I am working in Larsen Toubro Limited HO division dept corporate Accounts.

The corporate division

provides various support services to the entire Larsen Toubro group one of which is Lease operation. Lease
operation team is responsible processing lease agreement for residential accommodation for employee &
support staff. Being the nature of the business in which Larsen Toubro thrive, that is construction every
construction site requires accommodation depending on the project size the number of accommodations
can be higher.

The Lease operation team on an average processes 200 claims per day including new lease, Renewal of
existing lease & Close/settled (closure). Meeting the SLA is crucial as the team deals with external parties
(Landlords). Dealy in processing the lease payment/Deposit can have a negative impact on the company
image.

The Assignment problem (Hungarian) can be very much applicable for efficient meeting the SLA. The time
taken for each member of the team to process each type of claim can be easily monitored through Portal.
To explain further I have share below example and working.

Introduction to Assignment

The assignment problem, a fundamental concept in operation research, provides a powerful tool for
optimizing the allocation of resources to tasks. In scenarios where one-to-one matching is required, this
approach can significantly improve efficiency and minimize overall completion time. This essay explores the
application of the assignment problem in claim processing, using a practical example to illustrate its
benefits.

The core objective of the assignment problem is to assign a set of tasks to a set of resources (workers) in a
way that minimizes the total cost associated with the pairings. In claim processing, the tasks represent
individual claims, and the resources are the claim processors. The cost, in this context, translates to the
processing time per claim for each worker-claim combination. By strategically assigning claims to
processors with the fastest processing times, the total workload is minimized, leading to faster overall claim
resolution.

Application in Lease operation

Consider a lease operation department with three workers, Employee 1, 2, and 3, and three type of
agreement (New, Renewal and Close/settled). Historical data provides insights into the average processing
time for each worker on each claim, as shown in the table below:

Employee
Employee 2 Employee 3
Lease Type 1
(Minutes) (Minutes)
(Minutes)
New 60 50 40
Renewal 40 45 55
Close/settled (Minutes) 55 70 60

To leverage the assignment problem, we first construct a cost matrix. Each cell in this matrix represents the
processing time for a specific worker assigned to a particular claim. Filling the matrix with the data from the
table, we get:

Employee Employee Employee

Lease Type 1 2 3
(Minutes) (Minutes) (Minutes)
New 60 50 40
Renewal 40 45 55
Close/settled (Minutes) 55 70 60
Step 1 & 2
The minimum time element in rows 1, 2 and 3 is 40, 40 and 55, respectively. Subtract these elements from
all elements in their respective row. The reduced time matrix is shown in Table.

Step 1

Close/settled
Team Member New Renewal
(Minutes)
Employee 1 20 10 0
Employee 2 0 5 15
Employee 3 0 15 5

Step 2

Close/settled
Team Member New Renewal
(Minutes)
Employee 1 20 5 0
Employee 2 0 0 15
Employee 3 0 10 5

Step 3
Examine all the rows starting from the first, one-by-one, until a row containing single zero
element is found. In Table Step 2 rows 1 and 3 have only one zero in the cells (Employee 3, New) and
(Close/settled, Employee 1), respectively. Make an assignment in these cells and cross off all zero elements
in the assigned column as shown in Table below.

Close/settled
Team Member New Renewal
(Minutes)
Employee 1 20 5 0
Employee 2 0 0 15
Employee 3 0 10 5

Close/settled
Team Member New Renewal
(Minutes)
Employee 1 20 5 0
Employee 2 0 0 15
Employee 3 0 10 5

Now examine each column starting from Employee 1 in Table step 3. There is one zero in Renewal in the
cell
(Employee 2, Renewal). Make an assignment in this cell as shown in Table above.
(c) Since the number of assignments (= 3) equals the number of rows (= 3), the optimal solution is
obtained.

The pattern of assignments among programmers and programmes with their respective time (in minutes)
is given below:

Team Time
Member Lease type (Minutes)
1 Close/settled 40
2 Renewal 45
3 New 55
 Total time 140

This optimized assignment results in a total processing time of 140 minutes, significantly lower than the
potential time if assignments were made randomly.

The benefits of the assignment problem extend beyond efficient allocation. It provides a structured
approach to workload distribution, ensuring fairness and preventing potential bottlenecks. By identifying
worker-claim combinations with the fastest processing times, the model prioritizes efficient resource
utilization.

It's important to acknowledge the limitations of this example. In real-world scenarios, additional factors like
worker skill sets, claim urgency, and break schedules need to be considered.

In conclusion, the assignment problem offers a valuable tool for optimizing workload distribution in claim
processing environments. By minimizing the total processing time and ensuring fair resource allocation, this
approach can significantly improve efficiency and expedite claim resolution.