A Time Predefined Variable Depth Search for Nurse Rostering

This paper presents a variable depth search for the nurse rostering problem. The algorithm works by chaining together single neighbourhood swaps into more effective compound moves. It achieves this by using heuristics to decide whether to continue extending a chain and which candidates to examine as the next potential link in the chain. Because end users vary in how long they are willing to wait for solutions, a particular goal of this research was to create an algorithm that accepts a user specified computational time limit and uses it effectively. When compared against previously published approaches the results show that the algorithm is very competitive.

[1]  Gustave J. Rath,et al.  Nurse Scheduling Using Mathematical Programming , 1976, Oper. Res..

[2]  Andreas T. Ernst,et al.  An Annotated Bibliography of Personnel Scheduling and Rostering , 2004, Ann. Oper. Res..

[3]  Fred W. Glover,et al.  Ejection Chains, Reference Structures and Alternating Path Methods for Traveling Salesman Problems , 1996, Discret. Appl. Math..

[4]  Moshe Dror,et al.  Investigating Ahuja–Orlin’s large neighbourhood search approach for examination timetabling , 2007, OR Spectr..

[5]  Sanja Petrovic,et al.  Storing and Adapting Repair Experiences in Employee Rostering , 2002, PATAT.

[6]  Graham Kendall,et al.  A Tabu-Search Hyperheuristic for Timetabling and Rostering , 2003, J. Heuristics.

[7]  James Smith,et al.  A tutorial for competent memetic algorithms: model, taxonomy, and design issues , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation.

[8]  Jonathan F. Bard,et al.  Cyclic preference scheduling of nurses using a Lagrangian-based heuristic , 2007, J. Sched..

[9]  Jan H. van Vuuren,et al.  Finding good nurse duty schedules: a case study , 2007, J. Sched..

[10]  Jeffrey L. Rummel,et al.  A Subpath Ejection Method for the Vehicle Routing Problem , 1998 .

[11]  Jeffrey L. Arthur,et al.  A Multiple Objective Nurse Scheduling Model , 1981 .

[12]  Hendrik Van Landeghem,et al.  The State of the Art of Nurse Rostering , 2004, J. Sched..

[13]  Graham Kendall,et al.  Search Methodologies: Introductory Tutorials in Optimization and Decision Support Techniques , 2013 .

[14]  James B. Orlin,et al.  Very Large-Scale Neighborhood Search Techniques in Timetabling Problems , 2006, PATAT.

[15]  Edmund K. Burke,et al.  A hybrid heuristic ordering and variable neighbourhood search for the nurse rostering problem , 2004, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[16]  E. Burke,et al.  Variable neighborhood search for nurse rostering problems , 2004 .

[17]  WarnerD. Michael.  Scheduling Nursing Personnel According to Nursing Preference , 1976 .

[18]  Abraham P. Punnen,et al.  A survey of very large-scale neighborhood search techniques , 2002, Discret. Appl. Math..

[19]  Toshihide Ibaraki,et al.  A tabu search approach to the constraint satisfaction problem as a general problem solver , 1998, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[20]  T. Ibaraki,et al.  A Variable Depth Search Algorithm for the Generalized Assignment Problem , 1999 .

[21]  Brigitte Jaumard,et al.  A generalized linear programming model for nurse scheduling , 1996, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[22]  Uwe Aickelin,et al.  An estimation of distribution algorithm with intelligent local search for rule-based nurse rostering , 2007, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[23]  D. Michael Warner,et al.  Scheduling Nursing Personnel According to Nursing Preference: A Mathematical Programming Approach , 1976, Oper. Res..

[24]  Jonathan F. Bard,et al.  Preference scheduling for nurses using column generation , 2005, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[25]  Albert L. Zobrist,et al.  A New Hashing Method with Application for Game Playing , 1990 .

[26]  Sanja Petrovic,et al.  A time-predefined local search approach to exam timetabling problems , 2004 .

[27]  Brian W. Kernighan,et al.  An Effective Heuristic Algorithm for the Traveling-Salesman Problem , 1973, Oper. Res..

[28]  Edmund K. Burke,et al.  A shift sequence based approach for nurse scheduling and a new benchmark dataset , 2010, J. Heuristics.

[29]  Michael M. Kostreva,et al.  Nurse scheduling on a microcomputer , 1991, Comput. Oper. Res..

