EURO 2025 Leeds
Abstract Submission

2919. Optimising Medical Instrument Delivery Systems to Reduce CO2 Emissions in Healthcare

Invited abstract in session WD-56: Green Distribution, stream Vehicle Routing and Logistics.

Wednesday, 14:30-16:00
Room: Liberty 1.11

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Ramzi Fayad
AUHE, University of Leeds

Abstract

Abstract
Objective:This paper explores optimising transportation and delivery systems for medical instruments in healthcare to reduce CO2 emissions. A case study examines the delivery of medical instruments to health centres in Leeds, UK, evaluates current practices and their environmental impact, aiming to identify inefficiencies that cause unnecessary emissions and delays in medical supply delivery.
Methods:This study introduces a two-stage approach that combines Genetic Algorithm (GA) with the Clarke-Wright Savings Algorithm (CWS) to address the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP). The CWS minimises transportation costs and distance travelled, and the number and capacity of trucks used through savings calculations, while the GA iteratively refines routes. This framework enhances the efficiency of CWS for initial solutions and the optimisation strengths of GA, resulting in improved routing effectiveness.
Results:The two-stage approach significantly reduces transportation costs and CO2 emissions compared to traditional methods. Integrating electric and hybrid vehicles with optimised routing improves medical supplies delivery, highlighting the potential of multimodal strategies to enhance operational effectiveness.
Conclusion:The integration of the Clarke-Wright savings algorithm and genetic algorithms offers a strong framework for optimising transportation in the medical sector. This two-stage approach can achieve sustainable practices while ensuring high service efficiency.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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