Mixed integer linear programming for a multi-attribute technician routing and scheduling problem

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we consider a multi-attribute technician routing and scheduling problem motivated by an application for the maintenance and repair of electronic transaction equipment. This problem is aimed at routing technicians to perform tasks at different customer locations so as to maximize the total gain associated with served customers, minus the operations costs (total travelled distance and overtime of the technicians). At the same time, a number of constraints must be satisfied like technician skills, breaks, maximum distance, multiple time windows and parts inventory. A mixed integer linear programming model is proposed to address this problem, which is then solved with a commercial solver. The computational results explore the difficulty of the problem along various dimensions and underline its inherent complexity.

KEYWORDS:

• Technician routing and scheduling problem
• multiple time windows
• inventory
• mixed integer linear programming

Acknowledgments

Financial support for this work was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. This support is gratefully acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.