The effect of demand characteristics on labour scheduling methods

Labour scheduling heuristic methods have been applied in service operating environments using both actual and synthetic demand patterns. Two important characteristics of these demand patterns are (1) demand smoothness and (2) mean demand. Investigates the effects of demand smoothness and mean demand on the solution quality associated with four prominent heuristic methods. Indicates that both characteristics can affect the performance of the heuristic methods. An especially important finding is that the two methods which use information from linear programming solutions are far more robust to changes in the degree of demand smoothness. Concludes that managers should consider linear programming methods as an alternative or supplement for making their scheduling decisions. Also recommends that labour scheduling researchers use multiple levels of mean demand and demand smoothness when evaluating new heuristic methods.