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The Value of Resource Flexibility in the Resource-Constrained Job Assignment Problem

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  • George L. Vairaktarakis

    (Department of Operations, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7235)

Abstract

We consider the problem of minimizing project duration in an environment where each project activity can be executed by a number of different flexible resources. The capabilities of the flexible resources are modeled using a binary activity-resource matrixAcalled theavailabilitymatrix. Activity durations are known deterministically. We develop tight lower bounds and a variety of heuristics accompanied with extensive computational tests regarding their performance. It is shown that our algorithms consistently perform near optimally. Using these heuristics, we perform experiments on the effect of operating flexibility on project duration, where resource flexibility is measured by the number of resources available per activity, and the form of the availability matrixA. Our experiments lead to important managerial guidelines regarding the role of resource flexibility on project duration. For instance, it is found that when the flexible capabilities of the resources are evenly distributed across the activities, small improvements in resource flexibilities provide nearly the same benefits in project duration as a system of fully flexible resources.

Suggested Citation

  • George L. Vairaktarakis, 2003. "The Value of Resource Flexibility in the Resource-Constrained Job Assignment Problem," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(6), pages 718-732, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:49:y:2003:i:6:p:718-732
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.49.6.718.16027
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    Cited by:

    1. Patricia Heuser & Peter Letmathe & Matthias Schinner, 2022. "Workforce planning in production with flexible or budgeted employee training and volatile demand," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 92(7), pages 1093-1124, September.
    2. Broos Maenhout & Mario Vanhoucke, 2017. "A resource type analysis of the integrated project scheduling and personnel staffing problem," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 252(2), pages 407-433, May.
    3. Tiwari, Vikram & Patterson, James H. & Mabert, Vincent A., 2009. "Scheduling projects with heterogeneous resources to meet time and quality objectives," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 193(3), pages 780-790, March.
    4. Hoegl, Martin & Gibbert, Michael & Mazursky, David, 2008. "Financial constraints in innovation projects: When is less more?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1382-1391, September.
    5. Gamermann, Ronaldo W. & Ferreira, Luciano & Borenstein, Denis, 2023. "Long-term audit staff scheduling and planning: A case study of Brazilian civil aviation authority," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    6. Wang, Xiong & Ferreira, Fernando A.F. & Chang, Ching-Ter, 2022. "Multi-objective competency-based approach to project scheduling and staff assignment: Case study of an internal audit project," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. George Vairaktarakis & Jamshid Hosseini, 2008. "Forming partnerships in a virtual factory," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 87-102, July.

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