Class scheduling algorithms for Navy training schools

The problem of developing good schedules for Navy C‐Schools has been modeled as a combinatorial optimization problem. The only complicating feature of the problem is that classes must be grouped together into sequences known as pipelines. An ideal schedule will have all classes in a pipeline scheduled in consecutive weeks. The objective is to eliminate the nonproductive time spent by sailors at C‐Schools who are waiting for the next class in a pipeline. In this investigation an implicit enumeration procedure for this problem was developed. The key component of our algorithm is a specialized greedy algorithm which is used to obtain a good initial incumbent. Often this initial incumbent is either an optimal schedule or a near optimal schedule. In an empirical analysis with the only other competing software system, our greedy heuristic found equivalent or better solutions in substantially less computer time. This greedy heuristic was extended and modified for the A‐School scheduling problem and was found to be superior to its only competitor. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 45: 533–551, 1998