Cyclic scheduling via integer programs with circular ones.
A fundamental problem of cyclic staffing is to size and schedule a minimum-cost workforce so that sufficient workers are on duty during each time period. This may be modeled as an integer linear program with a cyclically structured 0-1 constraint matrix. We identify a large class of such problems for which special structure permits the ILP to be solved parametrically as a bounded series of network flow problems. Moreover, an alternative solution technique is shown in which the continuous-valued LP is solved and the result rounded in a special way to yield an optimum solution to the ILP.
D009874:Operations Research; D010559:Personnel Management; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling