Performance Approximation of Emergency Service Systems with Priorities and Partial Backups

Akbar Karimi (), Michel Gendreau () and Vedat Verter ()
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Akbar Karimi: Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada; Interuniversity Center for Research on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation (CIRRELT), Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada
Michel Gendreau: Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada; Interuniversity Center for Research on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation (CIRRELT), Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada
Vedat Verter: Interuniversity Center for Research on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation (CIRRELT), Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada; Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1G5, Canada

Transportation Science, 2018, vol. 52, issue 5, 1235-1252

Abstract: An approximate procedure is presented for priority emergency service systems with partial backups where requests for service with a given origin and priority can be responded to by a certain subset of response units. We introduce and analyze the family of queuing and loss systems with partial service and use them to approximate the distribution of the number of busy response units, which in turn enables us to estimate the average server workloads, immediate and delayed dispatch rates, and waiting delays as system performance measures. We consider systems with zero and infinite queue capacities and let the dispatching policies and service times depend on call priority and customer and server locations. The validity of the approximation model and its computational aspects are studied through numerous tests and a realistic application of locating a fleet of ambulances in downtown Montréal.

Keywords: emergency service systems; partial backup; hypercube queuing model; spatially distributed systems; server-to-customer systems; priority queues (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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