A hierarchical approach to multi-project planning under uncertainty

We survey several viewpoints on the management of the planning complexity of multi-project organisations under uncertainty. A positioning framework is proposed to distinguish between different types of project-driven organisations, which is meant to aid project management in the choice between the various existing planning approaches. We discuss the current state of the art of hierarchical planning approaches both for traditional manufacturing and for project environments. We introduce a generic hierarchical project planning and control framework that serves to position planning methods for multi-project planning under uncertainty. We discuss multiple techniques for dealing with the uncertainty inherent to the different hierarchical stages in a multi-project organisation. In the last part of this paper we discuss two cases from practice and we relate these practical cases to the positioning framework that is put forward in the paper

A hierarchical approach to multi-project planning under uncertainty.

We survey several viewpoints on the management of the planning complexity of multi-project organisations under uncertainty. A positioning framework is proposed to distinguish between different types of project-driven organisations, which is meant to aid project management in the choice between the various existing planning approaches. We discuss the current state of the art of hierarchical planning approaches both for traditional manufacturing and for project environments. We introduce a generic hierarchical project planning and control framework that serves to position planning methods for multi-project planning under uncertainty. We discuss multiple techniques for dealing with the uncertainty inherent to the different hierarchical stages in a multi-project organisation. In the last part of this paper we discuss two cases from practice and we relate these practical cases to the positioning framework that is put forward in the paper.Choice; Complexity; Framework; Hierarchical models; Management; Manufacturing; Methods; Multi-project organisations; Planning; Project management; Project planning; Uncertainty;

Resource planning for just-in-time make-to-order environments: a scalable methodology using tabu search

This paper develops a two-phase tabu search-based methodology for detailed resource planning in make-to-order production systems with multiple resources, unique routings, and varying job due dates. In the first phase rather than attempting to construct a good feasible plan from scratch, we define a novel approach to resource planning that computes an infeasible but optimal plan, uses it as the initial resource plan, and then makes the necessary modifications to the times of individual tasks to create a feasible finite-capacity plan. In the second phase we search for alternate finite-capacity plans that have decreased earliness, tardiness and lead time. To reduce earliness as well as tardiness, just-in-time philosophical elements are weaved into the construction of the initial solution, the neighborhood structure and the selection criteria. Computational experiments reveal that the tabu search-based methodology is more effective and reliable for resource planning than an exact approach using binary integer linear programming, which struggles to find a good solution in a reasonable amount of time even for trivially small instances. It also outperforms heuristic methods commonly used in practice for resource planning that sort jobs according to priority and load them onto resources one at a time.Ye

The prevalence and incidence of mental ill-health in adults with autism and intellectual disabilities

The prevalence, and incidence, of mental ill-health in adults with intellectual disabilities and autism were compared with the whole population with intellectual disabilities, and with controls, matched individually for age, gender, ability-level, and Down syndrome. Although the adults with autism had a higher point prevalence of problem behaviours compared with the whole adult population with intellectual disabilities, compared with individually matched controls there was no difference in prevalence, or incidence of either problem behaviours or other mental ill-health. Adults with autism who had problem behaviours were less likely to recover over a two-year period than were their matched controls. Apparent differences in rates of mental ill-health are accounted for by factors other than autism, including Down syndrome and ability level

Walk well:a randomised controlled trial of a walking intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities: study protocol

Background - Walking interventions have been shown to have a positive impact on physical activity (PA) levels, health and wellbeing for adult and older adult populations. There has been very little work carried out to explore the effectiveness of walking interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities. This paper will provide details of the Walk Well intervention, designed for adults with intellectual disabilities, and a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test its effectiveness. Methods/design - This study will adopt a RCT design, with participants allocated to the walking intervention group or a waiting list control group. The intervention consists of three PA consultations (baseline, six weeks and 12 weeks) and an individualised 12 week walking programme. A range of measures will be completed by participants at baseline, post intervention (three months from baseline) and at follow up (three months post intervention and six months from baseline). All outcome measures will be collected by a researcher who will be blinded to the study groups. The primary outcome will be steps walked per day, measured using accelerometers. Secondary outcome measures will include time spent in PA per day (across various intensity levels), time spent in sedentary behaviour per day, quality of life, self-efficacy and anthropometric measures to monitor weight change. Discussion - Since there are currently no published RCTs of walking interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities, this RCT will examine if a walking intervention can successfully increase PA, health and wellbeing of adults with intellectual disabilities

Improving the Efficiency of Physical Examination Services

The objective of our project was to improve the efficiency of the physical examination screening service of a large hospital system. We began with a detailed simulation model to explore the relationships between four performance measures and three decision factors. We then attempted to identify the optimal physician inquiry starting time by solving a goal-programming problem, where the objective function includes multiple goals. One of our simulation results shows that the proposed optimal physician inquiry starting time decreased patient wait times by 50% without increasing overall physician utilization

Suitability and managerial implications of a Master Surgical Scheduling approach

Abstract: Operating room (OR) planning and scheduling is a popular and challenging subject within the operational research applied to health services research (ORAHS). However, the impact in practice is very limited. The organization and culture of a hospital and the inherent characteristics of its processes impose specific implementation issues that affect the success of planning approaches. Current tactical OR planning approaches often fail to account for these issues.Master surgical scheduling (MSS) is a promising approach for hospitals to optimize resource utilization and patient flows. We discuss the pros and cons of MSS and compare MSS with centralized and decentralized planning approaches. Finally, we address various implementation issues of MSS and discuss its suitability for hospitals with different organizational foci and culture