A multi-objective combinatorial model of casualty processing in major incident response

Wilson, D.T.; Hawe, G.I.; Coates, G.; Crouch, R.S.

doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2013.04.040

A multi-objective combinatorial model of casualty processing in major incident response

Wilson, D.T.; Hawe, G.I.; Coates, G.; Crouch, R.S.

Authors

D.T. Wilson

G.I. Hawe

G. Coates

R.S. Crouch

Abstract

During the emergency response to mass casualty incidents decisions relating to the extrication, treatment and transporting of casualties are made in a real-time, sequential manner. In this paper we describe a novel combinatorial optimization model of this problem which acknowledges its temporal nature by employing a scheduling approach. The model is of a multi-objective nature, utilizing a lexicographic view to combine objectives in a manner which capitalizes on their natural ordering of priority. The model includes pertinent details regarding the stochastic nature of casualty health, the spatial nature of multi-site emergencies and the dynamic capacity of hospitals. A Variable Neighborhood Descent metaheuristic is employed in order to solve the model. The model is evaluated over a range of potential problems, with results confirming its effective and robust nature.

Citation

Wilson, D., Hawe, G., Coates, G., & Crouch, R. (2013). A multi-objective combinatorial model of casualty processing in major incident response. European Journal of Operational Research, 230(3), 643-655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2013.04.040

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Nov 1, 2013
Deposit Date	Apr 24, 2013
Publicly Available Date	Jun 10, 2014
Journal	European Journal of Operational Research
Print ISSN	0377-2217
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	230
Issue	3
Pages	643-655
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2013.04.040
Keywords	Scheduling, Combinatorial optimization, Emergency response.

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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.