Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This work addresses the problem of assigning periodic tasks to workers in a balanced way, i.e., so that each worker performs every task with the same frequency over the long term. The input consists of a list of tasks to be repeated weekly at fixed times and a number of indistinguishable workers. In the basic version, the sole constraint is that no worker performs two tasks simultaneously. In the extended version, additional constraints can be introduced, such as a limit on the total number of working hours per week. Regarding the basic version, a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a balanced assignment is established. This condition can be verified in polynomial time. For the extended version, it is demonstrated that whenever a balanced assignment exists, a periodic balanced assignment exists as well, with a tighter bound on the period for the basic version.
Source: Annals of Operations Research
Authors: Héloïse Gachet, Frédéric Meunier
Language: English
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4400480658