A literature-based assessment of human factors in shop scheduling problems

Abstract

Human resource allocation turns out to be a critical process inside production and service companies not only for managers and directors, but also for employees and operators. Classical scheduling theories establish that all employees have the same characteristics, behavior and productivity rates. From the workforce scheduling perspective, this results unreal and then unpractical. Indeed, it is known that each human being has different characteristics and therefore, different skills. All managers and directors should consider human factors inside the factories, in order to encourage appropriate work conditions, and so, enhance productivity levels. In addition, companies must be aligned with social responsibility regulations related to employee well-being, mental health and work environment. In order to understand the extend in which current academic literature has approached these issues, this paper systematically reviews academic literature on shop scheduling problems with human factors in order to identify quantitative methods and techniques used for represent the exposed problem. Findings and future research opportunities are drawn.