HiMCM 2013 · Problem set
A pair of operations-research classics. Problem A is a discrete facility-location problem — place a small number of ambulances across six zones to maximize the population reachable within an 8-minute drive, then stress-test what happens when the fleet shrinks or a catastrophe strikes. Problem B is a textbook queueing problem — given empirical arrival- and service-time distributions at a bank, decide whether the current teller staffing meets stated wait-time and queue-length targets, and if not, find the minimum staffing change that does.
| Contest dates | November 7 – November 18, 2013 (extended weekend window) [illustrative] |
| Participation | ~500 teams, predominantly United States and China [illustrative] |
| Problem A | Emergency Medical Response — ambulance placement, coverage maximization, fleet-degradation analysis |
| Problem B | Bank Service Problem — queueing model, wait time < 2 min and queue length ≤ 2 targets, staffing recommendation |
| Official results | 2013 HiMCM problems & commentary |
The two problems
Emergency Medical Response
Six zones, a travel-time matrix, and a population per zone. Place 3, then 2, then 1 ambulance to maximize the population covered within 8 minutes — and write a memo to the Emergency Service Coordinator on what happens during a catastrophic event.
Bank Service Problem
Empirical inter-arrival and service-time distributions for a single branch. Decide whether the bank meets its "average wait < 2 min, average queue ≤ 2" targets, and if not, propose the smallest staffing change that does. Deliver a recommendation letter.
Why this year is good practice
- Two canonical OR archetypes. A is a Maximum Coverage Location Problem (MCLP) — a fixture of EMS, fire-station, and warehouse siting; B is an M/G/c queue — the workhorse of teller, call-center, and ER triage staffing. If you can solve these two cleanly you can adapt to most operations problems judges throw at you.
- Small data, big modeling. Both prompts give you a tiny dataset (a 6×6 travel matrix; one shift's worth of arrivals). The grade comes from how rigorously you defend assumptions, sensitivity-test, and translate to plain English.
- Two non-technical deliverables. A demands a coordinator memo, B demands a manager letter. Strong papers nail the executive paragraph plus one chart that a non-modeler can read in 30 seconds.