Improving an outpatient clinic utilization using decision analysis-based patient scheduling

This study presents a predictive model to be used in scheduling patients in an urban outpatient clinic. The model is based upon actual patient characteristics from a physical therapy clinic within an urban health and wellness center situated in a public university. A number of reported patients' characteristics such as age, education level, distance from the clinic, historical attendance records, etc. were examined to determine if they significantly impacted the patients' missing scheduled appointments (no-shows.) Decision tree analysis was used to develop a model that assessed the likelihood of a patient's no-show, using key patient characteristics and attendance records. Such a model can be used to assist with scheduling patients in an outpatient clinic, while attempting to increase the clinic's overall utilization. Four tree growing criteria were examined to develop the model with the strongest predictive power. Predictive power of each method was assessed by using the entire dataset as well as using split sampling. The results were then compared with those of a Bayesian networks model and a neural networks model. In addition, the trade-off between the selected decision tree model's predictive power versus simplicity of the associated classification rules was examined. We also assessed the impact of various levels of overbooking on the clinic's utilization when using patients' schedules based on the predictive model.     

Lean service operations: Reflections and new directions for capacity expansion in outpatient clinics

This field research in outpatient service operations examines original quantitative data on appointments and analyzes a lean process improvement project that was conducted to increase capacity to admit new patients into a healthcare service operation system. Analysis of 1726 intake appointments for the year preceding and the full year following the lean project showed a 27% increase in service capacity to intake new patients and a 12% reduction in the no-show rate as a result of the transformation of service processes achieved by the lean project. This study's action research methodology leverages the researcher's involvement in redesigning a service system that greatly improved performance and led to reflection on traditional operations management (OM) approaches to appointment scheduling. The study generates insights about effective alignment of resources, develops new strategies for service operations to respond to no-shows, reveals time-related variables that have been overlooked in appointment scheduling research, and challenges traditional OM scheduling performance measures. We provide recommendations for effective and appropriate use of overbooking and identify avenues for future research to continuously improve and increase the capacity of service operations.     

计划排产在卷烟生产中的应用研究

文章针对卷烟厂混合型的卷烟生产,采用车间调度问题的方法,系统分析了卷烟生产中卷包和制丝不同生产环节的特点,得到了它们适用的计划模型以及相适应的算法。根据研究开发的计划排产信息系统,通过在武汉卷烟厂的实际应用表明,该计划排产信息系统具有优化排产、计划冲突避免的优点,取得了较好的应用效果。     

Signed social structure optimization for shift assignment in the nurse scheduling problem

This paper develops a mathematical framework that relies on modern social network analysis theories for treating the nurse team formation and nurse scheduling (shift assignment) problems, accounting for signed social connections. These problems lie in assigning nurses to teams/shifts such that the constraints regarding both the working regulations and nurses preferences are satisfied. Recent research indicates the dependence of nursing team performance on team social structure; however, so far, the social structure considerations have not been explicitly incorporated into the mathematical formulations of the nurse scheduling problem. The presented framework introduces models that quantitatively exploit such dependence. This paper explores instances of Nurse Team Formation Problem (NTFP) and Nurse Scheduling Problem (NSP) incorporating signed social structure with the measures based on such network structures as edges, full dyads, triplets, k-stars, balanced and unbalanced triangles, etc., in directed, signed networks. The paper presents the integer programming formulations for NTFP and NSP, and a problem-specific heuristic that performs variable-depth neighborhood search to tackle NTFP instances with signed social structures. Computational results for a real-world problem instance with 20 nurses are reported. The insights obtained from the presented framework and future research directions are discussed.     

An empirical investigation of scheduling performance criteria

Planning and scheduling significantly influence organizational performance, but literature that pays attention to how organizations could or should organize and assess their planning processes is limited. We extend planning and scheduling theory with a categorization of scheduling performance criteria, based on a three-stage survey research design. Particularly, the results show that, next to schedule quality, the planning process factors timeliness, flexibility, communication, and negotiation are important performance criteria, and especially so in organizations that are faced with high levels of uncertainty. The results suggest that organizational and behavioral aspects of planning and scheduling cannot be mitigated with advanced models and software that solely focus on good schedules. Rather, high quality schedules and high quality scheduling processes need to be facilitated simultaneously to attain high planning and scheduling performance.     

