Automated scheduling for home care

Purpose and goal:

The aim of the project has been to, in collaboration with a couple of home care companies, test and evaluate all the functionality required by a commercial platform for automated scheduling in the home care service, and create a "proof of concept".

The system has been tested by two home care companies, and presented to a few more. The goal is very well met. The technical choices around the platform and the algorithms have exceeded expectations.

The evaluation has shown that the need for this tool is enormous and that we really solve an important problem for management, staff and care takers. Expected results and effects:

The result of the project is partly a beta version of a tool for automated scheduling, and partly a specification for further development with customer requirements from the companies that actually tested the platform.

Using the tool improves scheduling: continuity is maximized (users meet as few different staff as possible), travel times are minimized, work shifts are evenly distributed. Large savings are also made in planning time and administration, the planners get better control over their work. The tool will be productified and marketed.

Approach and implementation:

The project has been divided into well-defined sub-projects and sub-deliveries. A large part of the work has been software development. When a subproject has required greater resources, the company has added own time. A project group with participants from all sub-projects has held weekly meetings to coordinate and plan.

Tight video meetings and individual physical meetings have been held with test users, and also for presentations and interviews with additional home care companies. The company, project participants and test users are very satisfied with the process and the result.