| Abstract: | Evaluating the service and cost impacts of altering procurement configurations is a common problem whenever an organization desires to be responsive to the changing needs of the populations being served. Changes relate to the volume of the work load, the degree of responsiveness required, or the technology and processes used. In real-world situations, personnel turnovers, uneven work loads, leaves, training requirements, and use of overtime all contribute to the complexity of the task. When a range of experience over different-sized operations is available, econometric approaches are applicable to estimate economies of scaie and technical substitution possibilities. Otherwise, queuing and job-shop modeling, combined with simulation approaches, can be helpful. This paper presents a case study of the analysis of a proposed reorganization for a large procurement activity in the U.S. Navy. The actual job-shop-scheduling and task-sequencing logic used in practice was modeled. Cost comparisons of four procurement configurations were generated under the constraints that prespecified levels of service be satisfied. |
