Laboratory Simulator - A Study of Laboratory Activities by a Simulation Method

Abstract

A simulator has been designed for study of the activities in a hospital laboratory, the intention being that of producing a model which could be adapted to laboratories other than the one in which it was developed, by virtue of its being as generalized as possible. Consequently, only the basic pattern of work in the laboratory was included in the fixed simulator program, whereas details varying from one simtilated situation to another were left for use as »source data« for each separate simulation run.The simulation program was written in the simidation language General Purpose Systems Simulator (GPSS) and runs on an IBM 7090 computer.The functional basic unit for the simulator is a »transaction«, which moves in the model, and with functions that correspond to the specimen’s route in the laboratory. Each transaction is provided with parameters (data) which determine its functions and course within the model.The validity of the program was tested by means of a simulation of an average working day, and the results were compared with the real situation. Following this, several tests were made, with examination of the way in which changes in the number of laboratory technicians and in the work load affected laboratory activities.With the simulation method, the following aims are achievable:— rationalization of laboratory activities,— rational expansion of laboratory facilities,— planning of personnel, equipment and working space for a new laboratory,— comparison of the economic efficiency of different laboratories.The Finnish Hospital League has initiated an attempt to use the model presented in the planning of laboratories for Health Centres called for by the recently renewed legislation for Public Health in Finland.