Two-Machine Flow Shop with a Fixed Non-Availability Interval on the Second Machine

Abstract

This paper investigates a two-machine permutation flow shop in which the second machine is unavailable during one fixed interval $[s,t]$. We consider the non-resumable setting: an operation interrupted by the interval must restart from the beginning after the machine becomes available. The objective is to minimize the makespan. We establish three results. First, we give a polynomial-time $10/7$-approximation algorithm. Second, we develop a pseudopolynomial-time exact dynamic program. Third, we prove that the problem does not admit a fully polynomial-time approximation scheme (FPTAS) unless $\mathrm{P}=\mathrm{NP}$, even when the non-availability interval has unit length. Together, these results characterize a distinctive complexity profile: exact optimization is possible in pseudopolynomial time, whereas the usual route from such an algorithm to an FPTAS is impossible unless $\mathrm{P}=\mathrm{NP}$. They also reveal an approximability separation from the corresponding non-resumable problem with the interval on the first machine.