Simulation-Optimization of Automated Material Handling Systems in a Healthcare Facility

TL;DR

This paper presents a simulation-optimization framework for hospital material handling systems, focusing on AGV routing and Kanban control to reduce congestion, improve efficiency, and increase utilization based on real hospital data.

Contribution

It introduces an integrated data analysis, simulation, and optimization approach for redesigning hospital material handling systems, including a novel Kanban-based control method.

Findings

Kanban system significantly reduces congestion and travel times.

Optimized AGV routes increase vehicle utilization.

Sensitivity analysis confirms robustness of the proposed system.

Abstract

Automated material handling systems are used in healthcare facilities to optimize material flow, minimize workforce requirements, reduce the risk of contamination, and reduce injuries. This study proposes a framework that integrates data analysis with system simulation and optimization to address the following research questions: (i) What are the implications of redesigning a hospital's material handling system? (ii) What are the implications of improving a hospital's material handling process? This paper develops a case study using data from the Greenville Memorial Hospital (GMH) in South Carolina, USA. The case study is focused on the delivery of surgical cases to operating rooms at GMH via Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). The data analysis provides distributions of travel times, AGV utilization, and AGV movement patterns in the current system. The results of data analysis are integrated in a simulation-optimization model that incorporates the size of AGV fleet and the corresponding routes to improve system efficiency, increase AGV utilization, and reduce congestion. To address research question (i), a redesign of AGV pathways is evaluated to determine whether congestion is reduced. For research question (ii), the implementation of a Kanban system is proposed to improve AGV utilization by controlling the number of AGVs used daily, based on the volume of surgical cases. An extensive sensitivity analysis, simulation-optimization experiments, and a pilot study are conducted and indicate that the proposed Kanban system leads to significant reductions in congestion and travel times and increased utilization of AGVs.