Planning-Interval Duration in Labor-Shift Scheduling

Abstract

This article proposes guidelines for managers and researchers regarding appropriate planning intervals in labor scheduling. This study distinguishes between planning intervals used for data collection and intervals used for scheduling employees. This distinction is relevant because it is not necessary for the two interval types to be of the same duration. The results of a simulation experiment show that both increased variability in the customer-arrival rate and high mean customer-arrival rates work to reduce the ideal length of both data-collection and schedule-development intervals. In fact, with a mean arrival rate of five customers per minute, the most profitable labor schedules originated with a five-minute data-collection interval combined with a five-minute schedule-development interval. At present, because of the paucity of procedures that can accommodate such brief intervals, managers will find fifteen-minute data-collection and schedule development intervals generally to be the most effective.