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CP Methods for Scheduling and Routing with Time-Dependent Task Costs

  • Conference paper
Integration of AI and OR Techniques in Constraint Programming for Combinatorial Optimization Problems (CPAIOR 2013)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 7874))

Abstract

A particularly difficult class of scheduling and routing problems involves an objective that is a sum of time-varying action costs, which increases the size and complexity of the problem. Solve-and-improve approaches, which find an initial solution for a simplified model and improve it using a cost function, and Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) are often used for solving such problems. However, Constraint Programming (CP), particularly with Lazy Clause Generation (LCG), has been found to be faster than MIP for some scheduling problems with time-varying action costs. In this paper, we compare CP and LCG against a solve-and-improve approach for two recently introduced problems in maritime logistics with time-varying action costs: the Liner Shipping Fleet Repositioning Problem (LSFRP) and the Bulk Port Cargo Throughput Optimisation Problem (BPCTOP). We present a novel CP model for the LSFRP, which is faster than all previous methods and outperforms a simplified automated planning model without time-varying costs. We show that a LCG solver is faster for solving the BPCTOP than a standard finite domain CP solver with a simplified model. We find that CP and LCG are effective methods for solving scheduling problems, and are worth investigating for other scheduling and routing problems that are currently being solved using MIP or solve-and-improve approaches.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Elena Kelareva & Philip Kilby

  2. NICTA, Canberra, Australia

    Elena Kelareva & Philip Kilby

  3. IT University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Kevin Tierney

Authors
  1. Elena Kelareva
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  2. Kevin Tierney
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  3. Philip Kilby
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Carla Gomes

  2. Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, USA

    Meinolf Sellmann

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Kelareva, E., Tierney, K., Kilby, P. (2013). CP Methods for Scheduling and Routing with Time-Dependent Task Costs. In: Gomes, C., Sellmann, M. (eds) Integration of AI and OR Techniques in Constraint Programming for Combinatorial Optimization Problems. CPAIOR 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7874. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38171-3_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38171-3_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-38170-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-38171-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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