A nurse scheduling system using 0-1 Goal Programming technique

Scheduling plays a crucial role in optimising workforce management, particularly in healthcare sectors where efficiency and fairness directly impact service quality. This study focuses on developing an optimised nurse scheduling system for Hospital Alor Gajah (HAG) using the 0-1 Goal Programming technique. Primary data were collected from the male adult ward at HAG, and a mathematical model was formulated to integrate hospital rules as hard constraints and nurse preferences as soft constraints. LINGO software was utilised to generate feasible shift patterns, which were further refined to produce a proposed two-week schedule. The results showed significant improvements in workload distribution, compliance with minimum staffing requirements, and accommodation of nurse preferences. This scheduling approach demonstrates its potential as a practical decision-support tool to replace traditional manual scheduling, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and nurse satisfaction.