Mobile robot simulation of clinical laboratory deliveries

Flexible automation in the form of mobile robots holds the potential for decreasing operating costs while improving delivery performance in mid-size hospital delivery systems. This paper discusses the use of simulation modeling to analyze the costs, benefits, and performance tradeoffs related to the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in1998 Winter Simulation Conference. Proceedings (Cat. No.98CH36274) Vol. 2; pp. 1415 - 1422 vol.2
Main Authors Rossetti, M.D., Kumar, A., Felder, R.A.
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 1998
Subjects
Analytical models
Cost benefit analysis
Hospitals
Humans
Laboratories
Mobile robots
Performance analysis
Performance gain
Robotics and automation
Transportation
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Flexible automation in the form of mobile robots holds the potential for decreasing operating costs while improving delivery performance in mid-size hospital delivery systems. This paper discusses the use of simulation modeling to analyze the costs, benefits, and performance tradeoffs related to the installation and use of a fleet of mobile robots within mid-size hospital facilities. The results of this study enable a better understanding of the delivery and transportation requirements of mid-sized hospitals and how a fleet of mobile robots can meet those requirements. We show that for clinical laboratory deliveries a fleet of 6 mobile robots can achieve significant performance gains over the current system of 3 human couriers while still remaining cost effective. The 6-robot alternative reduces the annual cost by approximately 56% and improves turn-around time performance by 33%.
ISBN:9780780351332
0780351339
DOI:10.1109/WSC.1998.746010