Operations Research and Analytics: Saving Lives. Saving Money. Solving Problems.
The fast-moving impacts of COVID-19 pose significant issues for the health and safety of people, for critical supply chains, and have numerous other societal and economic implications.
Many INFORMS members have long worked in areas related to pandemics, supply chain and other areas where operations research and analytics can provide valuable information for policymakers and other decision makers.
Saving Lives. Saving Money. Solving Problems.
About O.R. & Analytics
O.R. and Analytics are proven scientific and mathematical processes that enable organizations to transform data into information, and information into predictive and prescriptive insights, that enable better decisions and improved results. O.R. and Analytics trace their roots to World War II, when military planners leveraged statistics and advanced mathematics to solve logistical problems and plan combat operations. In the decades since, other parts of the government and a wide variety of industries have extensively embraced these tools.
O.R. & Analytics Benefits for Policymakers
O.R. and Analytics offer improved solutions to a plethora of government-wide challenges on the horizon. From predicting disease outbreaks, to the creation of next-generation military systems, nurturing and regulation of the sharing economy, the development of the connected city and more, O.R. and Analytics open a new frontier of efficiency, improved outcomes, and cost savings for American governance.
About INFORMS
With 12,500 members, INFORMS is the largest association of Operations Research (O.R.) and Analytics professionals and students. INFORMS provides a variety of resources and opportunities for individual professionals and organizations to better understand and use O.R. and Analytics tools and methods to save lives, save money, and solve problems.
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SAVING LIVES.
The CDC used operations research and management science tools with scientific evidence and field knowledge to develop integrated analytical models for the evaluation of polio eradication policy choices.
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SAVING LIVES.
The American Red Cross worked with operations researchers from Georgia Tech to improve the timely collection and processing of blood donations to maximize a single donation's components.
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SAVING LIVES.
The Pediatric Heart Network created clinical practice guidelines for the surgical care of patients with congenital heart defects by using researchers to study the top nine pediatric centers in the United States.
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SAVING LIVES.
The U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command (CECOM) improved their efficiency and effectiveness by creating a suite of systems that leveraged artificial intelligence to maximize self-reliance at combat outposts.
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SAVING LIVES.
The Alliance for Paired Donation used operations research and market design to create a new method for matching living kidney donors to recipients that allowed matches to create longer chains.
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SAVING LIVES.
Listen to an episode of the INFORMS podcast Resoundingly Human where Gino Lim of the University of Houston discusses using drones to provide healthcare to patients with chronic illness in rural settings.
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SAVING MONEY.
BNSF's O.R. and advanced analytics team drives better decision making in every aspect involved in the management of its 32,500-mile rail network to save more than $110 million annually.
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SAVING MONEY.
The FAA created and deployed a tool called Airspace Flow Programs (AFPs) to deal with these large-scale weather problems resulting in savings to flight operators of about $118 million in the span of 43 days.
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SAVING MONEY.
The FCC created the world's first two-sided "incentive auction" using market incentives to repurpose some of the broadcast television spectrum to wireless communications services, generating nearly $20 billion.
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SAVING MONEY.
MISO realized between $2.1 and $3.0 billion in savings from 2007 through 2010 by leveraging operations research to improve reliability and to increase efficiencies in the use of power plants and transmission grid assets.
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SAVING MONEY.
UPS created route-optimization tool ORION to to streamline pickup and delivery routes, saving the company an estimated $300–$400 million annually with the product's full deployment.
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SAVING MONEY.
Listen to an episode of the INFORMS podcast Resoundingly Human where Sheldon Jacobsen of University of Illinois discusses developments within the TSA and their use of operations research.
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SOLVING PROBLEMS.
The NYPD created the Domain Awareness System to inform officer decision making with analytics and operations research for its force of 36,000 officers to proctect 8.5 million residents and 56 million annual tourists.
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SOLVING PROBLEMS.
Syngenta is working to meet increasing crop production needs by applying operations research methods to make better breeding decisions to reduce the time and cost required to develop crops with higher yields.
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SOLVING PROBLEMS.
The Pennsylvania DOC worked to create an inmate assignment algorithm for solving what once took seven employees nearly a week to accomplish between 25 facilities and can now be completed in less than 10 minutes.
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SOLVING PROBLEMS.
Lyft and Uber developed unique application of analytics and O.R. to improve the placement of bike docking stations and create an inventive approach to replenish and rebalance these docking stations.
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SOLVING PROBLEMS.
Disney leverages analytics and operations research in all aspects of their parks to improve the guest experience from waiting in line for a ride to making sure all costumed performers have clean outfits to wear.
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SOLVING PROBLEMS.
Listen to an episode of the INFORMS podcast Resoundingly Human where Melissa Badeker, executive director of the Baltimore Teacher Supply Swap, discusses working with Pro Bono Analytics to help serve their community.
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