ASSIGNMENT DESIGNING OPERATIONSINSTRUCTOR MR. BOMAN MORADIAN SUBMITTED BY: ABHIROOP SEN EPGDBM-04 ROLL NUMBER - 01 Chinaware items and Bar items (prepared by staff rostered separately) all of which are arranged in airline equipment (Trolleys. [1000 feet] Hi-loader is aligned to the aircraft Equipment is loaded into the aircraft. After the all the items are loaded in the hi-loader. Chinaware and Bar areas are pulled into the loading bay. [total distance 100 feet] Final check of the items are done Supervisor walks to Security office to communicate the number of seals required to seal each individual trolley cabinet and oven. [1000 feet] Flight attendants go to the airport by separate vehicle. The main objective of the Operations Department in the Catering Services is to assemble food items. [total distance 100 feet] Driver drives the hi-loader to the airport along with supervisor. the trolleys are pulled back into the same chiller which opens to the loading bay. It will show the existing process and the time taken by the staff to complete the entire process and the existing Lead Time and Cycle time. A staff (Operations supervisor) enters in to the walk-in chiller to access the food items prepared by the kitchen production staff. loaded in hydraulic trucks and ultimately loaded onto the aircraft. 3.[total distance 15 feet] Trolleys with the food items are left to chill till around 90mins before flight departure time. 9.1. Ovens or cabinets). 13. Pulls out the Airline trolleys to the Operations Area(which consists of the assembling area and the loading bay). [total distance 100 feet] Driver walks till the hi-loader. will be suggested to reduce the cycle time so that the entire process is rendered more effective. the supervisor walks to the driver’s cabin outside the buil ding to instruct the driver to drive the hi-loader to the aircraft. In the end improvements. 7. 14.Process Flow Chart of Oman Air Catering Operationsand its Lead time&Cycle time The assignment is to develop a process flow chart depicting the flow of the process related to Oman Air Catering Operations. Given below is the typical flow of the process:1. 19. 18. [total distance 20 feet] Walks back to the loading bay to check the loading process. 11. Dry Store items. After arranging as per the requirements. 12. 15. 4. 6. 17. . [total distance 20 feet] Flight attendants walk to the loading bay. [total distance 20 feet] Flight is loaded. 16. 2.[total distance 15 feet] Arranges the food items in the trolley as per the Airline specifications. [total distance 20 feet] Flight attendant walks to the accounts billing area to collect the AFO (formal copy of the Aircraft Food Order). 5. Security personnel walks to loading bay [total distance 25x2 feet] Security checks are done and trolleys are sealed. Meanwhile trolleys from the Dry Store. 10. 8. Walk to the flight attendants and instructs them to load the flight into the hi-loader. 20. PROCESS FLOW CHART Process Beginning Ending S No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Time (mins) 5 15 20 15 30 30 30 10 30 5 5 10 10 30 10 10 15 15 5 30 100 100 1000 1000 X X X X X X 20 20 20 20 X X X X X 50 X X 100 X X 15 X X 15 Distance (feet) X X X Catering Operations Entry into walk-in chiller Equipment is loaded into the aircraft Step Description Entry into walk-in chiller Trolleys pulled out to Operations area Food items are arranged Trolleys pulled back to walk-in chiller Holding for maintaining temperature Trolleys from different dept. are accumulated Final check Walk till security department& security walks back to loading bay Trolleys are sealed Walk to call flight attendants Flight attendants walk till loading bay Supervisor walks till accounts office Walk back till loading bay Flight is loaded into hi-loader Supervisor walks to driver’s cabin Driver walks till hi-loader Driver drives the hi-loader to the airport Flight attendants go to the airport as soon as flight lands Hi-loader is aligned to the aircraft Equipment is loaded into the aircraft Total 330 2465 12 6 0 1 1 . The Driver’s cabin should be provided with intercom. