Solution

Operation Room Scheduling

Operation Room Scheduling

Bringing Clarity to Hospital Planning
Bringing Clarity to Hospital Planning
Screenshot of computer simulation
Screenshot of computer simulation

Reducing hours of manual work to minutes, while delivering more balanced schedules for operating rooms and staff.

Client(s)

Haga Ziekenhuis

Sector

Healthcare

Challenge

Supply & Demand Planning

Decision lens

Activity Planning

Product

AIS

Geography

Europe

The challenge

The challenge

Scheduling operating rooms (ORs) and support staff in hospitals is a time-consuming manual process. Every cycle, planners spend significant time creating a schedule that must balance requests from multiple departments - from urology to emergency - while navigating a complex web of rules and preferences.


Each department comes with specific requirements: children vs. adults, half-day or full-day sessions, staff allocations, and sometimes fixed-day assignments. With so many constraints, planners often spend more time resolving conflicts than focusing on efficiency or staff well-being.


The result: lengthy manual cycles, limited ability to test alternatives, and little visibility into how rules and preferences truly impact the schedule.

Scheduling operating rooms (ORs) and support staff in hospitals is a time-consuming manual process. Every cycle, planners spend significant time creating a schedule that must balance requests from multiple departments - from urology to emergency - while navigating a complex web of rules and preferences.


Each department comes with specific requirements: children vs. adults, half-day or full-day sessions, staff allocations, and sometimes fixed-day assignments. With so many constraints, planners often spend more time resolving conflicts than focusing on efficiency or staff well-being.


The result: lengthy manual cycles, limited ability to test alternatives, and little visibility into how rules and preferences truly impact the schedule.

Solution

Color-coded weekly schedule grid with days of the week listed on the left and multiple rooms or categories (OK1–OK16, MRI, AB1, AB2, AOP1, AOP2) across the top. Each cell contains short coded labels in different colors, with a legend on the right showing corresponding color keys.
Dashboard comparing hospital data for Den Haag and Zoetermeer. Top panels show personnel availability, clinic throughput, room variation, and underutilization hours. Charts display operating room (OK) time, OK time vs. minimum, specialist staffing variations, OK occupancy by weekday, and clinic patient flow.
Color-coded weekly schedule grid with days of the week listed on the left and multiple rooms or categories (OK1–OK16, MRI, AB1, AB2, AOP1, AOP2) across the top. Each cell contains short coded labels in different colors, with a legend on the right showing corresponding color keys.
Dashboard comparing hospital data for Den Haag and Zoetermeer. Top panels show personnel availability, clinic throughput, room variation, and underutilization hours. Charts display operating room (OK) time, OK time vs. minimum, specialist staffing variations, OK occupancy by weekday, and clinic patient flow.
Color-coded weekly schedule grid with days of the week listed on the left and multiple rooms or categories (OK1–OK16, MRI, AB1, AB2, AOP1, AOP2) across the top. Each cell contains short coded labels in different colors, with a legend on the right showing corresponding color keys.
Dashboard comparing hospital data for Den Haag and Zoetermeer. Top panels show personnel availability, clinic throughput, room variation, and underutilization hours. Charts display operating room (OK) time, OK time vs. minimum, specialist staffing variations, OK occupancy by weekday, and clinic patient flow.

We developed an AI-assisted scheduling tool that automatically generates OR schedules within hospital rules and constraints.


Instead of manually stitching together complex schedules, planners can now assign departments to rooms and days across each cycle in minutes. The tool ensures that required OR time is met while minimising variation in staff and room usage. It accounts for full-day vs. half-day sessions, fixed-day assignments, and different hospital locations.


Crucially, planners stay in control: they can manually lock sessions, test “what if” scenarios, and instantly see how toggling rules on or off affects the schedule. What previously took hours of manual effort is reduced to minutes - with clear visibility into trade-offs that were previously hidden.

Results

Faster cycles

manual planning effort reduced from many hours to just minutes.

Better balance

more even distribution of OR sessions and support staff across sites and weeks.

Smarter conversations

clear visibility into how rules and preferences affect schedules, enabling more collaborative decisions.

Results

Faster cycles

manual planning effort reduced from many hours to just minutes.

Better balance

more even distribution of OR sessions and support staff across sites and weeks.

Smarter conversations

clear visibility into how rules and preferences affect schedules, enabling more collaborative decisions.

Results

Faster cycles

manual planning effort reduced from many hours to just minutes.

Better balance

more even distribution of OR sessions and support staff across sites and weeks.

Smarter conversations

clear visibility into how rules and preferences affect schedules, enabling more collaborative decisions.

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    Healthcare worker in surgical scrubs and mask organizing sterilized medical supplies on shelves in a hospital storage room.

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Want to learn more about this solution? Get in touch and ask for a demo.

Contact us

Want to learn more about this solution? Get in touch and ask for a demo.

Contact us

Want to learn more about this solution? Get in touch and ask for a demo.

Contact us

Want to learn more about this solution? Get in touch and ask for a demo.

Contact us