Scheduling Operations – OM in the News

Flight Attendants Rebel Against the Unfriendly Skies

Reports of passengers’ bad behavior on commercial flights have been all over the news.

This behavior has taken its toll on flight attendants. Already stressed by a myriad of challenges in the workplace, they have had to endure insults, aggressive behavior, and threats from passengers. The pandemic has upended their workload and schedules and made uncertainty a permanent work stressor, but their well-being is critical to the quality of air travel.

Video Spotlight: Reports of Unruly Passengers are […]

By Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.|2021-09-08T15:54:53+00:00September 16, 2021|Tags: aggregate planning, forecasting, service quality, work force scheduling|

Bite Ninja Uses Remote Gig Workers to Take Faster Food Orders

During the pandemic, finding employees has become difficult. The fast food industry has been hit especially hard by a shortage of employees.

Many restaurant workers have left the industry for reasons including better pay, fewer health risks, and more stability. Additionally, enhanced unemployment benefits in the U.S. have kept many workers out of the workforce.

Bite Ninja offers a new approach to help alleviate the employee shortage. This service uses technology to allow workers to take orders at drive-thru restaurants remotely. Workers […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2021-08-31T05:28:37+00:00August 31, 2021|Tags: capacity, gig economy, scheduling, service design, service processes, technology, waiting lines|

Ready to Travel Again? Be Prepared for Flight Delays and Cancellations

As air travel picks up this summer, passengers are reminded of the frustrations that come with it.

Long lines at the airports, delays, and even cancellations are to be expected. American Airlines passengers are especially affected because the airline is struggling to fill positions that had been eliminated at the height of the pandemic. What seemed like a sensible cost-saving strategy at the time has caused bottlenecks that are now hindering the economic recovery of the company and annoying its customers.

By CMKaruppan|2021-07-05T19:26:01+00:00July 8, 2021|Tags: bottleneck, TOC, waiting lines|

Chip Shortage Puts the Brakes on Automakers

Deliveries of full-size pickups and SUVs are delayed because of a global chip shortage caused by temporary plant closures amid the pandemic.

This shortage, coupled with port closures that prevented shipments of auto parts from unloading, has further limited truck and SUV production at General Motors and Ford.

Video Spotlight:

The Global Chip Shortage And How to Fix It (Mar 3, 2021, Bloomberg Technology)

This post is based on the CNN article, Computer chip shortage […]

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2021-04-24T22:26:35+00:00April 25, 2021|Tags: aggregate demand, bottleneck, bullwhip, dependent demand, MRP, sales and operations planning, supply and demand, variation|