Goal programming models and DSS for manpower planning of airport baggage service

Abstract

Goal Programming (GP) models and Decision Support System (DSS) are two powerful tools dealing with manpower planning problems, not only on research level, but also as practical tools for industrial implementation. Goal programming is often useful as an optimization modeling technique for generating shift-duties of worker schedules. In our project for the baggage service agency at the Hong Kong International Airport, we proposed three model formulations based on the basic fixed-length shift duties generation model to approach various combinations of goals of manpower planning. Such an optimization modeling is built upon the essential foundation of a detailed data modeling and its analysis for all the driving parameters and demand/supply input necessary for numerical computations. The data model and GP model thus form the two integral components of the overall automation system - the DSS, which is an automatic computer based and userfriendly system to support management on planning decisions © Springer Physica-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.