Scheduling coupled tasks

Consider a set of task pairs coupled in time: a first (initial) and second (completion) tasks of known durations with a specified time between them. If the operator or machine performing these tasks is able to process only one at a time, scheduling is necessary to insure that no overlap occurs. This problem has a particular application to production scheduling, transportation, and radar operations (send-receive pulses are ideal examples of time-linked tasks requiring scheduling). This article discusses several candidate techniques for schedule determination, and these are evaluated in a specific radar scheduling application.