A comparison of mixed-integer programming and constraint programming models for scheduling problem in operating theatres

The daily scheduling of an operating theatre is a highly constrained problem. Consequently, it is difficult to find the best solution, or even high quality solutions, in a reasonable time. We have compared two models that take into account many of the constraints on human and material resources encountered in real life. The performance of these two models, using mixed-integer and constraint programming respectively, were compared on a real-life case to deter-mine which coped better with these constraints