WORKING SET GENERATION METHODS FOR LABOR TOUR SCHEDULING

Working set methods in labor scheduling generally consist of a generat ion and implementation phase. The generation phase involves the select ion of a subset of work schedules from the complete (master) set of al l allowed work schedules. In the implementation phase, either heuristi c or integer optimal solutions are obtained upon the basis of the sche dules in the working set. We classify previous working set generation procedures as being either structural, demand-based, or refinement. Tw o new working set procedures within the first category and one new pro cedure within the second category are developed. Subsequently, we comp are the efficacy of the new and previously published generation proced ures within the context of a discontinuous tour scheduling environment where the sole objective is minimization of total labor hours schedul ed. All comparative analysis was based upon the global integer optimal solutions to problems posed by the master set associated with 36 diff erent labor requirements distributions. The second of the new structur al methods resulted in the best performance for all working set sizes. In particular, it resulted in global integer optimal solutions, for a ll test problems, with working set sizes of 40 and 50. The new demand- based method resulted in the second best performance at a working set size of 50. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of the r esults for future research and practice.