Abstract
The homecare worker scheduling problem is
inundated with fuzzy and often conflicting goals, constraints and
preferences. In such an uncertain environment, the decision maker
needs to find a satisficing solution approach that takes into account
the humanistic judgments and the conflicting nature of the goals.
This paper proposes a fuzzy satisficing approach, based on fuzzy set
theory, for addressing the homecare worker scheduling problem. The
aim is to provide a satisficing approach that considers the
management goals, the worker preferences, as well as the service
quality as specified by the healthcare clients. By addressing the
desired goals or preferences of the three players, (i) the management,
(ii) the worker, and (iii) the client, the approach provides a more
realistic, flexible and adaptable method for real-world healthcare
staff scheduling in an uncertain environment.