Mathematical Decision Support to Optimise Hospital Capacity and Utilisation. Hospital planners and executives regularly contend with challenging capacity related decisions. Decisions relating to prioritisation, allocation and sharing of resources have a profound impact on productivity, efficiency and patient outcomes. There is a lack of data-driven or quantitative decision support to make well-informed capacity related decisions of a strategic or tactical nature in a single hospital, or across a ....Mathematical Decision Support to Optimise Hospital Capacity and Utilisation. Hospital planners and executives regularly contend with challenging capacity related decisions. Decisions relating to prioritisation, allocation and sharing of resources have a profound impact on productivity, efficiency and patient outcomes. There is a lack of data-driven or quantitative decision support to make well-informed capacity related decisions of a strategic or tactical nature in a single hospital, or across a regional healthcare system. This project aims to deliver decision support for holistic hospital capacity assessment and planning optimisation. This will yield significant benefits for the health sector, providing a tool to optimise the allocation of resources and provision of infrastructure for regional hospital services.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the long-term costs and benefits of community-based initiatives. The ultimate benefit from the research is a more efficient allocation of public funds to provide public services, i.e. an increase in the gain derived from the government budget. The relative advantages of alternative methods of delivering government services are subject to significant uncertainty, which means that policy decisions are often poorly informed. Improvements in the accuracy of predicting the costs and benefi ....Evaluating the long-term costs and benefits of community-based initiatives. The ultimate benefit from the research is a more efficient allocation of public funds to provide public services, i.e. an increase in the gain derived from the government budget. The relative advantages of alternative methods of delivering government services are subject to significant uncertainty, which means that policy decisions are often poorly informed. Improvements in the accuracy of predicting the costs and benefits of complex community-based initiatives will help policymakers identify the set of initiatives that provide the best outcomes for the community they serve, as well as informing the optimal specification of the individual initiatives.Read moreRead less
Designing an Intelligent Process Operation Management System. The complexity and sophistication of current generation of industrial processes, and the growing need for autonomous agents that control physical systems, motivate the need for the development of an intelligent process operation management system. In this project, the innovative integration of theories from different scientific fields (computer systems, process engineering, systems and control engineering) provides an excellent platfo ....Designing an Intelligent Process Operation Management System. The complexity and sophistication of current generation of industrial processes, and the growing need for autonomous agents that control physical systems, motivate the need for the development of an intelligent process operation management system. In this project, the innovative integration of theories from different scientific fields (computer systems, process engineering, systems and control engineering) provides an excellent platform for development of a smart data management tool, to oversee the major operational tasks within the plant and help the operators and engineers to make more informed decisions. Direct application of the techniques developed in this study to a pilot case study, could be used as a benchmark to show the potential benefits that can be gained through smart information use and data management.Read moreRead less
An integrated mathematical approach to synchronise and optimise hospital operations. This project aims to develop an integrated mathematical approach to synchronise and optimise patient scheduling systems of different departments to ensure that the hospital’s assets and related resources are used efficiently. The project’s aim is to investigate patient flow, process delay, and the interaction and inter-dependence of departments within the hospital to reduce access block (bottleneck) and subseque ....An integrated mathematical approach to synchronise and optimise hospital operations. This project aims to develop an integrated mathematical approach to synchronise and optimise patient scheduling systems of different departments to ensure that the hospital’s assets and related resources are used efficiently. The project’s aim is to investigate patient flow, process delay, and the interaction and inter-dependence of departments within the hospital to reduce access block (bottleneck) and subsequent overcrowding. This project aims to smooth the running of the hospital, improve the efficiency of patient throughput, reduce waiting times, and revolutionise hospital planning and scheduling.Read moreRead less
Real-time scheduling of trains to control peak electricity demand. This project aims to develop new scheduling and control methods that will enable railways to reduce their demand for electricity during peak demand periods, without undue disruption to the timetable.
These new methods and systems will integrate with—and expand the capabilities of—an Australian train control system that is used by railways around the world. This will enable better management of electricity within a region and be ....Real-time scheduling of trains to control peak electricity demand. This project aims to develop new scheduling and control methods that will enable railways to reduce their demand for electricity during peak demand periods, without undue disruption to the timetable.
