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Workforce Scheduling
Scheduling Days Off
1. Compute no. people needed each day. The APServe is open 7 days a week. The
schedule of requirements is:
2. Find the smallest two consecutive days
 Highest number in the pair is <= highest number in any other Required employees
pair
 Those two days will be the first worker’s days off Day M T W Th F S Su
Number of employees 6 4 8 9 10 3 2
3. Subtract one from the days the first worker wasn’t
scheduled
4. Repeat The manager needs a workforce schedule that provides two
consecutive days off and minimizes the amount of total slack
capacity. To break ties in the selection of off days, the scheduler
gives preference to Saturday and Sunday if it is one of the tied pairs.
If not, she selects one of the tied pairs arbitrarily.

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1 2

Required employees
Required employees
Day M T W Th F S Su
Day M T W Th F S Su
Number of employees 6 4 8 9 10* 3 2
Number of employees 6 4 8 9 10* 3 2
Employee 1 X X X X X
Employee 1 X X X X X Requirements 5 3 7 8 9* 3 2
Employee 2 X X X X X

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Required employees Required employees

Day M T W Th F S Su
Day M T W Th F S Su
Number of employees 6 4 8 9 10* 3 2
Number of employees 6 4 8 9 10* 3 2
Employee 1 X X X X X
Employee 1 X X X X X Requirement 5 3 7 8 9* 3 2
Requirement 5 3 7 8 9* 3 2 Employee 2 X X X X X
Employee 2 X X X X X Requirement 4 2 6 7 8* 3 2
Requirement 4 2 6 7 8* 3 2 Employee 3 X X X X X
Employee 3 X X X X X Requirement 3 1 5 6 7* 3 2
Requirement 3 1 5 6 7* 3 2 Employee 4 X X X X X
Requirement 3 1 4 5 6* 2 1
Employee 5 X X X X X

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Scheduling Daily Work Times

Required employees

Day M T W Th F S Su
• Different # people needed in different areas at
different times
Requirement 2 0 3 4 5* 2 1
Employee 6 X X X X X
Requirement 2 0 2 3 4* 1 0
Employee 7 X X X X X
Requirement 1 0 1 2 3* 1 0
Employee 8 X X X X X
Requirement 0 0 0 1 2* 1 0
Employee 9 X X X X X
Requirement 0 0 0 0 1* 0 0
Employee 10 X X X X X

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Scheduling Hourly Times Hourly Work Times

10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
• When should people start shifts?
Need 4 6 8 8 6 4 4 6 8 10 10 6
• “First Hour” principle: Start 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 2 0
• For first hour, assign # people needed that hour
• Each additional hour, add more if needed
• When shift ends, add more, only if needed

On 4 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10

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9 10

Assembly Line Balancing 8-11

A Line Process
• Line Balancing
Characteristics of the Assembly Line Balancing • Assignment of work to stations in a line so as to
problem. achieve the desired output rate with the smallest
• A collection of n tasks must be completed on each item number of workstations
• Tasks are assigned to stations. Tasks must be sequenced • Achieving the goal is similar to the theory of
properly, and certain tasks may not be done at the same constraints but it differs in how it addresses
station. bottlenecks
• The objective is to assign tasks to stations to minimize
the cycle time, C.  Precedence diagram – AON network
• The general problem is difficult to solve optimally, but
effective heuristics are available.

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Precedence Diagram Precedence Diagram

EXAMPLE 7.4 SOLUTION
Green Grass, Inc., a manufacturer of lawn and garden equipment, is Figure 7.4 shows the complete diagram. We begin with work element A,
designing an assembly line to produce a new fertilizer spreader, the Big which has no immediate predecessors. Next, we add elements B and C, for
Broadcaster. Using the following information on the production process, which element A is the only immediate predecessor. After entering time
construct a precedence standards and arrows showing precedence, we add elements D and E,
diagram for the and so on. The diagram simplifies
Big Broadcaster. Work
Description
Time Immediate interpretation. Work element F,
D
Element (sec) Predecessor(s)
for example, can be done H
A Bolt leg frame to hopper 40 None
anywhere on the line after B 40
20
B Insert impeller shaft 30 A
element C is completed. 30 E
C Attach axle 50 A
D Attach agitator 40 B
However, element I must 6
E Attach drive wheel 6 B
await completion of A
F
F Attach free wheel 25 C
elements F and G. 40 C
25
G Mount lower post 15 C 50
I
H Attach controls 20 D, E
I Mount nameplate 18 F, G 18
G
Total 244 Figure 7.4 – Precedence Diagram for
Assembling the Big Broadcaster 15

