265. Discrete event simulation model to enhance decision making and product flow in Human Milk Banks
Contributed abstract in session TB-4: Modeling and Simulation /1, stream Regular talks.
Tuesday, 11:00-12:30Room: Room S3
Authors (first author is the speaker)
| 1. | Marta Staff
|
| 2. | Navonil Mustafee
|
| Business School, University of Exeter | |
| 3. | Natalie Shenker
|
| Imperial College, London |
Abstract
Human Milk Banks (HMBs) provide safe and screened donor human milk (DHM) which can be lifesaving for vulnerable premature infants in hospital settings. Provision for older infants in the community is also undertaken in cases where mother’s own milk is unavailable (e.g. maternal illness or death). Feed volumes of DHM is a strong function of infants’ age/size, with premature infants requiring significantly less than older community infants. Also, the requirements related to DHM’s shelf life and quality are more stringent for hospital use. For these reasons HMBs may provide DHM in different bottle sizes, with different grades and shelf lives. Demand for DHM from hospitals is variable and HMBs have the opportunity to substitute hospital grade milk to community users in case of excessive stock holding of the former. This is aimed at waste reduction and allows for greater community provision. However, community use favours (both pragmatically and economically) larger bottle sizes, which points to a need to better understand production decisions in HMBs. A DES model is therefore presented which models stochastic hospital demand, and production constraints related to production capacity and processing times, and shelf life, which is used to explore decisions around production decisions related to the substitution of hospital grade DHM to the community. The DHM industry, mostly overlooked by the OR community, presents an impactful research opportunity to aid vulnerable infants.
Keywords
- Modelling and simulation
- Strategic and operational planning
- Decision support
Status: accepted
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