A Combined Optimization and Simulation Based Methodology for Locating Search and Rescue Helicopters

摘要

Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) operation is a critical process which aims to minimize the loss of life, injury, material damage by rendering aid to persons in distress or imminent danger at sea. Response time to incidents is the most crucial performance metric in SAR operations. Fatalities, injuries and damage can be reduced if incidents are responded as quickly as possible. However, uncertainty of location, time and severity of an incident make these operations difficult to conduct and complicated to plan. Furthermore, quick response relates to rational planning and allocation as well as the use of modern and fast SAR resources. In this paper, we combine optimization and simulation methodologies and study the problem of allocating SAR helicopters. Our methodology works in two stages; we first determine an optimal allocation scheme of helicopters with the objective of minimizing the average response time to incidents in the responsibility region. Next, we use a discrete event simulation model to test the performance of our analytical solution under stochastic demand. Using 2014 incident data of the Aegean Sea, we demonstrate a case study in the western sea region of Turkey.