Time windows vehicle routing problem to on-time transportation of biological products on healthcare centres

Pereira, Maria Teresa; Oliveira, Marisa; Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Barreiras, Alcinda; Carneiro, Liliana

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/22379

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Authors

Pereira, Maria Teresa

Oliveira, Marisa

Ferreira, Fernanda A.

Barreiras, Alcinda

Carneiro, Liliana

Abstract(s)

This paper addresses a Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) applied to the field of healthcare. Biological products are collected from patients at the local healthcare centers and transported to hospital laboratories for further processing and analysis. This paper analyses and determines a set of vehicle routes to perform on-time transportation of biological products from local healthcare centers to the main hospital, considering all technical issues. We sought to develop a solution to the Vehicle Routing Problem with Pickups and Deliveries (VRPPD) to effectively collect biological products, and parallelly deliver medical supplies to local healthcare units - gloves, masks, sanitation accessories, and disposable tools. We also aimed to implement a solution suitable for a larger cluster of healthcare centers. The mathematical model allowed for an efficient route design, considering distances, service times, travel times, total route time, and vehicle availability for other tasks. The mathematical model (VRPPDW) presents a feasible improvement to the solution currently used by the healthcare units. It allows for pickup and delivery of other items as required, and can be adapted if other collection points are to be added, providing a strong route and service times optimization. We were able to achieve a 95-min reduction, thus saving €2,222.64 per year. This solution required no further investment thus avoiding any reallocation available resources.