The effect of non‐linear delay costs on workforce mix

This paper formulates a simple model to examine the appropriate mix of dedicated and flexible maintenance technicians (servers) required when total delay cost is a non‐linear function of mean delay time. The primary decision variable is the number of flexible servers needed to minimize system‐related costs. Non‐linear delay costs appear to significantly increase the level of cross‐training required compared with previous research using a linear cost function, which showed that a small proportion of flexible servers was sufficient. This has important implications for service system designers in regard to the amount of cross‐training that might be appropriate.