Vehicle routing and crew scheduling for metropolitan mail distribution at Australia Post

This paper presents a new multi-depot combined vehicle and crew scheduling algorithm, and uses it, in conjunction with a heuristic vehicle routing algorithm, to solve the intra-city mail distribution problem faced by Australia Post. First we describe the Australia Post mail distribution problem and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of operational research 2006-08, Vol.173 (1), p.133-150
Main Authors: Hollis, B.L., Forbes, M.A., Douglas, B.E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Applied sciences
Crew scheduling
Exact sciences and technology
Flows in networks. Combinatorial problems
Integer programming
Motor vehicle fleets
Operational research and scientific management
Operational research. Management science
Operations research
Postal & delivery services
Routing
Scheduling
Scheduling algorithms
Studies
Vehicle routing
Vehicle scheduling
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Summary:This paper presents a new multi-depot combined vehicle and crew scheduling algorithm, and uses it, in conjunction with a heuristic vehicle routing algorithm, to solve the intra-city mail distribution problem faced by Australia Post. First we describe the Australia Post mail distribution problem and outline the heuristic vehicle routing algorithm used to find vehicle routes. We present a new multi-depot combined vehicle and crew scheduling algorithm based on set covering with column generation. The paper concludes with a computational investigation examining the affect of different types of vehicle routing solutions on the vehicle and crew scheduling solution, comparing the different levels of integration possible with the new vehicle and crew scheduling algorithm and comparing the results of sequential versus simultaneous vehicle and crew scheduling, using real life data for Australia Post distribution networks.
ISSN:0377-2217
1872-6860
DOI:10.1016/j.ejor.2005.01.005