Reliable facility location problem considering facility failure scenarios

Purpose - The facility in an emergency system could be immobilized because of the huge destructive power of an irregular emergency and the uncertainty of the time, place and scale of occurrence. So facility failure scenarios must be considered at the time of location. The purpose of this paper is to establish a location model based on the worst facility failure, the objective of which is to minimize the cost and cover the demand maximally. It is demonstrated that location choice, considering facility failure, has significant meaning when considering economic benefit and covering the demand. Design/methodology/approach - A hi-level programming model which studies the facility location is established by using the methods of scenario analysis and robust optimization. It is compared with a classic location model, without considering facility failure, from the points of view of economic benefit and maximal covering demand. Findings - Compared to the classic location model, without considering facility failure, it is demonstrated that the location model which considers facility failure can save more costs from the economic benefit point of view and, from the maximal covering of the demand point of view, has a higher covering ratio. So facility failure scenario should be considered in the location of an emergency facility. Originality/value - The paper studies facility location based on the worst scenario, from the two aspects of economic benefits and maximal covering demand.