These new methods and systems will integrate with—and expand the capabilities of—an Australian train control system that is used by railways around the world. This will enable better management of electricity within a region and better use of renewable energy sources, with significant cost savings for railways and the wider community.Read moreRead less
Competitive supplier bidding in supply chains. This project will use mathematical modelling to contribute to better management practice in dealing with procurement. With the increasing use of auctions and sophisticated bidding procedures it is essential to improve our understanding of this important area.
Designing Robust Reactive Scheduling System for Emergency Medical Services. The job shop approach to reactive scheduling system for Emergency Departments promises considerable benefits over existing approaches, and allows problems of large size and complexity to be solved with great accuracy. The application of research results in Australia has the potential to:
- provide benchmarks in ED scheduling;
- reduce patients waiting times and rejections by better planning of patient schedules of em ....Designing Robust Reactive Scheduling System for Emergency Medical Services. The job shop approach to reactive scheduling system for Emergency Departments promises considerable benefits over existing approaches, and allows problems of large size and complexity to be solved with great accuracy. The application of research results in Australia has the potential to:
- provide benchmarks in ED scheduling;
- reduce patients waiting times and rejections by better planning of patient schedules of emergency departments;
- leads to less costs for staff and resources;
- enhance the ability of managers to control operations in an efficient manner and minimise conflicts; and
- to increase efficiency of emergency departments, leading to lower operating and capital cost.
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Determining features that separate groups of protein sequences. This project aims to develop mathematical approaches for determining features that distinguish one group of proteins from another, based on their amino acid sequences. The groups of sequences will reflect different outcomes, so that identifying the fundamental features can result in targeted interventions against the poorer outcome. A simple comparison at each position or of known features can fail to determine robust differentiator ....Determining features that separate groups of protein sequences. This project aims to develop mathematical approaches for determining features that distinguish one group of proteins from another, based on their amino acid sequences. The groups of sequences will reflect different outcomes, so that identifying the fundamental features can result in targeted interventions against the poorer outcome. A simple comparison at each position or of known features can fail to determine robust differentiators and so more complex methods are required. The project will, for example, help identify HIV vaccine targets by comparing early HIV transmission sequences from those in chronic infection. The methods will be applicable to viral proteins where high mutation rates make this task even more complex.Read moreRead less
New mathematics for multi-extremal optimization and diffusion tensor imaging. This project aims to establish numerically certifiable mathematical theory and methods for semi-algebraic optimisation problems. Numerically certifiable optimisation principles and techniques are vital for the practical use of optimisation technologies because they can be readily implemented by common computer models and algorithms. Yet no such methodologies exist for multi-extremal, semi-algebraic optimisation problem ....New mathematics for multi-extremal optimization and diffusion tensor imaging. This project aims to establish numerically certifiable mathematical theory and methods for semi-algebraic optimisation problems. Numerically certifiable optimisation principles and techniques are vital for the practical use of optimisation technologies because they can be readily implemented by common computer models and algorithms. Yet no such methodologies exist for multi-extremal, semi-algebraic optimisation problems which are common in modern science and medicine. The expected outcomes of this project include enhanced optimisation methods for diffusion tensor imaging, an emerging technology in brain sciences.Read moreRead less
Statistical and mathematical modelling to improve health care outcomes in hospitals. The aim of this project is to develop new quantitative techniques based on mathematical and statistical modelling that improve the outcomes of health care in hospitals. Hospital outcomes for patients are sub-optimal due to adverse events such as hospital acquired infections and fully stretched facilities. Research from this project will lead to resource usage being optimised using operations research; the tra ....Statistical and mathematical modelling to improve health care outcomes in hospitals. The aim of this project is to develop new quantitative techniques based on mathematical and statistical modelling that improve the outcomes of health care in hospitals. Hospital outcomes for patients are sub-optimal due to adverse events such as hospital acquired infections and fully stretched facilities. Research from this project will lead to resource usage being optimised using operations research; the transmission of hospital acquired infections being better understood using mathematical models; and better monitoring of adverse events and analyses of studies using statistical tools. Opportunities will be provided for hospital staff to acquire knowledge of the significance of these outcomes .Read moreRead less