Mixed-integer programming models for an employee scheduling problem with multiple shifts and work locations |
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Authors: | Salem M Al-Yakoob Hanif D Sherali |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, College of Science, Kuwait University, P.O. Box: 5969, Safat, 13060, State of Kuwait;(2) Grado Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA |
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Abstract: | This paper is concerned with the problem of assigning employees to gas stations owned by the Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation
(KNPC), which hires a firm to prepare schedules for assigning employees to about 86 stations distributed all over Kuwait.
Although similar employee scheduling problems have been addressed in the literature, certain peculiarities of the problem
require novel mathematical models and algorithms to deal with the specific nature and size of this problem. The problem is
modeled as a mixed-integer program, and a problem size analysis based on real data reveals that the formulation is too complex
to solve directly. Hence, a two-stage approach is proposed, where the first stage assigns employees to stations, and the second
stage specifies shifts and off-days for each employee. Computational results related to solving the two-stage models directly
via CPLEX and by specialized heuristics are reported. The two-stage approach provides daily schedules for employees for a
given time horizon in a timely fashion, taking into consideration the employees’ expressed preferences. This proposed modeling
approach can be incorporated within a decision support system to replace the current manual scheduling practice that is often
chaotic and has led to feelings of bias and job dissatisfaction among employees. |
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Keywords: | Employee scheduling Mixed-integer programming Partitioning Two-stage approach Manpower scheduling |
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