Optimizing Helicopter Transport of Oil Rig Crews at Petrobras
Petrobras carries over 1900 workers daily by helicopter to about 80 offshore oil platforms. This operation is among the largest worldwide for civilian helicopters. We present a flight scheduling system designed to improve service and minimize cost. Achievements comprise strict enforcement of safety guidelines, reductions of 18% in number of offshore landings, 8% in total flight time, and 14% in flight costs. The optimization model, involving routing and packing, is solved by column generation.