电网事故处理过程中的调度应急反应

文章根据一起由开关拒动引起越级跳闸的母线失压事故,分析了调度事故处理的思路、步骤及注意事项。指出调度员要对电网的整个运行状况非常熟悉,同时要掌握一定的继电保护知识作为事故判断和处理的依据,事故处理过程要做到全面、清晰、快速、准确。     

Bi-objective decision support system for routing and scheduling of hazardous materials

This paper presents a Pareto-based bi-objective optimization of hazardous materials vehicle routing and scheduling problem with time windows and shows its application to a realistic hazardous material logistics instance. A meta-heuristic solution algorithm is also proposed, which returns a set of routing solutions that approximate the frontier of the Pareto optimal solutions based on total scheduled travel time and total risk of whole transportation process. It works in a single-step fashion simultaneously constructing the vehicle route and selecting the optimal paths connecting the routed locations from a set of non-dominated paths obtained in terms of travel time and risk value.     

Short-term scheduling of crude oil operations in refinery with high-fusion-point oil and two transportation pipelines

In some refineries, storage tanks are located at two different sites, one for low-fusion-point crude oil and the other for high one. Two pipelines are used to transport different oil types. Due to the constraints resulting from the high-fusion-point oil transportation, it is challenging to schedule such a system. This work studies the scheduling problem from a control-theoretic perspective. It proposes to use a hybrid Petri net method to model the system. It then finds the schedulability conditions by analysing the dynamic behaviour of the net model. Next, it proposes an efficient scheduling method to minimize the cost of high-fusion-point oil transportation. Finally, it gives a complex industrial case study to show its application.     

基于微粒群算法的农产品物流配送路径优化研究

通过分析农产品物流配送的特点和对车辆调度的影响,对车辆数目不确定的带时间窗的车辆路径问题进行描述,建立起受成本影响、有时限的农产品物流配送路径优化模型,利用复合最优模型微粒群算法对该模型进行求解,并进行案例比较分析。文中所提出的农产品物流配送优化模型对降低农产品物流配送成本,提高农产品物流配送效率具有较好的实用价值。     

武警部队应急保障资源调度优化模型研究

文中针对武警部队跨区执行任务过程中多点保障、多目标资源调度的问题,建立了一种以时间最短、保障点最少、运输路径安全性最高为优化目标的数学模型,运用理想点法进行求解,并通过构造算例,验证了所建立模型的合理性以及理想点法的可行性,为武警部队跨区装备保障决策提供了一种新方法。     

基于Solidworks/Simulation的变压器结构优化设计

针对变压器强度和刚度设计中存在着一定的盲目性问题,本文采用Solidworks软件建立了变压器有载开关托架三维模型,并利用Simulation进行了受力分析,得到了额定工况下托架的应力、位移和应变。在此基础上,对托架进行了优化,优化设计后的托架材料消耗降低64.6%,加工效率提高33.3%;优化设计后的托架强度高、刚度好,为变压器的整体优化设计提供了重要依据。     

配送中心车辆调度模型及遗传算法设计

针对物流配送中心车辆调度问题,采用混合整数规划方法进行建模。对实际问题进行研兖分析后,基于所研究问题的特点,提出基于遗传算法的求解方法。通过数值实验对算法不同参数组合进行分析、比较,获得最佳参数组合．建立了有效的求解该问题的遗传算法。并通过对实际问题的数值仿真试验．验证了算法的有效性。     

抗烟物流与送货线路优化

根据杭州烟草物流配送网络信息化建设发展目标,对杭烟城区6400多户卷烟零售网点送货线路优化这一核心问题展开深刻的剖析与描述。内容包括杭烟物流配送服务现状、线路优化问题的难点与创新点、线路优化调度的具体实施方法,以及系统实现后的前景展望等。     

时间Petri网在项目进度管理建模中的应用

通过分析现有时延Petri网和时间Petri网在项目进度管理仿真模型的不足,提出基于库所时间约束Petri网的项目进度管理模型,该模型具备全局时钟特性,不仅能体现工序自身时间参数,同时能对外部资源等工序外延时间约束进行建模。实例仿真结果表明该模型的有效性。     

