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Branch-and-Price for a Multi-attribute Technician Routing and Scheduling Problem

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Abstract

In this paper, we present an exact branch-and-price algorithm for a multi-attribute technician routing and scheduling problem. This problem integrates a number of distinctive features from a real-world application, like management of an inventory of different parts and multiple time windows for service. Based on the fact that not all tasks need to be performed, a new ternary branching scheme is introduced within the branch-and-price algorithm. Computational results show that our algorithm can solve instances with up to 45 tasks and greatly improves upon a commercial solver applied to an arc-based mixed integer linear program.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada under grants RGPIN-2015-04696 (Michel Gendreau) and RGPIN-2016-03896 (Jean-Yves Potvin). This support is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département d’informatique et de recherche opérationnelle, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3J7, Canada

    Ines Mathlouthi & Jean-Yves Potvin

  2. Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur les réseaux d’entreprise, la logistique et le transport, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3J7, Canada

    Ines Mathlouthi, Michel Gendreau & Jean-Yves Potvin

  3. Département de mathématiques et de génie industriel, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3A7, Canada

    Michel Gendreau

Authors
  1. Ines Mathlouthi
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  2. Michel Gendreau
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  3. Jean-Yves Potvin
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Correspondence to Jean-Yves Potvin.

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Mathlouthi, I., Gendreau, M. & Potvin, JY. Branch-and-Price for a Multi-attribute Technician Routing and Scheduling Problem. SN Oper. Res. Forum 2, 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43069-020-00044-x

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