Authors:
Trudy Lam
1
;
Vicky Mak-Hau
1
and
Kristan Pash
2
Affiliations:
1
School of Information Technology, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Geelong, Australia
;
2
Defence Science and Technology Group, Department of Defence, Fishermans Bend, Australia
Keyword(s):
Scheduling, Uncertainty, Simulation, Optimisation.
Abstract:
In this paper, we revisit a previously studied Defence course scheduling problem where trainees are allocated to course sessions, the Simultaneous Sequencing and Allocation Problem. The courses have a non-linear prerequisite structure, each course has a number of sessions, and each session has a class size limit. The uncertainty in the planning is due to a historical pass-rate associated with each course, and a trainee will not be able to proceed once s/he fails a course. We develop a simulation-based three-stage solution algorithm that optimises the scheduling for each scenario using integer programming. The way pass-rates are handled is different from previous approaches, and because of this, we are able to provide decision-makers with better insights on best-case, average-case, and worst-case outcomes.