Maximising the patient flows throughout the emergency care patient pathway is one of the most important objectives in the healthcare system. The emergency department (ED) is the critical point of this pathway in most hospitals, as the potential delays reduce the number of patients seen in the recommended time. One of the key delays in the ED is the waiting time of a patient prior to treatment, which can be reduced by optimising the patient treatment schedules with priorities. In this paper, a novel blocking patient flow (BPF) algorithm is developed and tested using the real data from a hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Initially, a simulation model of real-life ED operations is developed by characterising patient interarrival and treatment times according to different disease categories. Subsequently, a BPF heuristic algorithm is designed and benchmarked via computational experiments using two dominance rules: first come first served (FCFS) and shortest processing time (SPT). The computational results show that the proposed approach leads to a reduction of the total waiting time by more than 8 % in comparison to the current hospital practice, which implies that more patients will be served in a specified time window.

Modelling is an effective way of designing, understanding, and analysing bio-refinery supply chain systems. The supply chain is a complex process consisting of many systems interacting with each other. It requires the modelling of the processes in the presence of multiple autonomous entities (i.e. biomass producers, bio-processors and transporters), multiple performance measures and multiple objectives, both local and global, which together constitute very complex interaction effects. In this paper, simulation models for recovering biomass from the field of the biorefinery are developed and validated using some industry data and the minimum biomass recovery cost is established based on different strategies employed for recovering biomass. Energy densification techniques are evaluated for their net present worth and the technologies that offer greater returns for the industry are recommended. In addition, a new scheduling algorithm is also developed to enhance the process flow of the management of resources and the flow of biomass. The primary objective is to investigate different strategies to reach the lowest cost delivery of sugarcane harvest residue to a sugar factory through optimally located bio-refineries. A simulation /optimisation solution approach is also developed to tackle the stochastic variables in the bioenergy production system based on different statistical distributions such as Weibull and Pearson distributions. In this approach, a genetic algorithm is integrated with simulation to improve the initial solution and search the near-optimal solution. A case study is conducted to illustrate the results and to validate the applicability for the real world implementation using ExtendSIM Simulation software using some real data from Australian Mills.

In Australia, Bioenergy plays an important role in modern power systems, where many biomass resources provide greenhouse gas neutral and electricity at a variety of scales. By 2050, the Biomass energy is projected to have a 40-50 % share as an alternative source of energy. In addition to conversion of biomass, barriers and uncertainties in the production, supply may hinder biomass energy development. The sugarcane is an essential ingredient in the production of Bioenergy, across the whole spectrum ranging from the first generation to second generation, e.g., production of energy from the lignocellulosic component of the sugarcane initially regarded as waste (bagasse and cane residue). Sustainable recovery of the Lignocellulosic component of sugarcane from the field through a structured process is largely unknown and associated with high capital outlay that have stifled the growth of bioenergy sector. In this context, this paper develops a new scheduler to optimise the recovery of lignocellulosic component of sugarcane and cane, transport and harvest systems with reducing the associated costs and operational time. An Optimisation Algorithm called Limited Discrepancy Search has been adapted and integrated with the developed scheduling transport algorithms. The developed algorithms are formulated and coded by Optimization Programming Language (OPL) to obtain the optimised cane and cane residues transport schedules. Computational experiments demonstrate that high-quality solutions are obtainable for industry-scale instances. To provide insightful decisions, sensitivity analysis is conducted in terms of different scenarios and criteria.