Automated Multi-Skill Shift Design for Hospitals

For labour intensive organizations, finding a good match between the predicted workload and the scheduled workforce work capacity is crucial: One important step in this matching process is shift design and it have received surprisingly little research attention even though good shift design is a prerequisite for an efficient roster. In this paper we present a prototype that automates multi-skill shift design for hospitals. The idea originates from discussions with two Norwegian hospital that also been involved in the development process with ideas, criticisms, and data provision. Our experiment shows very good results, in some cases optimal solutions are found within seconds or a few minutes

The Node Edge Arc Routing Problem - applications and heuristics

In the VRP literature, the Arc Routing Problem is often advocated as an adequate model for routing applications such as newspaper delivery and garbage collection. We argue that a better model is the Node Edge Arc Routing Problem (NEARP), combining demand on nodes, edges, and arcs in a transportation network. We describe how we have extended a node based VRP solver to enable modeling and resolution of the NEARP, and network based heuristics for aggregating node-based demand into demands on arcs and edges. Experimental results on standard benchmarks and industrial cases are presented.The Node Edge Arc Routing Problem - applications and heuristic

Solving Node Edge Arc Routing Problems in the Distribution of Media Products

There is a strong pressure on economy in the distribution of media products. Two important remedies are more efficient carrier routes and distribution of side products. Both call for effective and dynamic route design and revision processes. These processes are complex, time-consuming, and costly. The size of industrial carrier route planning instances may cause performance problems for VRP algorithms. In the VRP literature, the Capacitated Arc Routing Problem (CARP) is often advocated as an adequate model for applications such as newspaper delivery and garbage collection. We argue that a better model is the Node Edge Arc Routing Problem (NEARP). We describe how we have extended a VRP solver to enable modeling of the NEARP, and extended it with a framework for multi-level aggregation of demand. An aggregation heuristic that is based on the underlying road topology is presented. The resulting solver has been integrated in a commercial web based system for route management and tested by pilot users. We present experimental results on real-life data from newspaper distribution. Results on standard CARP and NEARP instances from the literature are given, including several new best known solutions.Solving Node Edge Arc Routing Problems in the Distribution of Media Product

Solving Node Edge Arc Routing Problems in the Distribution of Media Products

There is a strong pressure on economy in the distribution of media products. Two important remedies are more efficient carrier routes and distribution of side products. Both call for effective and dynamic route design and revision processes. These processes are complex, time-consuming, and costly. The size of industrial carrier route planning instances may cause performance problems for VRP algorithms. In the VRP literature, the Capacitated Arc Routing Problem (CARP) is often advocated as an adequate model for applications such as newspaper delivery and garbage collection. We argue that a better model is the Node Edge Arc Routing Problem (NEARP). We describe how we have extended a VRP solver to enable modeling of the NEARP, and extended it with a framework for multi-level aggregation of demand. An aggregation heuristic that is based on the underlying road topology is presented. The resulting solver has been integrated in a commercial web based system for route management and tested by pilot users. We present experimental results on real-life data from newspaper distribution. Results on standard CARP and NEARP instances from the literature are given, including several new best known solutions.Solving Node Edge Arc Routing Problems in the Distribution of Media Product