First-ever Operational Research Awareness Day – 27 January 2026
What would happen if the world ran for just one day without Operational Research? According to the Operational Research Society (ORS), everyday life would slow almost immediately. Airport queues would lengthen, hospitals would struggle to cope, food waste would rise, and essential services would lose their ability to respond when demand spikes.
To highlight the hidden role OR plays in modern life, the OR Society, alongside European OR organisations, is launching the first Operational Research Awareness Day on 27 January 2026. OR is the science of better decision-making in complex systems, helping organisations anticipate problems, manage uncertainty, and make the best use of limited resources. Its influence is largely invisible, until it is removed.
“Operational Research professionals are the people behind the systems millions rely on every day,” said Dr Colette Fletcher, Executive Director at the OR Society. “OR Awareness Day is about making the invisible visible and asking what modern life would look like without it.”
Invisible decisions, real-world impact
Keeping passengers moving at Heathrow: Real-time predictive models forecast flows through security, immigration, and transfer points every 15 minutes. Developed by Professor Bert De Reyck and implemented in 2017, the system anticipates bottlenecks, helping managers redeploy staff, warn airlines, and adjust departure times. It has reduced costs by 12%–54% and improved punctuality and passenger experience. Without OR, airports would only react after disruption occurs.
Supporting NHS care: OR is helping the NHS manage delayed discharges. In February 2024, over one in eight beds in England were occupied by patients fit to leave but unable to due to social care pressures. The IPACS project uses simulation modelling to track patient flow and test scenarios, informing a £13 million investment that frees beds and eases pressure on frontline teams.
Cutting food waste at Tesco: OR optimises pricing and discount decisions across thousands of products in 2,700+ stores, reducing fresh food waste by 5% and increasing revenue by up to 13%. Without it, food would go to waste and prices would be harder to control.
Keeping the lights on: OR models help energy planners balance supply and demand, integrate weather-dependent renewables, and manage peak loads. With thousands of decentralised generators, traditional planning is insufficient. OR enables proactive outage and maintenance planning, reducing disruption while maintaining security. Without OR, forecasts would be less accurate, costs higher, and outages more likely.
Keeping transport flowing: OR helps ports and public transport run efficiently. At the Port of Dover, models optimise vehicle movements to reduce congestion. Rotterdam’s RET used OR to manage the switch to electric buses, creating real-time charging schedules and optimising routes to maintain reliability and integrate renewable energy.
“Operational Research underpins the decisions that shape daily life, from transport and energy to healthcare and public services. It allows organisations to explore options before acting and anticipate the likely consequences. These systems rarely make headlines, but their impact is felt every day. On 27 January 2026, OR Awareness Day will celebrate the people and methods behind this vital work and the difference that evidence-based analysis makes to society,” concludes Dr Colette Fletcher.
To find out more and read more examples of OR in action visit: https://www.theorsociety.com/ORS/About-OR/business-case-studies