Challenge: Like many care facilities in Norway, Munkvoll Health and Welfare Center in Trondheim faces the perennial issue of high short-term sick leave, especially during flu season and around holidays. These unpredictable absences often lead to frantic calls and messages to off-duty staff, creating stress for both managers and employees, and risking understaffing during critical times. Traditional scheduling tools lacked the foresight needed to proactively address staffing shortfalls, leaving unit leaders with limited options beyond reactive planning. Foto: Ole Martin Wold, Enhetsleder Jorun Slettahjell får hjelp fra programvare basert på kunstig intelligens når neste års turnus skal planlegges.  Solution: [...]

Challenge: The health and care sector across Norway’s municipalities faces severe operational strain due to high levels of employee absenteeism. This leads to frequent last-minute phone calls to staff asking them to cover extra shifts, increasing burnout and inefficiencies. Traditional staffing models struggle to predict and prepare for these fluctuations, causing disruptions in care delivery and financial strain from overuse of overtime and temporary staff. Solution: Enter SynPlan, a predictive AI solution developed by entrepreneur Hai Thanh Nguyen. Inspired by his wife’s burnout as a nurse frequently called in on short notice, Nguyen, who has a background from NTNU, [...]

Challenge: Trondheim Municipality faced significant challenges in its healthcare and welfare services due to high rates of employee absenteeism, extensive use of costly temp agencies, and an increasing reliance on overtime. These issues led to a mismatch between scheduled and actual staffing levels, especially when last-minute sick leave made it difficult to find substitutes with the right qualifications. At Brundalen Health and Welfare Center, night-shift staff were often forced to make early-morning phone calls in an attempt to fill urgent scheduling gaps, increasing stress levels and reducing overall efficiency. Solution: In collaboration with NTNU, Trondheim Municipality embarked on a [...]