Mutated cuckoo search algorithm for dynamic vehicle routing problem and synchronization occurs within the time slots in home healthcare

Abstract

The advancement and development of technologies promote more interest in exploring Dynamic Vehicle Routing Problems (DVRP), especially in Home Healthcare. Home healthcare (HHC) has gained more attention from researchers in recent years due to its increasing demand. There are certain cases where some patients may require one or more care services concurrently. In such a situation, synchronization of vehicles within specific time slots is necessary. The inclusion of dynamic patients and synchronization of vehicles without disregarding the time window will transform into a formidable task for HHC organizations. Hence, the investigation of the Dynamic Vehicle Routing problem where Synchronization occurs within the Time Slots (DVRPSTS) becomes a remarkable model in the context of HHC. This paper proposed one such complex endeavour considering multi-objectives such as (i) minimize the total travel time and the number of vehicles utilized (ii) maximize the number of new patients visits in HHC. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm Mutated Cuckoo Search Algorithm (MCSA) are validated by comparing its results with existing methods in the literature. Thus, this algorithm outperforms most of the randomly generated test instances. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed MCSA has not yet been modelled for the DVRPSTS in HHC.