Analytical and heuristic approaches for solving the spatial scheduling problem

Spatial scheduling seeks optimal allocation of space apart from an efficient temporal schedule. Applications are common in shipbuilding industry and at places where space is a resource. Previous approaches to solve the problem focus on use of computational geometry and genetic algorithm. In this paper with the help of some realistic assumptions we formulate the problem as a special case of three dimensional bin packing problem. We propose that for block shop scheduling problems, time window and precedence constraints may provide efficient bounds for solving the problem optimally. For areas where these bounds are not available we suggest a heuristics approach to arrive at good spatial schedules.