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Scheduling and route optimisation for labour cost reduction in facility custodial maintenance

Scheduling and route optimisation for labour cost reduction in facility custodial maintenance PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present an optimised scheduling system for facility mangers and custodians. Experience-driven systems currently in use can result in poor ratings for facility maintenance metrics such as overtime hours, utilisation difference and labour costs.Design/methodology/approachThe cleaning schedule and custodian work assignments defined by the manager are simulated for the entire year. Clustering and routing algorithms assign work to custodians equally and find optimal cleaning routes. The manager may use the resulting feedback to iteratively find a suitable schedule which lowers costs.FindingsData were collected at a large university building in consultation with facility management and custodians. Results indicate a significant reduction in overtime hours, improvement in utilisation difference and a lowering of labour costs.Research limitations/implicationsThe methodology was validated at a single building in the facility. Variable selection and optimisation model design will benefit from a comprehensive case study which spans the entire facility.Practical implicationsThe methodology may easily be integrated with existing facility maintenance software, adding to it features such as a manager scheduling interface with feedback on critical cleaning metrics and a custodian user interface which highlights room visitation routes and task times.Originality/valueThis study acts on the need for facility cleaning labour cost management highlighted in literature. It achieves its goals using a novel combination of scheduling, simulation and optimisation. It is designed to empower key decision-makers, i.e. facility managers and custodians, with better information. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Facilities Management Emerald Publishing

Scheduling and route optimisation for labour cost reduction in facility custodial maintenance

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
1472-5967
DOI
10.1108/JFM-11-2016-0048
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present an optimised scheduling system for facility mangers and custodians. Experience-driven systems currently in use can result in poor ratings for facility maintenance metrics such as overtime hours, utilisation difference and labour costs.Design/methodology/approachThe cleaning schedule and custodian work assignments defined by the manager are simulated for the entire year. Clustering and routing algorithms assign work to custodians equally and find optimal cleaning routes. The manager may use the resulting feedback to iteratively find a suitable schedule which lowers costs.FindingsData were collected at a large university building in consultation with facility management and custodians. Results indicate a significant reduction in overtime hours, improvement in utilisation difference and a lowering of labour costs.Research limitations/implicationsThe methodology was validated at a single building in the facility. Variable selection and optimisation model design will benefit from a comprehensive case study which spans the entire facility.Practical implicationsThe methodology may easily be integrated with existing facility maintenance software, adding to it features such as a manager scheduling interface with feedback on critical cleaning metrics and a custodian user interface which highlights room visitation routes and task times.Originality/valueThis study acts on the need for facility cleaning labour cost management highlighted in literature. It achieves its goals using a novel combination of scheduling, simulation and optimisation. It is designed to empower key decision-makers, i.e. facility managers and custodians, with better information.

Journal

Journal of Facilities Management – Emerald Publishing

Published: May 15, 2017

References

  • Applications of simulation in maintenance research
  • Assessing the demand for building maintenance in a major hospital complex