Patent ID: 7813993

Claim:
A method, comprising: generating a plurality of bid requests in at least one computing device for processing a workpiece, each bid request being associated with one of a plurality of resources capable of processing the workpiece, the plurality of resources including a plurality of process tools; for each of the bid requests: generating a commitment window including a kernel specifying a time period required for processing the workpiece in the at least one computing device; determining a first committed capacity of the associated resource based on a schedule of engagements compatible with the processing required for the workpiece in the at least one computing device; determining a second committed capacity of the associated resource based on a schedule of engagements not compatible with the processing required for the workpiece in the at least one computing device; providing a first rate function specifying a processing cost for the associated resource as a function of the first and second committed capacities in the at least one computing device; and combining the first and second committed capacities and the first rate function to generate a basic cost function associated with the associated resource in the at least one computing device; generating a plurality of candidate bids based on the basic cost functions in the at least one computing device; and selecting one of the candidate bids for scheduling the associated resource in the at least one computing device.