New publication:

An exact algorithm for an integrated project staffing problem with a homogeneous workforce

In our most recent publication in the Journal of Scheduling, two well-known problems from literature that are often treated separately, are now combined in a novel integrated solutions approach. Both the project scheduling and the resource staffing problem are solved by an integrated exact algorithm, leading to overall improved results. 

Abstract: When scheduling projects under resource constraints, assumptions are typically made with respect to the resource availability. In resource scheduling problems important assumptions are made with respect to the resource requirements. As projects are typically labour intensive, the underlying (personnel) resource scheduling problems tend to be complex due to different rules and regulations. In this paper, we aim to integrate these two interrelated scheduling problems to minimise the overall cost. For that purpose, we propose an exact algorithm for the project staffing with resource scheduling constraints. Detailed computational experiments are presented to evaluate different branching rules and pruning strategies and to compare the proposed procedure with other optimisation techniques.

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Cite as: Maenhout, B. and Vanhoucke, M., 2016, "An exact algorithm for an integrated project staffing problem with a homogeneous workforce", Journal of Scheduling, 19, 107–133 (doi:10.1007/s10951-015-0443-z).