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A column generation approach for an employee scheduling problem with multiple shifts and work locations

Author

Listed:
  • S M Al-Yakoob

    (Kuwait University)

  • H D Sherali

    (Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University)

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the problem of assigning employees to a number of work centres taking into account employees' expressed preferences for specific shifts, off-days, and work centres. This particular problem is faced by the Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation that hires a firm to prepare schedules for assigning employees to about 86 stations distributed all over Kuwait. The number of variables in a mixed-integer programming model formulated for this problem is overwhelming, and hence, a direct solution to even the continuous relaxation of this model for relatively large-scale instances is inconceivable. However, we demonstrate that a column generation method, which exploits the special structures of the model, can readily solve the continuous relaxation of the model. Based on this column generation construct, we develop an effective heuristic to solve the problem. Computational results indicate that the proposed approach can facilitate the generation of good-quality schedules for even large-scale problem instances in a reasonable time.

Suggested Citation

  • S M Al-Yakoob & H D Sherali, 2008. "A column generation approach for an employee scheduling problem with multiple shifts and work locations," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 59(1), pages 34-43, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:59:y:2008:i:1:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2602294
    DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602294
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hesham Alfares, 2004. "Survey, Categorization, and Comparison of Recent Tour Scheduling Literature," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 145-175, March.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    2. Lin, Shih-Wei & Ying, Kuo-Ching, 2014. "Minimizing shifts for personnel task scheduling problems: A three-phase algorithm," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 237(1), pages 323-334.
    3. Dohn, Anders & Mason, Andrew, 2013. "Branch-and-price for staff rostering: An efficient implementation using generic programming and nested column generation," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 230(1), pages 157-169.
    4. María I. Restrepo & Bernard Gendron & Louis-Martin Rousseau, 2016. "Branch-and-Price for Personalized Multiactivity Tour Scheduling," INFORMS Journal on Computing, INFORMS, vol. 28(2), pages 334-350, May.
    5. Van den Bergh, Jorne & Beliën, Jeroen & De Bruecker, Philippe & Demeulemeester, Erik & De Boeck, Liesje, 2013. "Personnel scheduling: A literature review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 226(3), pages 367-385.
    6. Eyjólfur Ásgeirsson, 2014. "Bridging the gap between self schedules and feasible schedules in staff scheduling," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 218(1), pages 51-69, July.
    7. Emir Hüseyin Özder & Evrencan Özcan & Tamer Eren, 2019. "Staff Task-Based Shift Scheduling Solution with an ANP and Goal Programming Method in a Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-26, February.
    8. Eyjólfur Ingi Ásgeirsson & Guðríður Lilla Sigurðardóttir, 2016. "Near-optimal MIP solutions for preference based self-scheduling," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 239(1), pages 273-293, April.

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