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Operational Research

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Optimization

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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Drone Location And Scheduling Problems In Humanitarian Logistics., Zabih Ghelichi Dec 2021

Drone Location And Scheduling Problems In Humanitarian Logistics., Zabih Ghelichi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones, are a promising technology for the last-mile delivery of medical and aid items in humanitarian logistics. In emergency scenarios, like disasters, where transportation networks are destroyed and people are stranded, drones can accelerate the delivery of urgently needed items, e.g., food and water, insulin shots and blood pressure pills, to those trapped in the disaster-affected areas. Drones can also provide logistics services in many non-emergency situations by delivering medical items, e.g., vaccine shots and lab specimens, to remote communities and hard-to-access locations. The contribution of using UAVs goes beyond merely having …


Optimization And Simulation Models To Improve Access To Organ Transplantation In The United States., Fatemeh Karami May 2020

Optimization And Simulation Models To Improve Access To Organ Transplantation In The United States., Fatemeh Karami

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Organ allocation in the U.S. is administrated by the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS). UNOS’s mission is to ensure fair and equitable allocation of organs as stated in the Code of Federal Regulations, which reads "neither place of residence nor place of listing shall be a major determinant of access to transplant". Despite the regulations, there has been endless controversy surrounding the disparity in access to organ transplants. In this context, the primary research goal in this dissertation was to reduce geographic disparity in access to transplants in the U.S., with a focus on heart and kidney transplants. To …


Developing Optimization Techniques For Logistical Tendering Using Reverse Combinatorial Auctions, Jennifer Kiser Aug 2018

Developing Optimization Techniques For Logistical Tendering Using Reverse Combinatorial Auctions, Jennifer Kiser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In business-to-business logistical sourcing events, companies regularly use a bidding process known as tendering in the procurement of transportation services from third-party providers. Usually in the form of an auction involving a single buyer and one or more sellers, the buyer must make decisions regarding with which suppliers to partner and how to distribute the transportation lanes and volume among its suppliers; this is equivalent to solving the optimization problem commonly referred to as the Winner Determination Problem. In order to take into account the complexities inherent to the procurement problem, such as considering a supplier’s network, economies of scope, …


Optimization Models And Algorithms For Demand Response In Smart Grid., Guangyang Xu Dec 2016

Optimization Models And Algorithms For Demand Response In Smart Grid., Guangyang Xu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For demand response in smart grid, a utility company wants to minimize total electricity cost and end users want to maximize their own utility. The latter is considered to consist of two parts in this research: electricity cost and convenience/comfort. We first develop a system optimal (SO) model and a user equilibrium (UE) model for the utility company and end users, respectively and compare the difference of the two. We consider users' possible preference on convenience over cost-saving under the real-time pricing in smart grid, and each user is assumed to have a preferred time window for using a particular …


Order Picking Strategies For Healthcare Warehouses., Ehsan Khodabandeh Dec 2016

Order Picking Strategies For Healthcare Warehouses., Ehsan Khodabandeh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Order picking is the process of collecting goods and items in specified quantities from storage locations, in response to customer orders. Since many labor resources are involved in this process, finding ways to make it more efficient have been a primary goal for researchers and practitioners. Determining a better allocation of products to the storage areas, finding the best route and sequence to pick multiple products, and choosing the best picking policies to minimize congestion in the aisles are just a few of many objectives regarding order picking process. Due to regulatory compliances and the chance of product spoilage, additional …