The manpower supply planning and shift setting for mass rapid transit carriage maintenance in short-term operations

An effective carriage maintenance plan cannot only reduce the mass rapid transit system operating costs, but is also directly related to its safety and schedule punctuality. Traditionally, the arrangement of the carriage maintenance manpower supply has been based on staff experience, and has been performed manually following simple rules. This is not only time-consuming but often ineffective. Therefore, in this research, we incorporate flexible management strategies, different combinations of principles, and the related operating constraints, to develop a basic carriage maintenance manpower supply plan model. Further-more, we construct an integrated model by modifying the basic model, which can help an MRT plant more effectively manage its maintenance manpower. To evaluate the models in practice, a case study using real operation data from a Taiwan MRT maintenance facility is performed, with the assistance of C computer programs and a mathematical programming solver. The preliminary results are good, showing that the models could be useful for planning short-term carriage maintenance manpower supply.