CALL CENTERS (CENTRES) - Faculty of Industrial Engineering and ...

10. Mason, A.J., D.M. Ryan and D.M. Panton. Integrated simulation, heuristic and optimisation
approaches to staff scheduling, Operations Research, 46 (2), 1998, 161–175.
Abstract. 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 heuristic search to determine minimum staffing levels for
arrival and departure work areas. These staffing requirements are then used as the input to an
integer programming model which optimally allocates full and part-time staff to each period of
the working day. These shifts are then assigned to daily work schedules having a six-day-on,
three-day-off structure. The application of these techniques has resulted in significantly lower
staffing levels, while at the same time creating both high quality rosters and ensuring that all
passenger processing targets are met. This paper charts the development of this system, outlines
failures.
Keywords: Simulation, Heuristic, Optimisation, Staff scheduling, Personnel scheduling, Rostering,
Customs staff, Auckland International Airport, New Zealand, Heuristic descent, Integer
programming, Near optimal staffing levels, Minimum staffing levels, Integer programming model,
Full-time staff, Part-time staff
(Appears also in Section I.)
11. Van Dijk, N.M. On hybrid combination of queueing and simulation. Simulation: Past, Present
and Future. 12th European Simulation Multiconference 1998. ESM’98. As Part of the 50th
Anniversary Celebrations of the University of Manchester - the Home of Computing. SCS, San
Diego, CA, USA, 1998, 731–735.
Abstract. This paper illustrates how simulation and queueing theory can and should go hand in
hand for a variety of practical problems, both in daily-life and industry, which are still open for
fundamental research. To this end, it highlights real-life cases taken from: daily-life situations
(postal office or bank); administrative logistics (reengineering); tele-servicing (call-centres); and
transportation (railways).
Keywords: Simulation, Queueing theory, Postal office, Bank, Administrative logistics, Teleservicing,
Call centres, Transportation, Railways
(Appears also in Section I.)
12. Yoshimura, K. and R. Nakano. Genetic algorithm for information operator scheduling. 1998
IEEE International Conference on Evolutionary Computation Proceedings. IEEE World Congress
on Computational Intelligence. IEEE, New York, NY, USA, 1998, 277–282.
Abstract. Telephone information operator scheduling is a real-world optimisation problem. A
genetic algorithm using a concise representation of solutions for the problem is successfully applied.
It is shown that mutation is important for the problem. We propose an effective mutation
operator and demonstrate its advantages through numerical experiments. Partial reinitialization
of individuals is also introduced in order to reintroduce diversity into the population and
avoid premature convergence. The experimental results show that the reinitialization strategy
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