The bees algorithm for workload balancing in examination job assignment

In this paper, an integer quadratic programming model is proposed for workload balancing in the examination job assignment problem. The proposed model can be classified as part of the 'Generalised Assignment Problem' or GAP, which is known as an NP-hard problem. To solve the proposed model, a relatively new member of the swarm intelligence family known as the Bees Algorithm (BA) is used. The proposed mathematical model is also solved for nine sets of randomly generated test problems with a very well-known classical optimiser (CPLEX 10.1-MIQP) to present the competitive performance of the BA algorithm. The obtained results show that the proposed BA algorithm is able to generate better solutions with much shorter computational times. [Received 07 February 2008; Revised 06 May 2008; Accepted 19 December 2008]