In this paper, we address the multiple operating room (OR) surgical case sequencing problem (SCSP). The objective is to maximise total OR utilisation during standard opening hours. This work uses a case study of a large Australian public hospital with long surgical waiting lists and high levels of non-elective demand. Due to the complexity of the SCSP and the size of the instances considered herein, heuristic techniques are required to solve the problem. We present constructive heuristics based on both a modified block scheduling policy and an open scheduling policy. A number of real-time reactive strategies are presented that can be used to maintain schedule feasibility in the case of disruptions. Results of computational experiments show that this approach maintains schedule feasibility in real-time, whilst increasing operating theatre (OT) utilisation and throughput, and reducing the waiting time of non-elective patients. The framework presented here is applicable to the real-life scheduling of OT departments, and we provide recommendations regarding implementation of the approach.

在本文中，我们解决了多手术室（OR）手术病例排序问题（SCSP）。目的是在标准开放时间内最大限度地提高总OR利用率。这项工作以澳大利亚一家大型公立医院的案例研究为例，该外科医院的候诊名单很长，非选择性需求很高。由于SCSP的复杂性和此处考虑的实例的大小，需要使用启发式技术来解决该问题。我们提出了基于修改后的块调度策略和开放式调度策略的建设性启发式方法。提出了许多实时反应性策略，这些策略可用于在发生中断的情况下保持计划的可行性。计算实验结果表明，该方法可实时维护进度可行性，同时提高手术室（OT）利用率和吞吐率，并减少非选择性患者的等待时间。此处介绍的框架适用于OT部门的实际调度，我们提供有关该方法实施的建议。