Papers
CTI's Approach To Rostering (2008): TPAC Rostering is CTI's optimizing software component for solving the rostering problem. It allocates skill vacancies on activities to staff members, considering the cost of each allocation, and the cost and fairness of the overall roster, and supporting staff preferences and recency (which is a qualification to do a task depending on the time between now and the last time that task was performed) considerations. Here we give details as to how this is done. Read more...
Scalable Crew Management System Supports Rapid Expansion of Low Cost Carriers (AGIFORS 2008): Many Low Cost Carriers are facing the challenge of rapid expansion and increasing complexity of their operations. For example international services and overseas crew bases are added to existing domestic operations. These challenges are immense for those people within the airline entrusted with making all facets of the change happen. In the case of crew management, existing systems - installed when the operation was small and simple - are often unscalable and unable to support complex operations.
Airlines confronted with this rapid expansion often have two competing objectives with regard to crew management. They want a system that can cope with future complexity and expansion, without the capital cost and timescale traditionally associated with large airline crew management systems.
This paper examines the key issues and presents a case study based on a recent project success at Jet Airways. Read more...
Functional Programming in C-Rules (ICFP 07): At its core, the C-Rules business rules system provides a functional expression language which affords users both power and flexibility when formulating rules. In this paper we highlight some of the benefits of basing our rule system on features such as: higher-order functions, referential transparency, and static, polymorphic typing. We also outline some of our experiences in using Haskell to build an efficient compiler for the core language. (ACM portal reference)
Developments In Recovery Optimization (2007): Constraint Technologies has been working on the schedule and crew recovery problem for over 5 years. This paper examines some of the important issues in the development of a recovery optimization component and its application to a range of different airlines with different types of problem. These include justification, philosophy of operation, integration with crew systems and crew recovery, and software architecture. Read more...
Impact of type of rostering on crew requirements: This paper describes the advantages and disadvantages of different rostering types. It is intended as a basis for recommendations for new crew agreements or changes to existing crew agreements. Read more...
Innovations in Recovery Optimization (2005): Constraint Technologies has been working in the transportation and logistics industry for over 10 years building and developing operations control and crewing solutions. A recent addition to this portfolio is Recovery Optimization, which is the process of recovering from schedule disruptions. This technology has been applied to airline operations. Read more...
Airline Optimization Problems: Constraint Technologies provides planning and decision support systems to industry. In particular, we are very active in the airline industry. Running a large airline requires the ability to solve large and challenging optimization problems. Read more...