Article ID: | iaor201530011 |
Volume: | 67 |
Issue: | 4 |
Start Page Number: | 25 |
End Page Number: | 33 |
Publication Date: | Mar 2016 |
Journal: | Computers and Operations Research |
Authors: | Cordone Roberto, Lulli Guglielmo, Colombo Fabio |
Keywords: | combinatorial optimization, heuristics: local search |
In this paper we introduce the Multimode Covering Location Problem. This is a generalization of the Maximal Covering Location Problem that consists in locating a given number of facilities of different types with a limitation on the number of facilities sharing the same site. The problem is challenging and intrinsically much harder than its basic version. Nevertheless, it admits a constant factor approximation guarantee, which can be achieved combining two greedy algorithms. To improve the greedy solutions, we have developed a Variable Neighborhood Search approach, based on an exponential-size neighborhood. This algorithm computes good quality solutions in short computational time. The viability of the approach here proposed is also corroborated by a comparison with a Heuristic Concentration algorithm, which is presently the most effective approach to solve large instances of the Maximal Covering Location Problem.