Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nurse Scheduling via Answer Set Programming

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Logic Programming and Nonmonotonic Reasoning (LPNMR 2017)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 10377))

Abstract

The Nurse Scheduling problem (NSP) is a combinatorial problem that consists of assigning nurses to shifts according to given practical constraints. In previous years, several approaches have been proposed to solve different variants of the NSP. In this paper, an ASP encoding for one of these variants is presented, whose requirements have been provided by an Italian hospital. We also design a second encoding for the computation of “optimal” schedules. Finally, an experimental analysis has been conducted on real data provided by the Italian hospital using both encodings. Results are very positive: the state-of-the-art ASP system clingo is able to compute one year schedules in few minutes, and it scales well even when more than one hundred nurses are considered.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Azaiez, M.N., Sharif, S.S.A.: A 0–1 goal programming model for nurse scheduling. Comput. OR 32, 491–507 (2005)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  2. Bard, J.F., Purnomo, H.W.: Preference scheduling for nurses using column generation. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 164(2), 510–534 (2005)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  3. Aickelin, U., Dowsland, K.A.: An indirect genetic algorithm for a nurse-scheduling problem. Comput. OR 31(5), 761–778 (2004)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Topaloglu, S., Selim, H.: Nurse scheduling using fuzzy modeling approach. Fuzzy Sets Syst. 161(11), 1543–1563 (2010). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fss.2009.10.003

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  5. Gutjahr, W.J., Rauner, M.S.: An ACO algorithm for a dynamic regional nurse-scheduling problem in Austria. Comput. OR 34(3), 642–666 (2007)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  6. Millar, H.H., Kiragu, M.: Cyclic and non-cyclic scheduling of 12 h shift nurses by network programming. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 104(3), 582–592 (1998)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  7. Burke, E.K., Causmaecker, P.D., Berghe, G.V., Landeghem, H.V.: The state of the art of nurse rostering. J. Sched. 7(6), 441–499 (2004)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  8. Cheang, B., Li, H., Lim, A., Rodrigues, B.: Nurse rostering problems - a bibliographic survey. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 151(3), 447–460 (2003)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. Calimeri, F., Faber, W., Gebser, M., Ianni, G., Kaminski, R., Krennwallner, T., Leone, N., Ricca, F., Schaub, T.: ASP-Core-2 Input Language Format (2013). https://www.mat.unical.it/aspcomp.2013/files/ASP-CORE-2.01c.pdf

  10. Gelfond, M., Lifschitz, V.: Classical negation in logic programs and disjunctive databases. New Gener. Comput. 9(3/4), 365–386 (1991)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  11. Alviano, M., Dodaro, C.: Anytime answer set optimization via unsatisfiable core shrinking. TPLP 16(5–6), 533–551 (2016)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  12. Gebser, M., Kaufmann, B., Kaminski, R., Ostrowski, M., Schaub, T., Schneider, M.T.: Potassco: the potsdam answer set solving collection. AI Commun. 24(2), 107–124 (2011)

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  13. Balduccini, M., Gelfond, M., Watson, R., Nogueira, M.: The USA-Advisor: a case study in answer set planning. In: Eiter, T., Faber, W., Truszczyński, M. (eds.) LPNMR 2001. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 2173, pp. 439–442. Springer, Heidelberg (2001). doi:10.1007/3-540-45402-0_39

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  14. Erdem, E., Öztok, U.: Generating explanations for biomedical queries. TPLP 15(1), 35–78 (2015)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  15. Koponen, L., Oikarinen, E., Janhunen, T., Säilä, L.: Optimizing phylogenetic supertrees using answer set programming. TPLP 15(4–5), 604–619 (2015)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  16. Marileo, M.C., Bertossi, L.E.: The consistency extractor system: Answer set programs for consistent query answering in databases. Data Knowl. Eng. 69(6), 545–572 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Abseher, M., Gebser, M., Musliu, N., Schaub, T., Woltran, S.: Shift design with answer set programming. Fundam. Inform. 147(1), 1–25 (2016)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  18. Dodaro, C., Gasteiger, P., Leone, N., Musitsch, B., Ricca, F., Schekotihin, K.: Combining answer set programming and domain heuristics for solving hard industrial problems (application paper). TPLP 16(5–6), 653–669 (2016)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  19. Dodaro, C., Leone, N., Nardi, B., Ricca, F.: Allotment problem in travel industry: a solution based on ASP. In: Cate, B., Mileo, A. (eds.) RR 2015. LNCS, vol. 9209, pp. 77–92. Springer, Cham (2015). doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22002-4_7

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  20. Alviano, M., Dodaro, C., Leone, N., Ricca, F.: Advances in WASP. In: Calimeri, F., Ianni, G., Truszczynski, M. (eds.) LPNMR 2015. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 9345, pp. 40–54. Springer, Cham (2015). doi:10.1007/978-3-319-23264-5_5

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Nextage srl for providing partial funding for this work. The funding has been provided in the framework of a research grant by the Liguria POR-FESR 2014–2020 programme.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. DIBRIS, University of Genova, Genoa, Italy

    Carmine Dodaro & Marco Maratea

Authors
  1. Carmine Dodaro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marco Maratea
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carmine Dodaro .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Marcello Balduccini

  2. Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

    Tomi Janhunen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this paper

Cite this paper

Dodaro, C., Maratea, M. (2017). Nurse Scheduling via Answer Set Programming. In: Balduccini, M., Janhunen, T. (eds) Logic Programming and Nonmonotonic Reasoning. LPNMR 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10377. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61660-5_27

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61660-5_27

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-61659-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-61660-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation