A Process Oriented Approach to Waiting Line Management in a Large Pilgrimage Center in India
A PROCESS ORIENTED APPROACH TO
WAITING LINE MANAGEMENT IN A
LARGE PILGRIMAGE CENTER IN INDIA: A CASE STUDY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 3
Background 4
Methodology 5
The product and its delivery 5
The value chain 6
Approaches to managing the support systems 7
Management of Darshan Queue 8
Implementation Strategy 10
Conclusion and Recommendations 11
References 13
INTRODUCTION
This article documents an innovative approach to manage waiting line in the largest pilgrimage center in the world. By a judicious combination of process orientation and advances in Information Technology, the pilgrimage center 's management has been able to dramatically change the pilgrims waiting experience.
The pilgrimage location under study is Tirumala located in Andhra Pradesh state in India. The number of visitors to this important location has been steadily increasing over time. As of 2011, the location attracted approximately 30 to 40 million visitors a year.
The primary objective of a pilgrim visiting Tirumala is to have darshan of the principle deity in the temple. The secondary objectives include tonsure (shaving head as a mark of respect), offering donations, prasadam collection, thulabaram, arjitha seva (paid services), local sightseeing and shopping.
The immense popularity of the temple and its location poses significant challenges to the management of the system. This temple is a tradition bound Institution. Therefore, some alternatives to resolve pilgrim waiting time are feasible and some are not. There are some hard constraints which may not stand the test of logic.
The ability to manage the traffic volume is a function of processing rate (darshan duration) at the temple and darshan time available per day.
This case study is an example of improving operational effectiveness by using formal management methods in addressing an
WAITING LINE MANAGEMENT IN A
LARGE PILGRIMAGE CENTER IN INDIA: A CASE STUDY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 3
Background 4
Methodology 5
The product and its delivery 5
The value chain 6
Approaches to managing the support systems 7
Management of Darshan Queue 8
Implementation Strategy 10
Conclusion and Recommendations 11
References 13
INTRODUCTION
This article documents an innovative approach to manage waiting line in the largest pilgrimage center in the world. By a judicious combination of process orientation and advances in Information Technology, the pilgrimage center 's management has been able to dramatically change the pilgrims waiting experience.
The pilgrimage location under study is Tirumala located in Andhra Pradesh state in India. The number of visitors to this important location has been steadily increasing over time. As of 2011, the location attracted approximately 30 to 40 million visitors a year.
The primary objective of a pilgrim visiting Tirumala is to have darshan of the principle deity in the temple. The secondary objectives include tonsure (shaving head as a mark of respect), offering donations, prasadam collection, thulabaram, arjitha seva (paid services), local sightseeing and shopping.
The immense popularity of the temple and its location poses significant challenges to the management of the system. This temple is a tradition bound Institution. Therefore, some alternatives to resolve pilgrim waiting time are feasible and some are not. There are some hard constraints which may not stand the test of logic.
The ability to manage the traffic volume is a function of processing rate (darshan duration) at the temple and darshan time available per day.
This case study is an example of improving operational effectiveness by using formal management methods in addressing an
References: Over a period of 50 years, the number of visitors to the temple and the town has increased by eight fold. [I960(2 million), 1970(4 million), 1980(7 million), 1990(11 million), 2000(16 million), 2010(30 million)].