Study of the impact of the start time of work shift on the efficiency of an emergency system through a simulation model of discrete events

Abstract This work uses a simulation model to analyze the use of ambulances present in emergency medical services (SAMUs) in relation to the schedule of beginning work shifts and the time patients wait in relation to shift start times. For the development of the model, information was collected from studies present in the literature and applied government recommendations for ambulances by inhabitant. The model was executed for different amounts of effective calls per day to analyze system congestion and the impact of changing shift start times on waiting times. The results demonstrate that the system has congestion with 25 effective calls per day, and shifts started at 8 am and 11 am have a shorter average waiting for patients for care. These results validate that the change in the start time of shifts improves system performance without increasing costs.