Solving the Employee Timetabling Problem Using Advanced SAT & ILP Techniques

Abstract

The Employee Timetabling Problem (ETP) is concerned with assigning a number of employees into a given set of shifts over a fixed period of time while meeting the employee’s preferences and organizational work regulations. The problem also attempts to optimize the performance criteria and distribute the shifts equally among the employees. The problem is known to be a complex optimization problem. It has received intensive research during the past few years given its common use in industries and organizations. Several formulations and algorithms based on incomplete search approaches have been proposed to solve employee timetabling problems. In this paper, we propose a complete search approach using Boolean satisfiability (SAT) and integer linear programming (ILP) to solve these problems. The 0-1 ILP model of interest is developed and solved using advanced SAT and ILP solvers. A tool has also been developed to automate the process of producing and solving the ILP model. Experimental results indicate that the proposed approach can effectively handle employee timetabling problems.