Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability

Dennis Charles Dietz

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11

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Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability

Dennis Charles Dietz

Published in American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management (Volume 2, Issue 6)

Received: 30 May 2017 Accepted: 5 July 2017 Published: 7 November 2017

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Abstract

A practical scheduling method is developed and implemented to determine the optimal allocation of technicians to candidate tour types and start times in a field service environment. Historical data is aggregated to determine a weekly work volume distribution and technician availability profile. These and other quantitative factors populate a mixed integer programming model for determining the distribution of technician tours that will minimize queueing delay in completing service, subject to side constraints on tour type quantities. The approach has been successfully implemented to schedule installation and maintenance technicians at a major telecommunication service provider and could easily be adapted to other operational contexts.

Published in	American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management (Volume 2, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11
Page(s)	77-82
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Scheduling, Mixed Integer Linear Programming, Operations Management

References

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Dennis Charles Dietz. (2017). Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability. American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 2(6), 77-82. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11

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ACS Style

Dennis Charles Dietz. Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability. Am. J. Eng. Technol. Manag. 2017, 2(6), 77-82. doi: 10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11

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AMA Style

Dennis Charles Dietz. Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability. Am J Eng Technol Manag. 2017;2(6):77-82. doi: 10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11,
  author = {Dennis Charles Dietz},
  title = {Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability},
  journal = {American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management},
  volume = {2},
  number = {6},
  pages = {77-82},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajetm.20170206.11},
  abstract = {A practical scheduling method is developed and implemented to determine the optimal allocation of technicians to candidate tour types and start times in a field service environment. Historical data is aggregated to determine a weekly work volume distribution and technician availability profile. These and other quantitative factors populate a mixed integer programming model for determining the distribution of technician tours that will minimize queueing delay in completing service, subject to side constraints on tour type quantities. The approach has been successfully implemented to schedule installation and maintenance technicians at a major telecommunication service provider and could easily be adapted to other operational contexts.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability
AU  - Dennis Charles Dietz
Y1  - 2017/11/07
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11
T2  - American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management
JF  - American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management
JO  - American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management
SP  - 77
EP  - 82
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1441
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11
AB  - A practical scheduling method is developed and implemented to determine the optimal allocation of technicians to candidate tour types and start times in a field service environment. Historical data is aggregated to determine a weekly work volume distribution and technician availability profile. These and other quantitative factors populate a mixed integer programming model for determining the distribution of technician tours that will minimize queueing delay in completing service, subject to side constraints on tour type quantities. The approach has been successfully implemented to schedule installation and maintenance technicians at a major telecommunication service provider and could easily be adapted to other operational contexts.
VL  - 2
IS  - 6
ER  -

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Author Information

Dennis Charles Dietz

Analytics and Forecasting, CenturyLink, Inc., Boulder, USA

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APA Style

Dennis Charles Dietz. (2017). Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability. American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 2(6), 77-82. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11

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ACS Style

Dennis Charles Dietz. Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability. Am. J. Eng. Technol. Manag. 2017, 2(6), 77-82. doi: 10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Dennis Charles Dietz. Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability. Am J Eng Technol Manag. 2017;2(6):77-82. doi: 10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11,
  author = {Dennis Charles Dietz},
  title = {Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability},
  journal = {American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management},
  volume = {2},
  number = {6},
  pages = {77-82},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajetm.20170206.11},
  abstract = {A practical scheduling method is developed and implemented to determine the optimal allocation of technicians to candidate tour types and start times in a field service environment. Historical data is aggregated to determine a weekly work volume distribution and technician availability profile. These and other quantitative factors populate a mixed integer programming model for determining the distribution of technician tours that will minimize queueing delay in completing service, subject to side constraints on tour type quantities. The approach has been successfully implemented to schedule installation and maintenance technicians at a major telecommunication service provider and could easily be adapted to other operational contexts.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Optimal Scheduling for a Service Technician Workforce with Time-varying Work Volume and Technician Availability
AU  - Dennis Charles Dietz
Y1  - 2017/11/07
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11
T2  - American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management
JF  - American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management
JO  - American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management
SP  - 77
EP  - 82
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1441
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajetm.20170206.11
AB  - A practical scheduling method is developed and implemented to determine the optimal allocation of technicians to candidate tour types and start times in a field service environment. Historical data is aggregated to determine a weekly work volume distribution and technician availability profile. These and other quantitative factors populate a mixed integer programming model for determining the distribution of technician tours that will minimize queueing delay in completing service, subject to side constraints on tour type quantities. The approach has been successfully implemented to schedule installation and maintenance technicians at a major telecommunication service provider and could easily be adapted to other operational contexts.
VL  - 2
IS  - 6
ER  -

Copy | Download