The Optimisation Community Melbourne: Powered by Gurobi and Sponsored by OPTIMA

• Large organisations often have technical teams comprising hundreds of workers who need to be assigned to hundreds of thousands of tasks throughout the year. The assignment of these tasks must consider various restrictions, such as training levels and locations, while balancing costs including reallocation, upskilling, and overtime.
• Mathematical models can be defined to handle all these factors simultaneously. However, this approach quickly becomes intractable for large companies like Telstra, with the number of decision variables rapidly exceeding billions. In this talk, we will explore the solution approach chosen by Endgame Analytics, which breaks down Telstra’s workforce management problem into independent steps, each solved using MIP models. This method provides solutions that aid in strategic decision-making regarding hiring, upskilling, reallocation, and overtime allowance for Telstra’s technician team.

Presented by: Nicolau Andres-Thio | Consultant | Endgame Analytics & OPTIMA Associate Investigator

• Recent research applying Primal-Dual Hybrid Gradient (PDHG) methods to linear programming has shown that first-order methods can be a useful part of the mathematical programming toolbox. These algorithms also lend themselves to GPU-based implementations, raising the prospect of exploiting the current surge in hardware development for optimisation applications.
• This session will focus on the current state of Gurobi’s GPU capabilities and explore future directions for leveraging GPUs in optimisation. Attendees will gain insights into how GPU technology can enhance the performance of Gurobi’s solver and what advancements are on the horizon.

Presented by: Simon Bowly | Senior Developer | Gurobi