Computational methods for rostering and personnel scheduling has been a subject of continued research and commercial interest since the 1950s. This annotated bibliography puts together a comprehensive collection of some 700 references in this area, focusing mainly on algorithms for generating rosters and personnel schedules but also covering related areas such as workforce planning and estimating staffing requirements. We classify these papers according to the type of problem addressed, the application areas covered and the methods used. In addition, a short summary is provided for each paper.

http://www3.eng.cam.ac.uk/~hj231/Papers/AORRosteringPaper.pdf

An Annotated Bibliography of Personnel Scheduling and Rostering

The labor scheduling literature has demonstrated that the use of flexibility in designing employee schedules can result in a substantial improvement in labor utilization. This paper presents a new implicit integer linear programming formulation for the inclusion of meal/rest-break flexibility. Although the use of flexible break assignments in labor staffing decisions has been of research interest since an early article by Segal 1974, due to problem size, the majority of related research has involved the use of heuristics. An experimental analysis using four different labor requirements patterns and ten shift-length combinations demonstrated that, when flexible break assignments were modeled, the implicit formulation was superior to the traditional set-covering formulation with respect to 1 execution time, 2 computer memory requirements, and 3 the ability to produce optimal integer solutions to larger problems incorporating greater flexibility. Finally, a number of possible extensions of the implicit modeling approach for use in other labor scheduling environments are identified.

Implicit modeling of flexible break assignments in optimal shift scheduling

This paper provides a systematic review of several of the available manpower scheduling algorithms from a common framework. The five-stage framework is based on the recognition that the general scheduling problem can be decomposed into five separate but related subproblems or stages, namely, the determination of temporal manpower requirements, total manpower requirement, recreation blocks, recreation/work schedule, and shift schedule. One or more general models are developed at each stage to categorize the problem formulation(s) suggested by the various algorithms. Additionally, the algorithms are compared and their stage-specific solution methods are discussed.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2030177.pdf

On Manpower Scheduling Algorithms

Cost analysis of alternative formulations for personnel scheduling in continuously operating organizations

This paper presents an effective solution strategy for an important category of personnel scheduling problems. Specifically, we address the restricted starting-time tour-scheduling problem (RSTP), which involves the determination of the hours of the day (shifts) and days of the week (days on) that employees are assigned to work. RSTP is characterized by restrictions on the number of daily time periods in which employees may begin their shifts. Moreover, the RSTP we consider contains constraints that require separation of starting times. Such restrictions are widely encountered in practice and are based on a number of factors including managerial concerns for control of employee movements, union contractual obligations, and employee preferences for common shift starting times. A two-stage heuristic solution strategy is proposed for RSTP. We developed eight heuristic procedures based on this strategy and applied them to four sets of labor requirements, for each of 27 United Airlines (UA) airport ground stations. One of the best of these procedures yielded solution costs that averaged only 1.36 full-time-equivalent employees above very conservative LP-based lower bounds. Moreover, the solution costs obtained using this procedure were, on average, 28 percent closer to the lower bounds than solution costs obtained using UA's current scheduling system. We conclude that the two-stage heuristic solution strategy is a valuable platform from which to develop procedures for generating near-optimal solutions to this difficult class of personnel scheduling problems.

Personnel Tour Scheduling When Starting-Time Restrictions Are Present

The problem of rostering toll collectors for a toll facility such as a bridge, tunnel, or expressway is formulated as an integer program. The working regulations for full-time and part-time shifts give special structure to the program. An eight phase algorithm is described that exploits this special structure and enables variables to be grouped together and the integer constraints successively introduced. The algorithm has been tested for a wide variety of practical schedule problems and has proved successful in obtaining acceptable schedules in comparatively short computer run times.

J. L. Byrne

Papers

Scheduling of Toll Collectors