R for Industrial Engineers
Staff Scheduling Optimization with R
Operations Research Applications in Scheduling
Operations Research
Operations Research is a scientific approach for decision making that seeks for the best design and operation of a system, usually under conditions requiring the allocation of scarce or limited resources. The scientific approach for decision making requires the use of one or more mathematical optimization models (i.e. representations of the actual situation) to make the optimum decision.
Staff Scheduling
Scheduling consists in the process of arranging, assigning, controlling and optimizing workforce resources (i.e. staff) in a service, production or manufacturing setting. It has a direct significant impact on the productivity of a process and on the organization’s labor costs.
A higher number of staff than the one required could lead to undesired idle times and lower productivity levels. On the other hand, a lower number of staff than the one required could lead to work overloads and higher risks of not satisfying the demand. For these reasons, finding an optimum number of staff represents no trivial task.