一种解决配送规划问题的改进节约算法

车辆优化调度问题（VSP）是物流配送中广泛存在的一类问题，VSP问题属于NP一困难问题。在描述了简单VSP模型的基础上，对启发式算法中的C-W节约算法进行改进，将AK算法的思想运用其中，使计算结果的优化程度明显提高。     

An evaluation of heuristic methods for determining the best table mix in full-service restaurants

Little research has been done on the optimal mix of supply in service businesses that maximizes revenue. Our research context is the full-service restaurant table mix problem. This problem, which is quite new to the literature, finds the optimal number of different size tables for a restaurant to maximize its value (revenue or contribution) generating potential. Specifically, we examine the effectiveness of eight heuristic techniques for the problem using two experiments. The first experiment uses data from a 240-seat full-service restaurant to evaluate all eight heuristics, while the second experiment investigates the performance of selected heuristics under a broader set of environmental factors. The results of our first experiment showed that the better of the simulated annealing heuristic variants yielded the optimal solution in seven of eight test problems, averaging within 0.1% of optimal. Our second experiment showed that the simplest of the models we investigated yielded solutions within 1% of the simulated annealing solution. Finally, we observed that altering the table mix on a daily basis increased performance by over 1% compared to maintaining the optimal weekly table mix.     

An empirical assessment of assortative matching in the labor market

In labor markets with worker and firm heterogeneity, the matching between firms and workers may be assortative, meaning that the most productive workers and firms team up. We investigate this with longitudinal population-wide matched employer–employee data from Portugal. Using panel data methods, we quantify a firm-specific productivity term for each firm, and we relate this to the skill distribution of workers in the firm. We find that there is positive assortative matching, in particular among long-lived firms. Using skill-specific estimates of an index of search frictions, we find that the results can only to a small extent be explained by heterogeneity of search frictions across worker skill groups.     

基于遗传算法的大规模定制供应链调度优化研究

大规模定制(MC)模式下的供应链调度优化过程,是典型的随机需求与资源约束的动态问题。为合理解决这一问题,在前期研究成果基础上,提出了包括供应商选择及企业合作时序安排的优化调度模型,并提出了针对这种模型的求解思路,设计了基于遗传算法的求解过程;通过多组数据实验及结果比较分析,对模型算法的有效性、稳定性进行了验证。     

Assessing the effects of power grid expansion on human health externalities

Generation expansion planning is the framework under which power grid capacity expansions are made. Under this framework, mathematical optimization tools are used to determine the type of generation technology to invest in, and when and where these investments should be made in order to minimize market costs such as investment costs, fixed and variable operating & maintenance costs, and fuel costs over a long term planning horizon. Given the current infrastructure and policies, fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural gas) are among the most economical sources of electricity. Thus, under these assumptions, these energy sources dominate the resulting expansion plans. However, fossil fuel combustion creates by-products contributing to ground-level ozone, particulates, and acid rain, which have harmful health implications such as premature death, respiratory-related illnesses, cardiovascular injuries, pulmonary disorders, and autism leading to lost days at school or work on a daily basis. In this research, we formulate a linear program to solve a multi-period generation expansion planning problem minimizing market costs for a centrally dispatched power system. We can then assess the human health externalities of the resulting expansion plan by studying the model output with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) screening tool that determines the human health externalities from the electricity sector. Results with and without emission limits and other policies can then be evaluated and compared based on predicted societal costs including human health externalities. This research enables policy makers to directly assess the health implications of power grid expansion decisions by explicitly estimating the total societal costs by quantifying externalities as part of the investment strategy.     

农村公共产品供给层次性分析

统筹城乡经济发展和建设社会主义新农村首要面临的问题是为农村、农民提供基本而有保障的公共物品。农村公共物品不仅存在供给总量的短缺问题,而且存在需求层次与供给结构之间的脱节。因此,解决现阶段农村公共物品供给矛盾的有效途径是抓住"工业反哺农业"这一契机,优化农村公共物品的供给结构,不断提高公共财政资金的利用效率。