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A Line Process A Line Process

• The desired output rate is matched to the staffing • The theoretical minimum number of stations is
or production plan
• Cycle time is the maximum time allowed for work
at each station is t
TM =
c
1
c=
r
where
where t = total time required to assemble
c = cycle time in hours each unit
r = desired output rate

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A Line Process Calculating Cycle Time, TM, Efficiency

EXAMPLE 7.5
• Idle time, efficiency, and balance delay Green Grass’s plant manager just received marketing’s latest forecasts of
Big Broadcaster sales for the next year. She wants its production line to be
designed to make 2,400 spreaders per week for at least the next 3 months.
Idle time = nc – t The plant will operate 40 hours per week.

where
a. What should be the line’s cycle time?
n = number of stations
b. What is the smallest number of workstations that she could
t hope for in designing the line for this cycle time?
Efficiency (%) = nc (100) c. Suppose that she finds a solution that requires only five
stations. What would be the line’s efficiency?

Balance delay (%) = 100 – Efficiency

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Calculating Cycle Time, TM, Efficiency

SOLUTION
a. First convert the desired output rate (2,400 units per week) to an
hourly rate by dividing the weekly output rate by 40 hours per week to
get units per hour. Then the cycle time is

c = 1/r = 1/60 (hr/unit) = 1 minute/unit = 60 seconds/unit

b. Now calculate the theoretical minimum for the number of

stations by dividing the total time, t, by the cycle time,
c = 60 seconds. Assuming perfect balance, we have

t 244 seconds
TM = = = 4.067 or 5 stations
c 60 seconds

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.

Publishing as Prentice Hall.
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Calculating Cycle Time, TM, Efficiency Finding a Solution

• The goal is to cluster the work elements into workstations
c. Now calculate the efficiency of a five-station solution, assuming for
now that one can be found:
so that
1. The number of workstations required is minimized
2. The precedence and cycle-time requirements are not violated
t 244
Efficiency = (100) = = 81.3%
nc 5(60)  The work content for each station is equal (or
nearly so, but less than) the cycle time for the line
 Trial-and-error can be used but commercial
software packages are also available

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Finding a Solution Finding a Solution

TABLE 7.3 | HEURISTIC DECISION RULES IN ASSIGNING THE NEXT WORK ELEMENT TO A • The theoretical minimum number of workstations is 5 and
| WORKSTATION BEING CREATED
the cycle time is 60 seconds, so Figure 7.5 represents an
Create one station at a time. For the station now being created, identify the unassigned work elements that
qualify for assignment: They are candidates if optimal solution to the problem
1. All of their predecessors have been assigned to this station or stations already created.
2. Adding them to the workstation being created will not create a workload that exceeds the cycle time.

Decision Rule Logic D

H
Longest work element Picking the candidate with the longest time to complete is an effort to fit in the
B 40
most difficult elements first, leaving the ones with short times to “fill out” the 20
station. 30 E
Shortest work element This rule is the opposite of the longest work element rule because it gives 6
preference in workstation assignments to those work elements that are quicker. It A
can be tried because no single rule guarantees the best solution. It might provide F
another solution for the planner to consider. 40 C
25
Most followers When picking the next work element to assign to a station being created, choose
50
the element that has the most followers (due to precedence requirements). In I
Figure 7.4, item C has three followers (F, G, and I) whereas item D has only one
follower (H). This rule seeks to maintain flexibility so that good choices remain for 18
G
creating the last few workstations at the end of the line.
Fewest followers Picking the candidate with the fewest followers is the opposite of the most 15
followers rule.
Figure 7.5 – Big Broadcaster Precedence Diagram Solution

