The ASP-based Nurse Scheduling System at the University of Yamanashi Hospital
This addresses practical nurse scheduling challenges in a real hospital setting, though it appears incremental as it applies an existing method (ASP) to a specific domain.
The paper tackled the complex optimization problem of nurse scheduling at the University of Yamanashi Hospital by designing a system using Answer Set Programming (ASP), successfully deploying it to reconcile nurse preferences with hospital staffing needs.
We present the design principles of a nurse scheduling system built using Answer Set Programming (ASP) and successfully deployed at the University of Yamanashi Hospital. Nurse scheduling is a complex optimization problem requiring the reconciliation of individual nurse preferences with hospital staffing needs across various wards. This involves balancing hard and soft constraints and the flexibility of interactive adjustments. While extensively studied in academia, real-world nurse scheduling presents unique challenges that go beyond typical benchmark problems and competitions. This paper details the practical application of ASP to address these challenges at the University of Yamanashi Hospital, focusing on the insights gained and the advancements in ASP technology necessary to effectively manage the complexities of real-world deployment.