Heuristic Methods for Telephone Operator Shift Scheduling: An Experimental Analysis

Heuristic methods are presented for scheduling telephone traffic exchange operators to meet demand that varies over a 24-hour operating period. Two types of heuristics are described (1) for determining the work shift types to be considered in preparing an operator shift schedule and (2) for constructing an operator shift schedule from a given set of work shift types. These heuristics are evaluated both in terms of solution quality and computational efficiency, using actual operating data.