Title: Stage-wise solution to a bicriteria staff-scheduling model

Authors: Farhad Moeeni, Yupo Chan, Stephen Replogle

Addresses: Arkansas State University, P.O. Box 130, Arkansas, 72467, USA. ' University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock, Arkansas, 72204, USA. ' Arkansas State University, P.O. Box 130, Arkansas, 72467, USA

Abstract: This paper proposes an efficient, stage-wise optimisation model for scheduling part-time staff. During stage 1, the problem is formulated as a totally unimodular integer linear programme (ILP) that produces integer solution upon solving its LP relaxation. The model produces optimum work shifts of various lengths along with the optimal number of employees needed in each shift while minimising the total labour time. In the second stage, an assignment model is used to allocate employees to various work shifts while maximising their preferences. The stage-wise model has the necessary flexibility and computational efficiency to solve many real-world business scheduling problems, as illustrated by three separate case studies.

Keywords: staff scheduling; part-time staff; manpower planning; optimum work shifts; linear programming; multiple objective programming; optimal employee numbers; total labour time; assignment modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAMS.2011.037708

International Journal of Applied Management Science, 2011 Vol.3 No.1, pp.52 - 71

Published online: 30 Sep 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article