Scheduling Security Personnel for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games

The Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit (V2010-ISU) ensured security during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. Over six thousand Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers provided round-the-clock security for 30 venues and 27 functions. The V2010-ISU needed to develop shift schedules for the RCMP officers so that not only were hourly security requirements met, but work shifts needed to satisfy a variety of scheduling constraints (shift lengths, start times, rest periods, etc.). As the number of personnel that were required for each hour at each venue was anticipated to change, V2010-ISU planners required an automated means of generating efficient schedules quickly. This paper details the mathematical programming model which formed the basis of a software tool that was developed to assist security planners in personnel scheduling. It provides a novel mathematical formulation for the technique of applying integer programming to scheduling problems, in the context of an important practical application.