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Overview

This example demonstrates hospital nursing schedules where staff must be matched to shifts based on certifications, unit experience, and labor regulations. The solution ensures proper skill coverage while respecting mandatory rest periods and fair workload distribution.
This example showcases skill-level matching, consecutive day limits, rest period enforcement, and fairness balancing across a nursing team.

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Business Scenario

A hospital unit manages:
  • 12 nurses with different certifications (RN, LPN, charge nurse)
  • 3-week rotating schedule with day, evening, and night shifts
  • Mandatory 11-hour rest between shifts
  • Maximum 5 consecutive working days
  • At least 2 weekends off per month
  • Charge nurse coverage on every shift

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Complete Implementation

  • Request
  • Solution
  • Analysis
{
  "employees": [
    {
      "name": "Sarah-RN",
      "skills": [
        { "name": "RN", "level": 5 },
        { "name": "charge", "level": 3 },
        { "name": "ICU", "level": 4 }
      ],
      "availability": [
        "2024-04-01T00:00:00/2024-04-21T23:59:59"
      ],
      "preference": ["day-ICU-1", "day-ICU-2"],
      "wage": 45
    },
    {
      "name": "Michael-RN",
      "skills": [
        { "name": "RN", "level": 4 },
        { "name": "charge", "level": 5 },
        { "name": "ER", "level": 5 }
      ],
      "availability": [
        "2024-04-01T00:00:00/2024-04-21T23:59:59"
      ],
      "wage": 48
    },
    {
      "name": "Jennifer-LPN",
      "skills": [
        { "name": "LPN", "level": 4 },
        { "name": "med-surg", "level": 5 }
      ],
      "availability": [
        "2024-04-01T06:00:00/2024-04-01T22:00:00",
        "2024-04-02T06:00:00/2024-04-02T22:00:00",
        "2024-04-03T06:00:00/2024-04-03T22:00:00",
        "2024-04-04T06:00:00/2024-04-04T22:00:00",
        "2024-04-05T06:00:00/2024-04-05T22:00:00"
      ],
      "wage": 32
    },
    {
      "name": "David-RN",
      "skills": [
        { "name": "RN", "level": 3 },
        { "name": "ICU", "level": 2 }
      ],
      "availability": [
        "2024-04-01T00:00:00/2024-04-21T23:59:59"
      ],
      "wage": 42
    },
    {
      "name": "Emily-RN",
      "skills": [
        { "name": "RN", "level": 5 },
        { "name": "charge", "level": 4 },
        { "name": "pediatrics", "level": 5 }
      ],
      "availability": [
        "2024-04-01T00:00:00/2024-04-21T23:59:59"
      ],
      "preference": ["evening-peds-1"],
      "wage": 46
    }
  ],
  "shifts": [
    {
      "name": "day-ICU-1",
      "from": "2024-04-01T07:00:00",
      "to": "2024-04-01T19:00:00",
      "skills": [{ "name": "RN" }, { "name": "ICU" }],
      "min": 2,
      "max": 3,
      "tags": [{ "name": "DAY" }, { "name": "ICU" }],
      "priority": 1
    },
    {
      "name": "night-ICU-1",
      "from": "2024-04-01T19:00:00",
      "to": "2024-04-02T07:00:00",
      "skills": [{ "name": "RN" }, { "name": "ICU" }],
      "min": 2,
      "max": 2,
      "tags": [{ "name": "NIGHT" }, { "name": "ICU" }],
      "priority": 1
    },
    {
      "name": "day-charge-1",
      "from": "2024-04-01T07:00:00",
      "to": "2024-04-01T19:00:00",
      "skills": [{ "name": "RN" }, { "name": "charge" }],
      "min": 1,
      "max": 1,
      "tags": [{ "name": "DAY" }, { "name": "CHARGE" }],
      "priority": 1
    },
    {
      "name": "evening-peds-1",
      "from": "2024-04-01T15:00:00",
      "to": "2024-04-01T23:00:00",
      "skills": [{ "name": "RN" }, { "name": "pediatrics" }],
      "min": 1,
      "max": 2,
      "tags": [{ "name": "EVENING" }, { "name": "PEDS" }],
      "priority": 2
    }
  ],
  "rules": [
    {
      "constraint": "SEQUENCE",
      "type": "WORKING_DAYS",
      "max": 5
    },
    {
      "constraint": "COUNTER",
      "type": "WEEKENDS_IDLE",
      "min": 2,
      "period": {
        "from": "2024-04-01",
        "to": "2024-04-30"
      }
    },
    {
      "constraint": "COUNTER",
      "type": "WORKING_SHIFT_TYPE",
      "tags": ["NIGHT"],
      "max": 4,
      "period": {
        "duration": "P14D"
      }
    },
    {
      "constraint": "COUNTER",
      "type": "HOURS_WORKED",
      "min": 72,
      "max": 84,
      "period": {
        "duration": "P14D"
      }
    }
  ],
  "rests": [
    {
      "tags": ["NIGHT"],
      "sequence": "AFTER",
      "min": "PT11H"
    },
    {
      "tags": ["DAY", "EVENING"],
      "sequence": "AFTER",
      "min": "PT10H"
    }
  ],
  "patterns": [
    {
      "type": "MULTI_DAY",
      "satisfy": "PROHIBITED",
      "elements": [
        { "type": "ON", "includes": ["NIGHT"] },
        { "type": "ON", "includes": ["DAY"] }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "MULTI_DAY",
      "satisfy": "PROHIBITED",
      "elements": [
        { "type": "ON", "includes": ["EVENING"] },
        { "type": "ON", "includes": ["DAY"] }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "requirements": [
    {
      "shifts": ["day-ICU-1", "day-ICU-2", "day-ICU-3"],
      "skill": "charge",
      "value": 1
    }
  ],
  "fairnessBuckets": [
    {
      "employees": ["Sarah-RN", "Michael-RN", "David-RN", "Emily-RN"],
      "shifts": ["night-ICU-1", "night-ICU-2", "night-ICU-3"],
      "period": {
        "from": "2024-04-01",
        "to": "2024-04-14"
      }
    }
  ],
  "options": {
    "hardAvailability": true,
    "hardSkill": true,
    "idleWeekend": {
      "fromDayOfWeek": "FRIDAY",
      "fromTime": "19:00:00",
      "toDayOfWeek": "SUNDAY",
      "toTime": "23:00:00"
    }
  },
  "weights": {
    "skills": "100hard",
    "minRest": "50hard",
    "maxConsecutive": "30hard",
    "wages": "5soft",
    "pref": "10medium"
  }
}

