EE Schedule
Home Improvement Store (ACME)
Employee
Scheduling Problem
Background Information
Acme Home Improvements, Inc. was founded in 1982 in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. By 2007 the company had 125 stores along the US East Coast from Florida to Maine. Its annual sales are currently $5,400,000,000 with $280,000,000 net income. The average store is about 100,000 square feet with an additional 10,000 square feet of outside garden center. The stores typically carry 40,000 different products from 5,000 vendors worldwide. Major US competitors include Ace, Home Depot, Lowe's and TruValue.
In the interest of seeking greater profits, Acme has determined to follow Home Depot and other competitors to Canada and Mexico. In the latter, it has established, in accordance with Mexican law, a joint venture with local interests, known as Acme Home Improvements de México, SA de CV. There are five major product groups within each Acme store: plumbing and electrical supplies, building materials, hardware and tools, seasonal and garden/yard items, and paint, flooring and wall coverings.
Each store has a store manager, assistant store manager, bookkeeper, an information systems manager and an assistant, a manager for each of the five major product groups, customer service employees on the store floor to assist customers with their purchases, cashiers, receiving/stocking employees, and maintenance/janitorial employees.
Employee Assignment Schedule
To the extent permitted by local law, each Acme Home Improvements store, including AMC, is open from 7 am - 11 pm every day. AMC planners have provided the following table, which identifies the minimum number of customer service employees needed on the floor each hour of the day:
Time Period
Minimum number of employees
7 am - 8 am
15
8 am - 9 am
15
9 am - 10 am
15
10 am - 11 am
20
11 am - 12 pm
20
12 pm - 1 pm
20
1 pm - 2 pm
20
2 pm - 3 pm
20
3 pm - 4 pm
25
4 pm - 5 pm
25
5
Employee
Scheduling Problem
Background Information
Acme Home Improvements, Inc. was founded in 1982 in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. By 2007 the company had 125 stores along the US East Coast from Florida to Maine. Its annual sales are currently $5,400,000,000 with $280,000,000 net income. The average store is about 100,000 square feet with an additional 10,000 square feet of outside garden center. The stores typically carry 40,000 different products from 5,000 vendors worldwide. Major US competitors include Ace, Home Depot, Lowe's and TruValue.
In the interest of seeking greater profits, Acme has determined to follow Home Depot and other competitors to Canada and Mexico. In the latter, it has established, in accordance with Mexican law, a joint venture with local interests, known as Acme Home Improvements de México, SA de CV. There are five major product groups within each Acme store: plumbing and electrical supplies, building materials, hardware and tools, seasonal and garden/yard items, and paint, flooring and wall coverings.
Each store has a store manager, assistant store manager, bookkeeper, an information systems manager and an assistant, a manager for each of the five major product groups, customer service employees on the store floor to assist customers with their purchases, cashiers, receiving/stocking employees, and maintenance/janitorial employees.
Employee Assignment Schedule
To the extent permitted by local law, each Acme Home Improvements store, including AMC, is open from 7 am - 11 pm every day. AMC planners have provided the following table, which identifies the minimum number of customer service employees needed on the floor each hour of the day:
Time Period
Minimum number of employees
7 am - 8 am
15
8 am - 9 am
15
9 am - 10 am
15
10 am - 11 am
20
11 am - 12 pm
20
12 pm - 1 pm
20
1 pm - 2 pm
20
2 pm - 3 pm
20
3 pm - 4 pm
25
4 pm - 5 pm
25
5