Angela Testi () Elena Tanfani () Giancarlo Torre ()
Abstract
In this paper we develop a three-phase, hierarchical approach for the weekly scheduling of operating rooms. This approach has been implemented in one of the surgical departments of a public hospital located in Genova (Genoa), Italy. Our aim is to suggest an integrated way of facing surgical activity planning in order to improve overall operating theatre efficiency in terms of overtime and throughput as well as waiting list reduction, while improving department organization. In the first phase we solve a bin packing-like problem in order to select the number of sessions to be weekly scheduled for each ward; the proposed and original selection criterion is based upon an updated priority score taking into proper account both the waiting list of each ward and the reduction of residual ward demand. Then we use a blocked booking method for determining optimal time tables, denoted Master Surgical Schedule (MSS), by defining the assignment between wards and surgery rooms. Lastly, once the MSS has been determined we use the simulation software environment Witness 2004 in order to analyze different sequencings of surgical activities that arise when priority is given on the basis of a) the longest waiting time (LWT), b) the longest processing time (LPT) and c) the shortest processing time (SPT). The resulting simulation models also allow us to outline possible organizational improvements in surgical activity. The results of an extensive computational experimentation pertaining to the studied surgical department are here given and analyzed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Volume (Year): 10 (2007) Issue (Month): 2 (June) Pages: 163-172 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
(with abstract),
plain text
(with abstract),
BibTeX,
RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite),
ReDIF
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: