Article ID: | iaor19991749 |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Volume: | 25 |
Issue: | 11 |
Start Page Number: | 913 |
End Page Number: | 923 |
Publication Date: | Nov 1998 |
Journal: | Computers and Operations Research |
Authors: | Alfares Hesham K. |
Keywords: | programming: integer, programming: linear, personnel & manpower planning |
An efficient two-phase algorithm is presented for solving the cyclic manpower days-off scheduling problem with two consecutive off days per week. First a simple formula is used to calculate the minimum workforce size. Next, this minimum is incorporated as a constraint in a continuous linear programming model of the problem, ensuring an optimum integer solution. The new algorithm can handle the case in which the costs of different days-off patterns are not equal. Computational experience with 1250 test problems shows this algorithm to be significantly more efficient than other available solution methods.