Method for resource assignment and scheduling

US5467268A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company · US

Inventors

• Elizabeth M. Sisley · Woodbury, US
• John Collins · Hudson, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 25, 1994
• Grant date: Nov 14, 1995
• Expiry date: Feb 25, 2014

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q10/1097
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A system and method for assigning and scheduling resource requests to resource providers use a modified "best-first" search technique that combines optimization, artificial intelligence, and constraint-processing to arrive at near-optimal assignment and scheduling solutions. In response to changes in a dynamic resource environment, potential changes to an existing assignment set are evaluated in a search for a better solution. New calls are assigned and scheduled as they are received, and the assignment set is readjusted as the field service environment changes, resulting in global optimization. Each search operation is in response to either an incremental change to the assignment set such as adding a new resource request, removing a pending resource request, reassigning a pending resource request, or to a request for further evaluation. Thus, the search technique assumes that the existing assignment set is already optimized, and limits the task only to evaluating the effects of the incremental change. In addition, each search operation produces a complete assignment and scheduling solution. Consequently, the search can be terminated to accept the best solution generated so far, ma…