A survey of some operations research and data sciences applications developed in the last 20 years at Argentinian and Chilean Universities

A survey is presented of a series of projects designed and implemented over the past 20 years by operations research and data sciences teams based at the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Chile. The projects were undertaken at the request of entities in both the public and private sectors and addressed problems in logistics and transport, production planning, efficient allocation of human resources, shift scheduling, tender auction management, public health and education, among other areas. In each case, a summary is given of the mathematical techniques used, the models and algorithms developed, and the results and impacts obtained. The principal difficulties encountered and the factors behind the projects’ success are also discussed.