We address the problem of scheduling the reference staff of a large academic library where available reference staffing and time flexibility are highly constrained. The problem is modeled as a multiple choice integer program and is solved using existing software. The computer model constructed a superior schedule to the current manual method and takes 1.2 seconds of computer time versus many ho...

Staa scheduling is a complex problem encountered in almost all large businesses. Available manpower and skills must be deployed as eeectively as possible, while being exible enough to cope with the unexpected. This paper shows how high end PC technology in data-mining and simulation, as opposed to super-computing techniques, were applied to staa-scheduling in a large commercial organisation, wh...

Employee scheduling is a well known problem that appears in a wide range of different areas including health care, air lines, transportation services and basically any organization that has to deal with workforces. In this paper we model a collection of challenging staff scheduling instances as a weighted partial boolean maximum satisfiability (maxSAT) problem. Using our formulation we conduct ...

The purpose of this paper is to present a full-scale model of the tour scheduling problem as it arises in the United States Postal Service, and to examine several scenarios aimed at reducing the size of the workforce. The problem is formulated as a pure integer linear program and solved with CPLEX. The baseline model includes both full-time and part-time workers, as well as the principal constr...

Overall, the staff and nurse scheduling products consistently scored above average in the KLAS 40 indicator measuring tool and lower than average in percent of positive commentary. Providers report common problems with the sales/contracting process and integration with third-party products. For providers looking to run a tighter ship, due diligence should be paid to these issues, along with the...

The objective of this study was to define the types digital tools currently used and desired by food pantries for pantry management. A nationwide online survey U.S. conducted searching foodpantries.org database. Surveys were sent via e-mail completed using Google Forms. most app/software features included staff volunteer scheduling (49.2%); inventory management (42.1%); communicating with volun...

Scheduling is a combinatorial problem with important impact on both industry and commerce. If it is performed well it yields time and efficiency benefits and hence reduces costs. Genetic Algorithms have been applied to solve several types of scheduling problems; Flow Shop, Resource, Staff and Line Balancing have all been tackled. However Jobshop Scheduling is the most common problem of interest...

Sub-daily personnel planning, which is the focus of our work offers considerable productivity reserves for companies in certain industries, such as logistics, retail and call centres. However, it also creates complex challenges for the planning software. We compare particle swarm optimisation (PSO), the evolution strategy (ES) and a constructive agent-based heuristic on a set of staff schedulin...

When epidemic cholera appeared in Haiti in October 2010, the medical community there had virtually no experience with the disease and needed rapid training as the epidemic spread throughout the country. We developed a set of training materials specific to Haiti and launched a cascading training effort. Through a training-of-trainers course in November 14-15, 2010, and department-level training ...

This paper presents a simulation approach for employee days-off scheduling when the daily labour demands are random variables. A simulation model is constructed, and a case study application of the proposed approach is described. The model recognizes limited staff availability, stochastic workload variability, and policy restrictions on the choice of employee work schedules. The model has been ...