2 ABSTRACT This paper is concerned with the application of a GRASP approach to a nurse-scheduling problem in which the objective is to optimise a set of preferences subject to a set of binding constraints. The balance between feasibility and optimality is a key issue. This is addressed by using a knapsack model to ensure that the solutions produced by the construction heuristic are easy to repa...

This paper describes a method for solving the cyclic crew rostering problem (CCRP). This is the problem of cyclically ordering a set of duties for a number of crew members, such that several complex constraints are satisfied and such that the quality of the obtained roster is as high as possible. The described method was tested on a number of instances of NS, the largest operator of passenger t...

This paper tackles a Nurse Scheduling Problem which consists of generating work schedules for a set of nurses while considering their shift preferences and other requirements. The objective is to maximize the satisfaction of nurses’ preferences and minimize the violation of soft constraints. This paper presents a new deterministic heuristic algorithm, called MAPA (multi-assignment problem-based...

Tourism is a service-intensive industry that is characterized by a highly competitive market. The adequate utilization of personnel provides the key means of tackling two conflicting tendencies: on the one hand, the consumers’ expections of a certain level of service quality; on the other, the expense usually associated with qualified human labor. Our paper presents (1) how the quality level of...

Nurse Rostering problems represent a subclass of scheduling problems that are hard to solve. Their complexity is due to the large solution spaces and the many objectives and constraints that need to be fulfilled. In this study, we propose a hierarchical method of granulation of problem domain through preprocessing of constraints. A set of zero-cost patterns in the granulated search space provid...

The nurse scheduling problem consists of assigning working shifts to each nurse on each day of a certain period of time. A typical problem comprises 600 to 800 assignments that have to take into account several requirements such as minimal allocation of a station, legal regulations and wishes of the personnel. This planning is a di cult and time-consuming expert task and is still done manually....

This paper details a new simulation and optimisation based system for personnel scheduling (rostering) of Customs staff at the Auckland International Airport, New Zealand. An integrated approach using simulation, heuristic descent and integer programming techniques has been developed to determine near-optimal staffing levels. The system begins by using a new simulation system embedded within a ...

This paper presents an integer programming formulation for integrating maintenance planning tasks in the railway rolling stock circulation problem. This is a key problem in railway rostering planning that requires to cover a given set of services and maintenance works with a minimum amount of rolling stock units. An additional objective is to limit the number of empty rides. The constraints of ...