Simulation modeling of epidemic risk in supermarkets: Investigating the impact of social distancing and checkout zone design

Tomasz Antczak, Bartosz Skorupa, Mikolaj Szurlej, Rafał Weron and Jacek Zabawa

No WORMS/21/05, WORking papers in Management Science (WORMS) from Department of Operations Research and Business Intelligence, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology

Abstract: We build an agent-based model for evaluating the spatial and functional design of supermarket checkout zones and the effectiveness of safety regulations related to distancing that have been introduced after the COVID-19 outbreak. The model is implemented in the NetLogo simulation platform and calibrated to actual point of sale data from one of major European retail chains. It enables realistic modeling of the checkout operations as well as of the airborne diffusion of SARS-CoV-2 particles. We find that opening checkouts in a specific order can reduce epidemic risk, but only under low and moderate traffic conditions. Hence, redesigning supermarket layouts to increase distances between the queues can reduce risk only if the number of open checkouts is sufficient to serve customers during peak hours.

Keywords: Agent-based model; Indoor infection spreading; Checkout zone architecture; Decision support; COVID-19; NetLogo (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C15 C63 L81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 8 pages
Date: 2021-03-29
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cmp and nep-ure
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https://worms.pwr.edu.pl/RePEc/ahh/wpaper/WORMS_21_05.pdf Original version, 2021 (application/pdf)

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