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Optimizing Resource Allocation in Fire Departments (RAFD) is crucial for enhancing Fire Protection Services (FPS) and ultimately saving lives. Efficient RAFD ensures that fire departments have the necessary resources to respond effectively to emergencies. This paper presents a method for optimizing RAFD based on performance assessment results, examining its impact on Fire Department (FD) efficiency in Portugal. Evaluating data from 353 FDs, two RAFD optimization methods were assessed: one adhering to Portuguese regulations and constraints, such as budget allocation limitations, and another without such constraints. Integrating a slack-based data envelopment analysis model and mixed-integer linear programming, the study found that incorporating FD efficiency scores in RAFD improved overall efficiency at national, district, and FD levels. While adherence to Portuguese regulations led to balanced resource allocation and a 4% performance improvement at the national level, relaxing constraints yielded an 8% improvement, albeit with potential performance deterioration in some FDs. The detailed budget and efficiency metric analysis provided in this paper offers actionable insights for fire protection services enhancement. This underscores the importance of diverse optimization strategies to enhance FD efficiency, with implications for decision-makers at the Portuguese National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection and similar organizations globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of rerostering nurse schedules arises in hospitals when at least one nurse informs that she will be unable to perform the shifts assigned to her on one or more future work days. As a result, the current roster must be rebuilt in accordance with labour contract rules and institutional requirements. All such restraints are regarded as hard constraints. However, major alterations in the previously assigned nurse schedules must be avoided. This paper is based on a case study of a public hospital in Portugal. It presents two new integer multicommodity flow formulations for the rerostering problem, besides a computational experiment performed using real data. The first model is based on a directed multilevel acyclic network. The aggregation of nodes in this network led to the second model. The results obtained show that the second integer multicommodity flow formulation outperforms the first, both in terms of solution quality, as well as in computational time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the development of an innovative home energy management system (HEMS). The presented HEMS relies on a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP)-based model predictive control. The system takes advantage of the powerful formulation capabilities of a MILP-based mathematical programming problem with the capabilities of model predictive control to optimize, at each sample instant the HEMS operation using a receding-horizon formulation. The system is designed for a residence located in Algarve, Portugal. The results of the presented system are compared with the real experimental results obtained by a commercial PV-battery management system. Additionally, an analysis of the system's performance is conducted, in terms of operation planning for 2021 market prices compared to 2022 prices, where there was a significant rise of buying price due to the energy world context. In all simulations performed, it is verified that the MILP-based model predictive control presents better results, with statistical relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]