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A heuristic algorithm based on multi-assignment procedures for nurse scheduling

Author

Listed:
  • Ademir Constantino
  • Dario Landa-Silva
  • Everton Melo
  • Candido Mendonça
  • Douglas Rizzato
  • Wesley Romão

Abstract

This paper tackles a Nurse Scheduling Problem which consists of generating work schedules for a set of nurses while considering their shift preferences and other requirements. The objective is to maximize the satisfaction of nurses’ preferences and minimize the violation of soft constraints. This paper presents a new deterministic heuristic algorithm, called MAPA (multi-assignment problem-based algorithm), which is based on successive resolutions of the assignment problem. The algorithm has two phases: a constructive phase and an improvement phase. The constructive phase builds a full schedule by solving successive assignment problems, one for each day in the planning period. The improvement phase uses a couple of procedures that re-solve assignment problems to produce a better schedule. Given the deterministic nature of this algorithm, the same schedule is obtained each time that the algorithm is applied to the same problem instance. The performance of MAPA is benchmarked against published results for almost 250,000 instances from the NSPLib dataset. In most cases, particularly on large instances of the problem, the results produced by MAPA are better when compared to best-known solutions from the literature. The experiments reported here also show that the MAPA algorithm finds more feasible solutions compared with other algorithms in the literature, which suggest that this proposed approach is effective and robust. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Ademir Constantino & Dario Landa-Silva & Everton Melo & Candido Mendonça & Douglas Rizzato & Wesley Romão, 2014. "A heuristic algorithm based on multi-assignment procedures for nurse scheduling," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 218(1), pages 165-183, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:annopr:v:218:y:2014:i:1:p:165-183:10.1007/s10479-013-1357-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10479-013-1357-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Edmund Burke & Jingpeng Li & Rong Qu, 2012. "A Pareto-based search methodology for multi-objective nurse scheduling," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 196(1), pages 91-109, July.
    2. B. Maenhout & M. Vanhoucke, 2005. "New Computational Results for the Nurse Scheduling Problem: A Scatter Search Algorithm," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 05/341, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    3. J-F Cordeau & M Gendreau & G Laporte & J-Y Potvin & F Semet, 2002. "A guide to vehicle routing heuristics," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 53(5), pages 512-522, May.
    4. Cheang, B. & Li, H. & Lim, A. & Rodrigues, B., 2003. "Nurse rostering problems--a bibliographic survey," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(3), pages 447-460, December.
    5. Broos Maenhout & Mario Vanhoucke, 2008. "Comparison and hybridization of crossover operators for the nurse scheduling problem," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 333-353, March.
    6. Burke, Edmund K. & Curtois, Timothy & Post, Gerhard & Qu, Rong & Veltman, Bart, 2008. "A hybrid heuristic ordering and variable neighbourhood search for the nurse rostering problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 188(2), pages 330-341, July.
    7. B. Maenhout & M. Vanhoucke, 2005. "An Electromagnetic Meta-Heuristic for the Nurse Scheduling Problem," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 05/316, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    8. Sanja Petrovic & Greet Berghe, 2012. "A comparison of two approaches to nurse rostering problems," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 194(1), pages 365-384, April.
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