The hidden healthcare problem RosterLab is trying to solve

For most of us, a work roster looks fairly simple: names, shifts and dates arranged in a grid. For a hospital, it can be an extraordinarily complicated puzzle.

Every shift needs the right number of people with the right mix of skills and seniority. Leave, fatigue, employment agreements and individual preferences all need to be considered, while healthcare services must keep operating around the clock. And behind every cell in the spreadsheet is a person trying to organise a life outside work.

It is a problem that RosterLab founder Dr Isaac Cleland began investigating during his PhD at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, working with Associate Professor Andrew Mason and Dr Michael O’Sullivan. His research explored how mathematical optimisation could automatically build complex hospital rosters.

Years later, that research is being used in healthcare organisations in New Zealand and Australia, with RosterLab also having customers in Singapore. Now it has reached an important milestone at home. 

A deceptively difficult problem

In July, RosterLab confirmed a contract with HealthX, Health New Zealand’s digital innovation programme, for an initial pilot involving Medical Radiation Technologist (MRT) teams at Counties Manukau, Waikato, Starship and Waitematā.

The scale of the administrative problem became clearer at department level. In previous work with Middlemore MRTs, RosterLab said producing and managing rosters had consumed around 120 hours a month. Using its technology reduced this to less than 20 hours.

But saving administrative time is only part of the story.

A roster determines whether someone works nights in a long block or several shorter ones. It affects whether they can make a family event, recover between shifts or reliably plan a weekend. At the same time, the hospital needs appropriate clinical coverage and must meet employment and fatigue requirements.

RosterLab uses optimisation technology and AI-assisted workforce management tools to weigh those competing requirements and generate rosters that balance operational needs with staff preferences, skill mix, fatigue management and compliance obligations. 

“What has stood out most is how much clinicians and roster coordinators care about getting this right,” says co-founder Daniel Ge.  

From research problem to health system

The Health NZ contract also brings Cleland’s journey full circle. His PhD research was undertaken in collaboration with the then Waikato District Health Board. Waikato is now one of the services participating in the HealthX pilot.

Turning that research into a company took a succession of steps.

Cleland developed the research into a business proposition through the University’s Velocity $100K Challenge in 2020 and VentureLab, both delivered by the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. RosterLab was subsequently founded by Cleland, Sunny Feng and Daniel Ge.

As it grew, the company remained connected to the wider University innovation ecosystem. UniServices invested alongside Movac and Pacific Channel in a $1.75 million seed round in 2024, while RosterLab established its base alongside other ventures at the University’s Newmarket Innovation Precinct.  

Its progress since then provides an important test of whether the technology can travel beyond the environment in which it was developed.

In Australia, Royal Perth Hospital introduced RosterLab in its Acute Medical Unit and Intensive Care Unit in 2025. After the first year, the hospital expanded its use to eight additional departments. RosterLab also lists healthcare customers in Australia, including Monash Health and Sydney Children’s Hospital, alongside SingHealth in Singapore.

The harder part of health innovation

Landing a contract within New Zealand’s national health system is significant for another reason. Developing promising technology and getting it adopted inside a complex health service are very different challenges.

The HealthX opportunity came through Medtech-iQ Aotearoa, which connects health innovators with expertise and pathways into the health system. RosterLab was invited to present to HealthX in late 2025 through an introduction facilitated by Medtech-iQ chair Diana Siew.

“It’s great to see university research being implemented in practice, bridging the gap between innovation and the health system to deliver meaningful impact for hospitals,” says Siew.

The initial HealthX rollout is still a pilot, so its impact across the participating services remains to be evaluated. That matters. Healthcare is full of technology promising transformation, while the harder test is whether it works for clinicians under real-world constraints.

For RosterLab, that test is now happening at a scale much closer to the ambition that started with Cleland’s PhD: not simply finding a mathematically better answer to a difficult rostering problem, but finding one that works for the people who have to live with the answer.