Title: The problem of resource levelling in multi-project mode by cuckoo optimisation algorithm

Authors: Elham Shadkam

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khayyam University, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract: Project resource levelling is very important and project managers need a schedule based on the optimal use of resources needed to complete their projects. Most resource levelling research has been done in a single project, while in many organisations several projects are done simultaneously. For this purpose, a mathematical model with the aim of minimising the level of change in various resources of consumption by all projects is presented in this paper. The cuckoo optimisation algorithm has been used for this model, which is one of the newest and most efficient evolutionary optimisation algorithms. The obtained results by solving the problem with the cuckoo optimisation algorithm and comparing it with the exact approach indicate that the exact approach is more appropriate in low dimensions and as the dimensions of the problem increase, the cuckoo optimisation algorithm solves the problem faster and in less elapsed time with the same accuracy. Therefore, this algorithm is more suitable for large-scale problems that are close to the real world problem.

Keywords: resource levelling problem; cuckoo optimisation algorithm; COA; multi-project control; meta-heuristic algorithms; multi-resources.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMOR.2022.126047

International Journal of Mathematics in Operational Research, 2022 Vol.23 No.1, pp.25 - 54

Received: 07 May 2021
Accepted: 22 Jun 2021
Published online: 10 Oct 2022 *

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