Designing simulation experiments with controllable and uncontrollable factors for applications in healthcare

We propose a new methodology for designing computer experiments that was inspired by the split-plot designs that are often used in physical experimentation.The methodology has been developed for a simulation model of a surgical unit in a Danish hospital.We classify the factors as controllable and uncontrollable on the basis of their characteristics in the physical system. The experiments are designed so that, for a given setting of the controllable factors, the various settings of the uncontrollable factors cover the design space uniformly. Moreover the methodology allows for overall uniform coverage in the combined design when all settings of the uncontrollable factors are considered at once.