The effects of input control in a simple scheduling model
通过单机仿真模型研究输入控制对调度绩效的影响，发现修改后的到期日优先级规则下输入控制无益，而最短优先或临界比率规则下有时有利。
Abstract Input control is a generic procedure for smoothing production workload by delaying work during intervals of heavy load. While input control techniques have several practical benefits, they also have an inherent disadvantage. By restricting the set of jobs available for scheduling, an input control procedure removes some of the scheduling options that would otherwise be available. This paper examines the impact of such a procedure in a simple simulation model. The simulation model represents a production shop in a simplified way, as a single machine, but the production control system has three distinct parts. The first part assigns due‐dates to customer orders, taking into consideration the size of each job and the workload in the shop. The second part is a job releasing rule that implements input control. The third part is a priority dispatching procedure that is aimed at meeting due‐dates. By representing this three‐part control system the model provides an opportunity to explore the interdependence between input control and other control procedures. Reinforcing previous research, the simulation experiments confirm that modified due‐date priorities perform more effectively than other basic priority rules when performance is measured by average tardiness. Moreover, the experiments indicate that performance under the modified due‐date regime is never improved by the use of input control. On the other hand, with dispatching rules that rely on shortest‐first or critical ratio priorities, the experiments indicate that input control is sometimes advantageous. The effects of input control on scheduling performance thus appear to be somewhat complicated, and further experiments were designed to explore some of the relationships involved. The principal finding, however, provides a warning that input control can be counterproductive.