On the optimal control of two queues with server setup times and its analysis
SIAM Journal on Computing
Efficient visit frequencies for polling tables: minimization of waiting cost
Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications
Stability, monotonicity and invariant quantities in general polling systems
Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications - Polling models
Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications - Polling models
Heuristic scheduling of parallel heterogeneous queues with set-ups
Management Science
Assigning a single server to inhomogeneous queues with switching costs
Theoretical Computer Science
A two-stage tandem queue attended by a moving server with holding and switching costs
Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications
Dynamic Scheduling of a Two-Class Queue with Setups
Operations Research
Control of a Single-Server Tandem Queueing System with Setups
Operations Research
Operations and Shipment Scheduling of a Batch on a Felxible Machine
Operations Research
Dynamic Server Allocation for Queueing Networks with Flexible Servers
Operations Research
Compensating for Failures with Flexible Servers
Operations Research
Flexible servers in tandem lines with setup costs
Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications
Asymptotically optimal schedules for single-server flow shop problems with setup costs and times
Operations Research Letters
Hi-index | 0.00 |
We consider a queueing system with multiple stations attended by a single flexible server. An order arriving at this system needs to go through each station only once but there is no particular precedence relationship among these stations. One can also think of this system as an assembly system where each station processes a different component of an order and once all the components associated with an order are processed they are assembled instantaneously. A holding cost is charged for keeping the orders in the system and there is a penalty associated with the switches of the server between stations. Our objective is to minimize the long-run average costs by dynamically assigning the server to stations based on the system state. Using sample-path arguments, we provide partial characterizations of the optimal policy and provide sufficient conditions under which a simple state-independent policy that works on one order at a time is optimal. We also propose three simple threshold policies and present a numerical study that provides supporting evidence for the superior performance of our double-threshold heuristic.