While the aim of hospitals is to cure their patients, industrial companies are targeted on meeting the demands of their customers. High schedule adherence is required in both cases: Companies have to meet the delivery dates of their customers, while the patients’ well-being specifically depends on an optimum adherence to the surgical plan.
Beyond that, the surgery level is of particular importance for the economic success in hospitals, incurring about half the treatment costs for patients. In cooperation with Hannover Medical School (MHH), the Institute of Production Systems and Logistics (IFA) has developed a model which describes the relationship between the central logistic variables in a hospital (see Figure 2). The model is a tool supporting the surgical coordinator and the respective departments in surgical planning and control.
