Optimising Maintenance Workflows in Healthcare Facilities: A Multi-Scenario Discrete Event Simulation and Simulation Annealing Approach
Healthcare systems in low-resource settings need effective methods for managing their scant resources, especially people and equipment. Digital technologies may provide means for circumventing the constraints hindering low-income economies from improving their healthcare services. Although analytica...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Modelling |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3951/4/2/13 |
| _version_ | 1827736270436040704 |
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| author | Joseph Mwanza Arnesh Telukdarie Tak Igusa |
| author_facet | Joseph Mwanza Arnesh Telukdarie Tak Igusa |
| author_sort | Joseph Mwanza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Healthcare systems in low-resource settings need effective methods for managing their scant resources, especially people and equipment. Digital technologies may provide means for circumventing the constraints hindering low-income economies from improving their healthcare services. Although analytical and simulation techniques, such as queuing theory and discrete event simulation, have already been successfully applied in addressing various optimisation problems across different operational contexts, the literature reveals that their application in optimisation of healthcare maintenance systems remains relatively unexplored. This study considers the problem of maintenance workflow optimisation with respect to labour, equipment availability and cost. The study aims to provide objective means for forecasting resource demand, given a set of task requests with varying priorities and queue characteristics that flow from multiple queues, and in parallel, into the same maintenance process for resolution. The paper presents how discrete event simulation is adopted in combination with simulated annealing to develop a decision-support tool that helps healthcare asset managers leverage operational performance data to project future asset-performance trends objectively, and thereby determine appropriate interventions for optimal performance. The study demonstrates that healthcare facilities can achieve efficiency in a cost-effective manner through tool-generated maintenance strategies, and that any future changes can be expeditiously re-evaluated and addressed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:07:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-85f430d3fd544f7eafe32be764a47ce8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-3951 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:07:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Modelling |
| spelling | doaj.art-85f430d3fd544f7eafe32be764a47ce82023-11-18T11:46:26ZengMDPI AGModelling2673-39512023-05-014222425010.3390/modelling4020013Optimising Maintenance Workflows in Healthcare Facilities: A Multi-Scenario Discrete Event Simulation and Simulation Annealing ApproachJoseph Mwanza0Arnesh Telukdarie1Tak Igusa2Johannesburg Business School, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2092, South AfricaJohannesburg Business School, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2092, South AfricaDepartment of Civil and Systems Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MA 21218, USAHealthcare systems in low-resource settings need effective methods for managing their scant resources, especially people and equipment. Digital technologies may provide means for circumventing the constraints hindering low-income economies from improving their healthcare services. Although analytical and simulation techniques, such as queuing theory and discrete event simulation, have already been successfully applied in addressing various optimisation problems across different operational contexts, the literature reveals that their application in optimisation of healthcare maintenance systems remains relatively unexplored. This study considers the problem of maintenance workflow optimisation with respect to labour, equipment availability and cost. The study aims to provide objective means for forecasting resource demand, given a set of task requests with varying priorities and queue characteristics that flow from multiple queues, and in parallel, into the same maintenance process for resolution. The paper presents how discrete event simulation is adopted in combination with simulated annealing to develop a decision-support tool that helps healthcare asset managers leverage operational performance data to project future asset-performance trends objectively, and thereby determine appropriate interventions for optimal performance. The study demonstrates that healthcare facilities can achieve efficiency in a cost-effective manner through tool-generated maintenance strategies, and that any future changes can be expeditiously re-evaluated and addressed.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3951/4/2/13maintenance managementhealthcare facilitiesdiscrete event simulationmodellingsimulated annealing |
| spellingShingle | Joseph Mwanza Arnesh Telukdarie Tak Igusa Optimising Maintenance Workflows in Healthcare Facilities: A Multi-Scenario Discrete Event Simulation and Simulation Annealing Approach Modelling maintenance management healthcare facilities discrete event simulation modelling simulated annealing |
| title | Optimising Maintenance Workflows in Healthcare Facilities: A Multi-Scenario Discrete Event Simulation and Simulation Annealing Approach |
| title_full | Optimising Maintenance Workflows in Healthcare Facilities: A Multi-Scenario Discrete Event Simulation and Simulation Annealing Approach |
| title_fullStr | Optimising Maintenance Workflows in Healthcare Facilities: A Multi-Scenario Discrete Event Simulation and Simulation Annealing Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Optimising Maintenance Workflows in Healthcare Facilities: A Multi-Scenario Discrete Event Simulation and Simulation Annealing Approach |
| title_short | Optimising Maintenance Workflows in Healthcare Facilities: A Multi-Scenario Discrete Event Simulation and Simulation Annealing Approach |
| title_sort | optimising maintenance workflows in healthcare facilities a multi scenario discrete event simulation and simulation annealing approach |
| topic | maintenance management healthcare facilities discrete event simulation modelling simulated annealing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3951/4/2/13 |
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