Multicultural Company Managements
World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 76 2011
A New Approach to Workforce Planning
M. Othman, N. Bhuiyan, and G. J. Gouw
Abstract—In systems are becoming more complex in order to improve the productivity and the flexibility of the production operations. Various planning models are used to develop optimized plans that meet the demand at minimum cost or fill the demand at maximized profit. These optimization problems differ because of the differences in the manufacturing and market context. Most managers find that existing production planning models are not being implemented in practice [1]. A major problem with existing models is the lack of information about the actual situation on the shop floor regarding the condition of the workers and the uncertainties inherent in the production system. In recent years, research has highlighted the importance of interactions between some key human factors and the production system and the need to incorporate organizational behavior issues in operations management [2], [3]. The advantages derived from integrating human factors with production systems have been discussed [4], [5]. These benefits have been established through surveys and actual implementations. In highly competitive companies, this integration has helped to increase productivity, reduce throughput times, and improve product quality. These findings present a significant research opportunity. The main objective of this paper is to develop new approach for workforce planning problem to support the production planning process for optimal performance. A decision support system (DSS) is developed to aid managers with the practical implementation of the model. The paper is organized as follows: Section II presents a literature review of human factors and their relation to production planning. Section III discusses the proposed workforce planning model. Next, Section IV presents the preliminary results generated from the proposed model. Finally,
A New Approach to Workforce Planning
M. Othman, N. Bhuiyan, and G. J. Gouw
Abstract—In systems are becoming more complex in order to improve the productivity and the flexibility of the production operations. Various planning models are used to develop optimized plans that meet the demand at minimum cost or fill the demand at maximized profit. These optimization problems differ because of the differences in the manufacturing and market context. Most managers find that existing production planning models are not being implemented in practice [1]. A major problem with existing models is the lack of information about the actual situation on the shop floor regarding the condition of the workers and the uncertainties inherent in the production system. In recent years, research has highlighted the importance of interactions between some key human factors and the production system and the need to incorporate organizational behavior issues in operations management [2], [3]. The advantages derived from integrating human factors with production systems have been discussed [4], [5]. These benefits have been established through surveys and actual implementations. In highly competitive companies, this integration has helped to increase productivity, reduce throughput times, and improve product quality. These findings present a significant research opportunity. The main objective of this paper is to develop new approach for workforce planning problem to support the production planning process for optimal performance. A decision support system (DSS) is developed to aid managers with the practical implementation of the model. The paper is organized as follows: Section II presents a literature review of human factors and their relation to production planning. Section III discusses the proposed workforce planning model. Next, Section IV presents the preliminary results generated from the proposed model. Finally,