A Lagrangian-based heuristic for large-scale set covering problems

We present a new Lagrangian-based heuristic for solving large-scale set-covering problems arising from crew-scheduling at the Italian Railways (Ferrovie dello Stato). Our heuristic obtained impressive results when compared to state-of-the-art codes on a test-bed provided by the company, which includes instances with sizes ranging from 50,000 variables and 500 constraints to 1,000,000 variables and 5000 constraints. © 1998 The Mathematical Programming Society, Inc. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

[1]  Ira Gershkoff,et al.  Optimizing Flight Crew Schedules , 1989 .

[2]  J. Beasley.  A lagrangian heuristic for set‐covering problems , 1990 .

[3]  M. Resende,et al.  A probabilistic heuristic for a computationally difficult set covering problem , 1989 .

[4]  J. Beasley,et al.  A genetic algorithm for the set covering problem , 1996 .

[5]  Eric Gelman,et al.  Recent Advances in Crew-Pairing Optimization at American Airlines , 1991 .

[6]  Andrew C. Ho,et al.  Set covering algorithms using cutting planes, heuristics, and subgradient optimization: A computational study , 1980 .

[7]  J F Barutt,et al.  AIRLINE CREW SCHEDULING : SUPERCOMPUTERS AND ALGORITHMS , 1990 .

[8]  Jeremey Schneider,et al.  Airline Crew Scheduling: Supercomputers and Algorithms , 1996, Applications on Advanced Architecture Computers.

[9]  M. Fisher,et al.  Optimal solution of set covering/partitioning problems using dual heuristics , 1990 .

[10]  Francis J. Vasko,et al.  An efficient heuristic for large set covering problems , 1984 .

[11]  Egon Balas,et al.  A Dynamic Subgradient-Based Branch-and-Bound Procedure for Set Covering , 1992, Oper. Res..

[12]  M. Padberg,et al.  Solving airline crew scheduling problems by branch-and-cut , 1993 .

[13]  M. Minoux,et al.  A new approach for crew pairing problems by column generation with an application to air transportation , 1988 .

[14]  Vasek Chvátal,et al.  A Greedy Heuristic for the Set-Covering Problem , 1979, Math. Oper. Res..