BUS606: Operations and Supply Chain Management

This paper addresses scheduling constraints encountered by bank IT staff. The problem can be described as finding a schedule that both respects the constraints of the staff and fulfils the objectives of the organization. Currently, there is a manual process for producing the monthly schedules using excel sheets; however, there are scenarios where the generated schedule violates some constraints. In order to deal with this issue, an automated scheduling system which will take into account the numerous constraints and goals is required for supervisors and operators in the IT Department. The next paragraphs present the major constraints and data related to the research.

There are four types of shifts (1 shift = 8 hours):

(I)    morning shift (M): 06:00–14:00,
(ii)   evening shift (E): 14:00–22:00,
(iii)  night shift (N): 22:00–06:00,
(iv)  external shift (S): 08:00–16:00.

The department rules or constraints to be taken into account while generating the schedule for IT staff can be summarized as follows.
(1)   There are 9 operators and 5 supervisors who work morning, evening, and night in 8-hour shifts to provide a service that operates 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

(2)   The morning and evening shifts should include three employees (i.e., one supervisor and two operators).

(3)   Each employee is required to work an average of 40 hours per week.

(4)   The employee should not work on day shift after night shift.

(5)    Each employee must have at most one shift per day.

(6)    Overtime is estimated by the number of hours that exceed 40 hours per week.

(7)    Only operator staff can work at an external/outside branch.

(8)    Operator staff that leaves to work at an external/outside branch should have 2 days off on Thursday and Friday.

(9)    The preferences of day off of each employee are taken into consideration.