We are attempting to perform a random sort (re-ordering) of employee
assignments where a limited number of employees may not be able to perform
certain assignments. We would like some suggestions on how to successfully
perform such a random sort while also assuring that those with restrictions
are not given a restricted assignment. Here is some further information:

FIRST, each employee is assigned to one line of the weekly schedule and that
line might include serveral different assignments during the day. At the
end of the week, the employees are randomly rotated in order to provide them
with a new set of assignments for the next week. The rotation prevents
single-assignment burnout and assures that no one monopolizes the favored
assignments.

SECOND, some employees cannot perform certain assignments. As such, they
cannot be assigned a line on the weekly schedule that contains any
assignment they cannot perform. Obviously, this restricts the possible
lines they can be assigned to, to a subset of the total lines to be staffed.

THIRD, each line can have any combination of about a dozen possible
assignments, but will usually only include 4 or 5 of the possible dozen
assignment types. The schedule provides lines for about 50 employees,
including cells to indicate the restrictions for any given employee (cell
marked for the restricted area).

Somehow, we need to identify lines to which a given employee cannot be
assigned, randomly assign that employee to one of the remaining lines, and
then remove that line from the pool of possible line assignments for
remaining unassigned employees. This approach focuses on assigning
employees to a diminishing pool of line assignments, but you could
alternatively approach the problem by assigning lines to a diminishing pool
of employees.

We would appreciate any thoughts on how to efficiently accomplish this
random rotation so that each employee is assured a fair chance to be
assigned to any of the lines on the schedule for which they qualify.

Hi,

Why don't you show us a sample of your data.

--
If this helps, please click the Yes button.

Cheers,
Shane Devenshire


"Blue Max" wrote:

We are attempting to perform a random sort (re-ordering) of employee
assignments where a limited number of employees may not be able to perform
certain assignments. We would like some suggestions on how to successfully
perform such a random sort while also assuring that those with restrictions
are not given a restricted assignment. Here is some further information:

FIRST, each employee is assigned to one line of the weekly schedule and that
line might include serveral different assignments during the day. At the
end of the week, the employees are randomly rotated in order to provide them
with a new set of assignments for the next week. The rotation prevents
single-assignment burnout and assures that no one monopolizes the favored
assignments.

SECOND, some employees cannot perform certain assignments. As such, they
cannot be assigned a line on the weekly schedule that contains any
assignment they cannot perform. Obviously, this restricts the possible
lines they can be assigned to, to a subset of the total lines to be staffed.

THIRD, each line can have any combination of about a dozen possible
assignments, but will usually only include 4 or 5 of the possible dozen
assignment types. The schedule provides lines for about 50 employees,
including cells to indicate the restrictions for any given employee (cell
marked for the restricted area).

Somehow, we need to identify lines to which a given employee cannot be
assigned, randomly assign that employee to one of the remaining lines, and
then remove that line from the pool of possible line assignments for
remaining unassigned employees. This approach focuses on assigning
employees to a diminishing pool of line assignments, but you could
alternatively approach the problem by assigning lines to a diminishing pool
of employees.

We would appreciate any thoughts on how to efficiently accomplish this
random rotation so that each employee is assured a fair chance to be
assigned to any of the lines on the schedule for which they qualify.

Hello Shane,

Here is a simplified example (see attachment), as you requested. At the end
of the week, we want to randomly rotate the employee or volunteer
assignments with the press of a single button. However, some volunteers
have restrictions, as to what work they can do, so cannot be assigned to
lines that include work assignments that conflict with their limitations or
restrictions.

Note that each volunteer has a 'Restriction' grid, to the right of their
name, where the employer can note their limitations or restrictions. The
'Restriction' column headings are also colored to match the work assignments
as portrayed in the legend. Colored restrictions are indicated by an
asterisk in the appropriate 'Restriction' cell. The 'Hour' column
restriction indicates a time limitation by when a volunteer must be excused
from their assignments. The 'Other' column restriction is for miscellaneous
other considerations.

The fundamental problem relates to randomly sorting the volunteers, while
making sure that no volunteer is assigned to a line that conflicts with
their limitations or restrictions. A conflict occurs when their line
assignment includes an assignment color, in the 'Hourly Assignment' schedule
section, to the right, that matches a restricted color (marked by an
asterisk) in the 'Restrictions' section. In the example attachment above,
you will note that no one has any conflicts, except 'Volunteer 12' on line
12 who has a conflict with their restriction on 'Cooking'. The latter
conflict is an example of the situation that needs to be avoided during the
random sort.

Hope this helps.

Richard







******************
"Shane Devenshire" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Why don't you show us a sample of your data.

--
If this helps, please click the Yes button.

Cheers,
Shane Devenshire


"Blue Max" wrote:

We are attempting to perform a random sort (re-ordering) of employee
assignments where a limited number of employees may not be able to
perform
certain assignments. We would like some suggestions on how to
successfully
perform such a random sort while also assuring that those with
restrictions
are not given a restricted assignment. Here is some further information:

FIRST, each employee is assigned to one line of the weekly schedule and
that
line might include serveral different assignments during the day. At the
end of the week, the employees are randomly rotated in order to provide
them
with a new set of assignments for the next week. The rotation prevents
single-assignment burnout and assures that no one monopolizes the favored
assignments.

SECOND, some employees cannot perform certain assignments. As such, they
cannot be assigned a line on the weekly schedule that contains any
assignment they cannot perform. Obviously, this restricts the possible
lines they can be assigned to, to a subset of the total lines to be
staffed.

THIRD, each line can have any combination of about a dozen possible
assignments, but will usually only include 4 or 5 of the possible dozen
assignment types. The schedule provides lines for about 50 employees,
including cells to indicate the restrictions for any given employee (cell
marked for the restricted area).

Somehow, we need to identify lines to which a given employee cannot be
assigned, randomly assign that employee to one of the remaining lines,
and
then remove that line from the pool of possible line assignments for
remaining unassigned employees. This approach focuses on assigning
employees to a diminishing pool of line assignments, but you could
alternatively approach the problem by assigning lines to a diminishing
pool
of employees.

We would appreciate any thoughts on how to efficiently accomplish this
random rotation so that each employee is assured a fair chance to be
assigned to any of the lines on the schedule for which they qualify.