Resource-constrained project scheduling: a case study

Abstract

With increasing demand for project scheduling, different methods have been developed for this purpose. Among these existing methods, mixedinteger linear programming (MILP) is still one of the major approaches for resource-constrained project-scheduling problems. In this study, an integrated methodology is developed to schedule the projects for maintaining the oil platform for an energy company. In this methodology, firstly, a MILP model is used for project portfolio management to decide which projects will be performed immediately. Then, programme evaluation and review technique (PERT) and critical path method (CPM) are used to create the initial schedule, and MILP is used again for making detailed project schedule. In this detailed project schedule, the objective is to maximise the resource utilisation subject to different constraints, such as resource constraints, safety constraints, area constraints, activity calendar, etc. The optimisation model is solved by Microsoft Solver Foundation. The results show that the methodology developed in this study can improve the resource utilisation and satisfy all constraints.