An efficient divide-and-conquer enhanced metaheuristic for operating room scheduling: A real-world case study

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

A divide-and-conquer enhanced Iterated Local Search (ILS) metaheuristic outperforms global approaches for complex operating room scheduling, demonstrating robustness and the potential to improve current practice in real-world settings. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.METHODOLOGICAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Marc Chouraqui; Salma Makboul; Alice Yalaoui; Farouk Yalaoui; Lionel Amodeo; Virginie Roger

doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2026.05.030

May 1, 2026European Journal of Operational ResearchOpen Access

An efficient divide-and-conquer enhanced metaheuristic for operating room scheduling: A real-world case study

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Share

Key Points

This research aims to improve operating room scheduling using an efficient metaheuristic approach.
Developed an ILP model incorporating block consistency, idle times, and setup-dependent times.
Applied a Divide-and-Conquer ILS method for scheduling optimization against global approaches.
Conducted a comprehensive benchmark and sensitivity analysis using real-world data.
Demonstrated that the Divide-and-Conquer ILS outperforms global optimization approaches under strict constraints.
Establishes robustness and generality through extensive benchmarking.
Real data validation indicates significant improvements over current scheduling practices.

Implication

Demonstrates improved scheduling efficiency in operating rooms, indicating practical benefits.

Abstract

• ILP model with block consistency, idle time, setup dependant times & parallelism. • Proven NP-hardness justifies metaheuristic despite restrictive constraints. • Divide-and-Conquer ILS outperforms global approaches even with stricter constraints. • Comprehensive benchmark and sensitivity analysis establish robustness and generality. • Real-data validation highlights potential to improve current practice.

Discussion

No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.

Cite This Study

Chouraqui et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a17da9b3fad632b0f9d79da https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2026.05.030

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Share

An efficient divide-and-conquer enhanced metaheuristic for operating room scheduling: A real-world case study

Key Points

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

An efficient divide-and-conquer enhanced metaheuristic for operating room scheduling: A real-world case study

Key Points

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

Keep reading

Keep reading