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Example
A plant manager needs a design for an assembly line to assembly a new Draw a precedence diagram, complete I, F, J, and K
product that is being introduced. The time requirements and
immediate
predecessors for the Work Element Time (sec)
Immediate Work Time (sec) Immediate
work elements are Predecessor Element Predecessor A
A 12 ―
as follows: A 12 ―
B 60 A
B 60 A C 36 ― B
C 36 ― D 24 ― C
D 24 ― E 38 C, D F
F 72 B, E
E 38 C, D K
G 14 ―
D E
F 72 B, E
H 72 ―
G 14 ― J
I 35 G, H
H 72 ―
J 60 I
G I
I 35 G, H
K 12 F, J
J 60 I Total = 435
K 12 F, J H
Total = 435

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If the desired output rate is 30 units per hour, what are the cycle time and Suppose that we are fortunate enough to find a solution with just four
theoretical minimum? stations. What is the idle time per unit, efficiency, and the balance delay
for this solution?

1 1 Idle time = nc – t = 4(120) – 435 = 45 seconds

c= r = (3600) = 120 sec/unit
30
t 435
Efficiency (%) = nc (100) = 480 (100) = 90.6%
t 435
TM = c = 120 = 3.6 or 4 stations
Balance delay (%) = 100 – Efficiency = 100 – 90.6 = 9.4%

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Example
A company is setting up an assembly line to produce 192 units per 8-hour
Using trial and error, one possible solution is shown below. shift. The following table identifies the work elements, times, and
immediate predecessors:
Work
Elements Idle Time Work Element Time (sec) Immediate Predecessor(s)
Station Assigned Cumulative Time (c = 120) A 40 None
1 H, C, A 120 0 B 80 A
C 30 D, E, F
2 B, D, G 98 22
D 25 B
3 E, F 110 10 E 20 B
F 15 B
4 I, J, K 107 13
G 120 A
5 A fifth station is not needed H 145 G
I 130 H
J 115 C, I
Total 720

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Example
a. What is the desired cycle time (in seconds)?
b. The sum of the work-element times is 720 seconds, so
b. What is the theoretical minimum number of stations?
c. Use trial and error to work out a solution, and show your solution on a
precedence diagram. t 720 sec/unit
d. What are the efficiency and balance delay of the solution found? TM = c = = 4.8 or 5 stations
150 sec/unit-station

SOLUTION
which may not be achievable.
a. Substituting in the cycle-time formula, we get

1 8 hours
c= r = (3,600 sec/hr) = 150 sec/unit
192 units

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D
25

B E C
80 20 30
J
c. The precedence diagram is shown in Figure 7.6. Each row in the A F 115
following table shows work elements assigned to each of the five 40 G 15 I
workstations in the proposed solution. 120
H
130
145
Work Immediate
Element Predecessor(s)
D A None Work-Element Cumulative Idle Time
Station Candidate(s) Choice
B A Time (sec) Time (sec) (c= 150 sec)
25
C D, E, F S1 A A 40 40 110
D B B B 80 120 30
B E C
E B
D, E, F D 25 145 5
80 20 30 F B
G A S2 E, F, G G 120 120 30
F J
A H G E, F E 20 140 10
15 115 I H
40 S3 F, H H 145 145 5
G J C, I
S4 F, I I 130 130 20
120
I F F 15 145 5
H
130 S5 C C 30 30 120
145
J J 115 145 5
Figure 7.6 – Precedence Diagram

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Ranked positional Weight

Technique
d. Calculating the efficiency, we get
• Positional weight of task i= time required to
perform task i+times required to perform all tasks
t 720 sec/unit having task i as a predecessor
Efficiency (%) = nc (100) = 5(150 sec/unit)

= 96%

Thus, the balance delay is only 4 percent (100–96).

• Cycle time:15

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Task Positional weight

1 70
2 58
3 31
6 29
4 27
7 25
5 20
8 18
9 18
10 17
11 13
12 7

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as

Prentice Hall.
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