MEXCLP

The Maximum Expected Coverage Location Problem (MEXCLP) can be used to distribute ambulances over bases.

Running MEXCLP.py

You can run the script by using the command line. To run the script on the command line, first move to your local ELASPY folder and then run the following:

python elaspy/mexclp/MEXCLP.py

or, depending on your Python installation:

python3 elaspy/mexclp/MEXCLP.py

Tip

If you run into problems using the PULP_CBC_CMD solver, you can do the following:

1. Activate the ELASPY environment in the command line.

2. Use the following command to remove pulp from the environment:

conda remove pulp

3. Re-install pulp by using the following command:

pip install 'pulp==2.7.0'

4. Done! The PULP_CBC_CMD should now work.

Input

The script requires several data sets and parameters to work. The parameters are explained in the API, and the data sets that are required are NODES_FILE, BASE_LOCATIONS_FILE and TRAVEL_TIMES_FILE.

Output

The script provides the solved model in an .lp format and also a csv file with the number of ambulances stationed at the postal codes (i.e., nodes). Both named according to the variable RESULTS_FILE. The table below provides an example of such an output file. In the example, two ambulances have their base at node 1, one ambulance at node 5 and three ambulances at node 3. The script also provides some prints with information about the optimization.

Example mexclp output csv file.

Postal code	number of ambulances
1	2
5	1
3	3