Optimal Allocation of Students to Naval Nuclear-Power Training Units

Abstract

The U.S. Navy operates an impressive fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers and has safely operated its nuclear fleet for more than 60 years, while steaming over 154 million miles. Rigorous training has been key to maintaining such an impressive record. The U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Training Program develops, certifies, and delivers the nuclear-operator qualification training for enlisted and officer personnel operating its nuclear fleet. This training finishes at one of four nuclear-power training units (NPTUs), operates under a complex set of hard and soft constraints, varies depending on the type of student, and requires significant personnel and equipment resources. We developed and implemented a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) that prescribes how many students of each type to allocate to each NPTU at the start of each class (a group of students who train together) and how allocated students complete NPTU training. The use of MILP has improved student allocation by an estimated eight percent and led to significantly improved use of both NPTU personnel and equipment resources. In this paper, we describe this unique optimization application, the MILP formulation, its path to adoption, its user interface, and impacts from its development and use over the past three years.