Abstract
- This research focuses on the development of a mathematical model to address the daily personnel scheduling of plasma collection centers with varying levels of cross-trained employees. Given the public service aspect of donating plasma and saving lives, the forecasted and growing demand of plasma must be met to ensure there is enough supply to manufacture the life-saving therapies for the patients. Typically, plasma center managers require 8+ hours to complete the formulation of a weekly personnel schedule which is not easily adjusted due to the complexity of hard copy calculations and personnel job qualifications (District Operations Manager, 2017). Centers’ strict federally regulated constraints along with a fluctuating supply of donors motivate new scheduling challenges. Scheduling a sufficient amount of employees for each shift for each day along with the time-on-task assignment over a 6-day operation while ensuring all employees scheduled are qualified to perform that task creates a distinct and innovative model in personnel scheduling. We introduce an integer linear programming model that incorporates staffing cost, industry-specific federal regulations, donor supply, employee availability, and a cross-trained workforce to reduce staffing cost in an efficient manner.