Workforce Scheduling in Administrative Operations: A Case Study in Accounting

• Published date: 01 June 2019
• Date: 01 June 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1491

Workforce Scheduling in Administrative

Operations: A Case Study in Accounting

Douglas M. Miranda*

Federal University of Minas Gerais

Abstract

This paper considers a case study of dynamic job scheduling

applied to a real accounting operation. Tasks are assigned

to agents over a time horizon minimizing the number of

delays and overtime while maximizing the number of antici-

pated tasks. The solution respects a set of constraints such

as agent skills, due time and precedence requirements. It

also accounts for uncertainties by capturing changes in the

environment such as new orders, changes in the agents’

availability and unexpected problems while performing a

task. The manager is given a chance to f‌irst simulate and

then deploy corrective actions to mitigate the impact of

changes in the environment. Two heuristics are developed

and the results show a signif‌icant performance improvement

in the operation. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: combinatorial optimization, workforce schedul-

ing, administrative operations, accounting, heuristics

Résumé

Dans le présent article, nous examinons une étude de cas de

la planif‌ication dynamique des tâches appliquée à une véri-

table opération comptable. Les tâches sont assignées aux

agents sur un horizon temporel qui minimise le nombre de

retards et d’heures supplémentaires tout en maximisant le

nombre de tâches prévues. La solution respecte un ensemble

de contraintes telles que les compétences des agents, le

temps nécessaire et les exigences de priorité. Il tient

également compte des incertitudes en prenant en compte

les changements dans l’environnement tels que les nouvelles

commandes, les changements dans la disponibilité des

agents et les problèmes inattendus dans l’exécution d’une

tâche. Le gestionnaire a la chance de simuler d’abord la

tâche et de déployer ensuite des mesures correctives pour

atténuer l’impact des changements dans l’environnement.

Deux heuristiques sont développées et les résultats montrent

une amélioration considérable des performances de

l’opération. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John

Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mots-clés: optimisation combinatoire,planif‌ication des

effectifs,opérations administratives,comptabilité,

heuristique

Introduction

The importance and complexity of scheduling and opti-

mization problems have encouraged the development of

many methods and tools over the last decades. Traditional

methods do not represent properly the dynamics of real ap-

plications requiring, for instance, that orders and resources

are known in advance. In many situations, this information

is not available or it changes overtime reducing the quality

of the solutions obtained by such models. It makes desired

the development of approaches that are able to deal with

changes in real time, such as new orders that may arrive at

any time.

Concerning administrative operations, organizations are

under increasing pressure to identify means to match the im-

provement that has been made in manufacturing operations.

Despite the industry of the application (manufacturing or

service), the scheduling approach is affected by the features

of the specif‌ic processes it is applied to. Both manufacturing

and service companies usually have back-off‌ice operations

performing administrative tasks in areas such as accounting,

procurement, accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing,

credit analysis, master-data management, human resources,

and others. Due to the fact that in many situations most of

the employees work in these areas and considering this envi-

ronment can be highly dynamic, diverse, and involve a huge

volume of transactions, f‌inding solutions able to manage

*

Please address correspondence to: Douglas Moura Miranda, PhD, Federal

University of Minas Gerais 6627, Antônio Carlos Avenue, Belo Horizonte,

Brazil. Email: douglas.miranda@gmail.com

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration

36: 273–287 (2019)

Published online 9 May 2018 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1491

Can J Adm Sci

36(2), 273–287 (2019)Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 273