An approximation algorithm for the minimum latency set cover problem

Abstract

The input to the MINIMUM LATENCY SET COVER PROBLEM consists of a set of jobs and a set of tools. Each job j needs a specific subset Sj of the tools in order to be processed. It is possible to install a single tool in every time unit. Once the entire subset Sj has been installed, job j can be processed instantly. The problem is to determine an order of job installations which minimizes the weighted sum of job completion times. We show that this problem is NP-hard in the strong sense and provide an e-approximation algorithm. Our approximation algorithm uses a framework of approximation algorithms which were developed for the minimum latency problem. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.