On the optimal safe allocation and scheduling of a work force in a toxic substance environment

An approach using linear programming to model and to solve the problem of safe allocation and scheduling of a manufacturing work force in a toxic substance environment is presented. The firm´s objective is to maximize utilization of the work force, without violating any OSHA (US Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standards. The basic assumption is that engineering controls are either not practical or too costly, and that only managerial controls, in this case the reduction of minimization of exposure time, is possible. A variety of operational situation are analyzed to illustrate the use of the modeling approach, the use of a standard user-friendly package, and sample results. The illustrative examples demonstrate the feasibility of modifying standard work scheduling models to include toxic substance control constraints so as to yield optimal safe policies for the given case