is one that minimises the idle
time for both the jobs. Thus, we must choose the path which coincides with
45 degree line (diagonal movement) to the maximum

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Machines

Job 1 Sequence A B C D E

Time in hours 2 3 4 6 2

Job 2 Sequence C A D E B

Time in hours 4 5 3 2 6

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Machines

Job 1 Sequence A B C D
Time in hours 2 3 4 6
Job 2 Sequence C A D E
Time in hours 4 5 3 2

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

 Machines
Job 1 Sequence A B C D
Time in hours 2 3 4 6
Job 2 Sequence C A D E
Time in hours 4 5 3 2

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE

Project management
Project management generally consists of three phases.
Planning: Planning involves setting the objectives of the project. Identifying various
activities to be performed and determining the requirement of resources such as men,
materials, machines, etc. The cost and time for all the activities are estimated, and a network
diagram is developed showing sequential interrelationships (predecessor and successor)
between various activities during the planning stage.
Scheduling: Based on the time estimates, the start and finish times for each activity are
worked out by applying forward and backward pass techniques, critical path is identified,
along with the slack and float for the non-critical paths.
Controlling: Controlling refers to analyzing and evaluating the actual progress against the
plan. Reallocation of resources, crashing and review of projects with periodical reports are
carried out.
BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE
1. Any project involves planning, scheduling and controlling a number of interrelated activities with use of limited
resources, namely, men, machines, materials, money and time.
❑ The projects may be extremely large and complex such as construction of a housing , a highway, a shopping complex
etc.
❑ introduction of new products and research and development projects.

2. It is required that managers must have a dynamic planning and scheduling system to produce the best possible results
and also to react immediately to the changing conditions and make necessary changes in the plan and schedule.

BE MECH VII PPC MODULE 5 MADHUKAR B SORTE