Research Reports from the Department of Operations
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
1-1-1981
Abstract
This study presents a better scheduling policy for processing payroll adjustments to meet specified due dates at the Navy Finance Center in the Retired Pay Department. A better schedule is found by examining alternative scheduling algorithms and simulating the workflow under different operating rules. The objective is to minimize the maximum lateness of cases. Due dates, mean processing times, and interarrival times are known and specified. Cases are independent, priority-weighted, and arrive intermittently. It is assumed that cases are not interrupted while in process and that each clerk can process only one case at a time. Presently, a clerk works on priority cases and reject cases first, then randomly selects from a variety of cases those which seem very late, easy to fix, or have a high probability of creating problems if not adjusted soon. Scheduling literature suggested that earliest due date (EDD) scheduling would reduce the number of very late cases. Schedules for a sample workload, using both EDD and present policies, showed that the same number of cases were completed, although the distribution of late cases varied. Under the current scheduling policies, 8% of all the cases were on time, 52% were one month late, and 38% were two months late. Under EDD scheduling, no cases were done on time, 74% were one month late, and 24% were two months old. Simulation was used to see how much benefit a schedule change could yield. Both the present and proposed models were run under varying traffic conditions. The proposed schedule, which incorporated EDD scheduling for all but priority cases, exhibited a 90% reduction in the total number of cases over a 15-month period that were over 60 days late. However, this reduction in late cases was accompanied by a 64% reduction in the number of cases processed within 30 days. Seventy-five percent (75%) of all cases processed were one month old. Earliest due date scheduling also resulted in a 10% reduction in the queue length over the 15-month period.
Keywords
Operations research, Military research, Payrolls--Computer programs, Payrolls--Management, Payrolls--Automation, Scheduling--Mathematical models, Simulation methods, Algorithms, United States--Navy--Finance
Publication Title
Thesis/Technical Memorandums from the Department of Operations, School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
Issue
Technical memorandum no. 486 ; Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science.
Rights
This work is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded for personal or academic use
Recommended Citation
Foster, Michele Diane, "A Scheduling Problem in Retired Payroll Processing at the Navy Finance Center" (1981). Research Reports from the Department of Operations. 498.
https://commons.case.edu/wsom-ops-reports/498