Question: Bill Edstrom, managing partner at a biomedical
Bill Edstrom, managing partner at a biomedical consulting firm, has requested your expert advice in devising the best schedule for the following consulting projects, starting on February 2.
The consulting firm charges a flat rate of $4,000 per day. All four firms impose fines for lateness. Reardon Biotech charges a $500-per-day fine for each day that the completion of the consulting work is past the due date; Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, and OSI Pharmaceuticals all charge a fine of $1,500 per day for each day late.
Prepare alternative schedules based on the following priority rules: SOT, FCFS, EDD, STR, and another rule—longest processing time (LPT), which orders jobs according to longest assigned first, second-longest assigned second, and so on. For the sake of simplicity, assume that consulting work is performed seven days a week. Which rule provides Bill with the best schedule? Why?
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Description of Consultation Call Received Due Date Task Length Company Date Time (close of business) 3 days Novartis Corp. February 1 9 A.M. February 5 1 day Reardon Biotech Corp. February 1 10 A.M. February 6 II 2 days Vertex Pharmaceuticals February 1 11 A.M. February 8 2 days OSI Pharmaceuticals February 1 February 7 IV 1 P.M.
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