<![CDATA[This study presents an integrated predictive–prescriptive framework for improving workforce management in the garment industry by combining machine learning classification with linear programming optimization. Using a publicly available dataset of 1,197 production records, productivity levels were categorized into low, medium, and high classes. Data preprocessing included handling missing values, one-hot encoding of categorical variables, and class balancing using SMOTE. Eleven classification algorithms were evaluated, with LightGBM achieving the highest performance (accuracy 78.3%, weighted F1-score 78.3%, Cohen’s Kappa 63.4%) after hyperparameter tuning via Bayesian Optimization. The optimized model’s predictions were then incorporated into a linear programming model, implemented with PuLP, to maximize the allocation of high-productivity workers across production departments under capacity constraints. The results yielded an allocation plan assigning 117 high-productivity workers, significantly enhancing potential operational efficiency. The novelty of this work lies in integrating an optimized ensemble learning model with mathematical programming for end-to-end productivity classification and resource allocation, a combination rarely explored in labor-intensive manufacturing contexts. This framework offers a scalable decision-support tool for data-driven workforce planning and could be adapted to other manufacturing domains with similar operational structures. ]]>