​
Key Healthcare Features

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Certification-Based Skill Matching

Match nurses to units based on certifications: 
{
  "employees": [{
    "name": "Sarah-RN",
    "skills": [
      { "name": "RN", "level": 5 },
      { "name": "ICU", "level": 4 },
      { "name": "ACLS", "level": 5 }
    ]
  }],
  "shifts": [{
    "name": "ICU-day",
    "skills": [
      { "name": "RN" },
      { "name": "ICU" }
    ]
  }]
}

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Mandatory Rest Periods

Enforce labor law rest requirements: 
{
  "rests": [
    {
      "tags": ["NIGHT"],
      "sequence": "AFTER",
      "min": "PT11H"
    }
  ]
}
Many jurisdictions require 11 hours minimum rest between shifts. Configure rest rules to match local regulations.

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Charge Nurse Requirements

Ensure leadership coverage on every shift: 
{
  "requirements": [
    {
      "shifts": ["day-1", "day-2", "day-3"],
      "skill": "charge",
      "value": 1
    }
  ]
}

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Night Shift Limits

Restrict consecutive nights and total night shifts: 
{
  "rules": [
    {
      "constraint": "COUNTER",
      "type": "WORKING_SHIFT_TYPE",
      "tags": ["NIGHT"],
      "max": 4,
      "period": { "duration": "P14D" }
    }
  ]
}

​
Common Healthcare Patterns

{
  "shifts": [
    { "name": "day", "from": "07:00", "to": "19:00" },
    { "name": "night", "from": "19:00", "to": "07:00" }
  ],
  "rules": [
    { "constraint": "SEQUENCE", "type": "WORKING_DAYS", "max": 3 }
  ]
}

{
  "rules": [
    {
      "constraint": "COUNTER",
      "type": "WEEKENDS_IDLE",
      "min": 2,
      "period": { "from": "2024-04-01", "to": "2024-04-30" }
    }
  ]
}

{
  "employees": [{
    "name": "Float-Nurse",
    "skills": [
      { "name": "RN" },
      { "name": "ICU", "level": 2 },
      { "name": "ER", "level": 2 },
      { "name": "med-surg", "level": 3 }
    ]
  }]
}

{
  "shifts": [{
    "name": "on-call-weekend",
    "from": "2024-04-06T19:00:00",
    "to": "2024-04-07T07:00:00",
    "tags": [{ "name": "ON_CALL" }],
    "cost": 100
  }],
  "options": { "partialPlanning": true }
}

Rest Requirements

Configure rest periods and recovery time

Rules and Constraints

Working hour limits and consecutive days

Fairness Buckets

Balance workload across staff

Shift Patterns

Prevent undesirable shift sequences