Optimal staffing strategies for points of dispensing

Ivan Hernandez, Jose E. Ramirez-Marquez, David Starr, Ryan McKay, Seth Guthartz, Matt Motherwell, Jessica Barcellona

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    10 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    We present a heuristic-based multi-objective optimization approach for minimizing staff and maximizing throughput at Points-of-Dispensing (PODs). PODs are sites quickly set up by local health departments to rapidly dispense life-saving medical countermeasures during large-scale public health emergencies. Current modeling tools require decision makers to modify their models and re-run them for each "what if" scenario they are charged with preparing for, e.g. what happens if more/less staff are available. The exploration of these "what if" scenarios becomes tedious if there are many variables to change and the decision space quickly becomes too large to analyze effectively. Currently, to understand the trade-offs between throughput and staffing levels, public health emergency managers must maximize throughput subject to a specified staffing level. Then, they must repeatedly change the constraint (altering the maximum staff allowed) and re-run the model. In contrast, by approaching the problem from a multi-objective perspective and integrating discrete event and optimization tools, we automate of the exploration of the decision space. This approach allows public health emergency planners to examine far more potential solutions and to focus tangible planning resources on areas that show theoretical promise. Such an approach can also expose previously unidentified constraints in existing plans.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)172-183
    Number of pages12
    JournalComputers and Industrial Engineering
    Volume83
    DOIs
    StatePublished - May 2015

    Keywords

    • Multi-criteria analysis
    • OR in health services
    • Simulation
    • Uncertainty modeling

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