[30]  Peter I. Cowling,et al.  A Memetic Approach to the Nurse Rostering Problem , 2001, Applied Intelligence.

[31]  Fred Glover,et al.  TSP Ejection Chains , 1997, Discret. Appl. Math..

[32]  Silvano Martello,et al.  Meta-Heuristics: Advances and Trends in Local Search Paradigms for Optimization , 2012 .

[33]  Edmund K. Burke,et al.  The practice and theory of automated timetabling , 2014, Ann. Oper. Res..

[34]  Andrew Lim,et al.  A hybrid AI approach for nurse rostering problem , 2003, SAC '03.

[35]  Moshe Dror,et al.  A tabu-based large neighbourhood search methodology for the capacitated examination timetabling problem , 2007, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[36]  Ehud Gudes,et al.  Employee Timetabling, Constraint Networks and Knowledge-Based Rules: A Mixed Approach , 1995, PATAT.

[37]  A. Mason,et al.  A Nested Column Generator for solving Rostering Problems with Integer Programming , 1998 .

[38]  Sanja Petrovic,et al.  Selecting and weighting features using a genetic algorithm in a case-based reasoning approach to personnel rostering , 2006, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[39]  Masahito Yamamoto,et al.  Evolutionary algorithms for nurse scheduling problem , 2000, Proceedings of the 2000 Congress on Evolutionary Computation. CEC00 (Cat. No.00TH8512).

[40]  Uwe Aickelin,et al.  An estimation of distribution algorithm for nurse scheduling , 2007, Ann. Oper. Res..

[41]  BergheGreet Vanden,et al.  A Memetic Approach to the Nurse Rostering Problem , 2001 .

[42]  Greet Vanden Berghe,et al.  An advanced model and novel meta-heuristic solution methods to personnel scheduling in healthcare , 2002 .

[43]  Gilles Pesant,et al.  HIBISCUS: A Constraint Programming Application to Staff Scheduling in Health Care , 2003, CP.

[44]  Cid C. de Souza,et al.  Constructing nurse schedules at large hospitals , 2003 .

[45]  Roberto Tadei,et al.  A greedy-based neighborhood search approach to a nurse rostering problem , 2004, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[46]  Edmund K. Burke,et al.  A Hybrid Tabu Search Algorithm for the Nurse Rostering Problem , 1998, SEAL.

[47]  Harald Meyer auf'm Hofe.  Solving Rostering Tasks as Constraint Optimization , 2000, PATAT.

[48]  John Thornton.  Nurse Rostering and Integer Programming Revisited , 1997 .

[49]  S. S. Al Sharif,et al.  A 0-1 goal programming model for nurse scheduling , 2005, Comput. Oper. Res..

[50]  John R. Woodward,et al.  Hyper-Heuristics , 2015, GECCO.

[51]  Marco Chiarandini,et al.  Solving Employee Timetabling Problems with Flexible Workload using Tabu Search , 2002 .

[52]  J. Górski,et al.  Foundations of Computing and Decision Sciences Proc. of 5th National Conference on Software Engineering Risk Identification Patterns for Software Projects , 2006 .

[53]  Efthymios Housos,et al.  Hybrid optimization techniques for the workshift and rest assignment of nursing personnel , 2000, Artif. Intell. Medicine.

[54]  Kathryn A. Dowsland,et al.  Nurse scheduling with tabu search and strategic oscillation , 1998, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[55]  S J Darmoni,et al.  HOROPLAN: computer-assisted nurse scheduling using constraint-based programming. , 1995, Journal of the Society for Health Systems.

[56]  Amnon Meisels,et al.  Modelling and Solving Employee Timetabling Problems , 2003, Annals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence.

[57]  Sanja Petrovic,et al.  Enhancing case-based reasoning for personnel rostering with selected tabu search concepts , 2007, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[58]  Edmund K. Burke,et al.  Selected papers from the First International Conference on Practice and Theory of Automated Timetabling , 1995 .

[59]  Jacques A. Ferland,et al.  A Multi-objective Approach to Nurse Scheduling with both Hard and Soft Constraints , 1996 .

[60]  F. Glover,et al.  Fundamentals of Scatter Search and Path Relinking , 2000 .

[61]  Edmund K. Burke,et al.  A hybrid model of integer programming and variable neighbourhood search for highly-constrained nurse rostering problems , 2010, Eur. J. Oper. Res..