Modeling and algorithmic development of a staff scheduling problem

The problem of scheduling workers at a hub of a trucking system for the stripping and loading of the trucks and the determination of the optimal number of workers is a difficult problem. The trucks arrive at the facility at different (but known) times and may have their own scheduled departure times. This problem is like a set partitioning problem but with a side constraint pertaining to the dynamic arrival of the trucks. We develop a procedure to solve this problem that is based on the column generation technique, and the solution of a set covering problem to obtain the integer solution. The performance of the procedure is demonstrated by applying it to the real-life data obtained from a trucking company. Its effectiveness is illustrated by comparing it with a lower bound and a well-known heuristic procedure.