Modeling and Simulation of Hospital Material Flows

Hospital support activities have received little attention and there is very little literature available about this subject. Rather than a literature study, this research is mostly based on interviews, findings, and observations. The purpose of this work is to model and simulate hospital material flows and to study their behavior in different circumstances. The model is made for the Meilahti hospital complex. With some extra work it can be tailored to fit other hospitals also. The model has been used to investigate the capacity needs in the event that transportation needs in the future increase. The model is a tool that assists in decision-making. Simulated experiments can be made with different alternatives before making any changes in the physical system.