Cross-training decisions in field services with three job types and server–job mismatch

Cross-training decisions in field services with three job types and server–job mismatch

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Article ID: iaor2009279
Country: United States
Volume: 35
Issue: 2
Start Page Number: 239
End Page Number: 259
Publication Date: Apr 2005
Journal: Decision Sciences
Authors: ,
Keywords: personnel & manpower planning, decision theory
Abstract:

To be cost-effective, field service managers must balance the high cost of machine downtime with the high cost of cross-training technicians in multiple skills. We study a field service system with three job types requiring three different skills. Each server has a primary skill, the cost of which is considered sunk, and up to two secondary skills, which is a managerial decision. We model two important characteristics that distinguish field services: server–job mismatch and the ratio of travel time to service time. We use a queueing framework and simulation to study three cross-training decisions: the number of servers cross-trained in secondary skills, the number of secondary skills each server should have, and the efficiency in each secondary skill.

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