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT Protective clothing can be provided to the supervisors so that the arrangement of the food items may be done inside the walk-in chiller. Trolleys from the Dry store.That area will lie vacant. The flight attendants could be used for this task as this would ensure that they don’t have to be called for. Security personnel should be given a desk in the loading bay so that he can observe the flights being pulled out and there would be no need to call for him. Certain activities like the final check. if there is no requirement to arrange food items in the Operations area. The transport / final check & holdingare200mins longer than the lead time. The accounts office should install a printer in the Operations area to print the required AFO and pass on further instructions. Bar could be held in the Operations area. . separate transportation of the flight attendants to the airport are inevitable (due to requirement to load other flights) otherwise improvements to the above process can be suggested. Chinaware. They would already be present in Operation/loading area. If the trolleys are not pulled out at all. holding them in the chiller will also be not be required to lower the temperature. This would save energy as pulling the trolleys out to the Operations area is not required and similarly pulling them back inside the chiller is not required.PROCESS FLOW CHART SUMMARY Symbol # of times 12 6 0 Time ( mins) 140 130 ( Lead Time )=T0 30 30 Distance 1450 - 1 1 ANALYSIS The actual lead time of this entire process is just 130 whereas the cycle time is 330mins. are accumulated Final check Trolleys are sealed Flight is loaded into hi-loader Driver drives the hi-loader to the airport Flight attendants go to the airport as soon as flight lands Hi-loader is aligned to the aircraft Equipment is loaded into the aircraft Total 210 2100 3 6 0 1 0 POSSIBLE CHANGES AFTER SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS Cycle time reduced to 210 mins from 330 mins. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Time (mins) 5 20 30 30 30 30 15 15 5 30 Distance (feet) X X 100 X X X X 1000 1000 X X X X Step Description Entry into walk-in chiller Food items are arranged Trolleys from different dept. Distance travelled reduced from 2465 feet to 2100 feet. Flow chart summary is as follows: Symbol # of times 3 6 0 Time ( mins) 50 130 ( Lead Time )=T0 30 - Distance 1100 - 1 0 .PROCESS FLOW CHART WITH SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS S No. enhancing customer contact will not help as the core requirement of the job is on time delivery. Fixed costs are low compared to labour costs. supervisors to oversee the operations. Interaction is limited to Airline staff and cabin crew. Operations include preparation of food and related items. . There is no interaction or customization with/for the flying passengers. The flight kitchen operates on standard specifications provided by the Airline and it is catered in mass volume (number of passengers flying).Where does your organization fall in the ‘Service Matrix’? Explain. drivers for driving hi-lifts to and from aircrafts. its assembly and delivery to the aircraft with related logistics which is time-bound. LOW LOW Degree of Labor Intensity Service Factory Degree of Interaction & Customization Service Shop HIGH Mass Service Professional Oman Air Catering Services HIGH EXPLANATION Service Matrix The profession of flight catering is a labour intensive industry requires a high volume &variety of skilled/unskilled labour for preparation & loading and offloading of flights. The food provided is ultimately consumed by the passengers flying but the interaction is limited Airline Personnel. There is virtually no automation. Interaction with the passengers is not allowed.2. CAN YOU ENHANCE THE CUSTOMER CONTACT YOU ARE CURRENTLY PROVIDING? IF SO HOW? Enhancing customer contact will probably not help in the flight catering scenario as the nature of the industry is B2B. The classification of this industry is B2B. Also since the nature of the industry is to provide service as per given specification. special information etc.) L. Ability to cater to increased number of flights due to natural calamities like foggy conditions. Last minute changes in configuration of aircrafts D. Diabetic Meals. Kosher Meals etc. On time Delivery B. H. a) Identify the parameter of competition in your business. Ease of communicationfor communicating passenger loads. Last minute catering to unscheduled flights G. number of conveyor belts for economy class tray set ups. number of hydraulic catering trucks) I. Number of Airlines catered E. Profile of Airlines catered F.3.g. Parameters -: A. Professional Relationship with cabin crew so that last minute adjustments do not delay flights . Infrastructure of the flight kitchen(staff strength. Last minute increase in passenger load C. Soft skills like experienced senior staff who can handle variety of situations J. stormy weather etc. (Number of Telephone lines/telex/ability to operate airline MIS) K. Variety of Special Meals that can be provided (e. ) QUALIFIERS (Weightage) QQ Q Q 10 10 Q 20 H Q I J K 20 Q 10 L Professional Relationship with cabin 30 crew so that last minute adjustments do not delay flights . number of hydraulic catering trucks) Soft skills like experienced senior staff who can handle variety of situations Ease of communication Variety of Special Meals that can be provided (e. Kosher Meals etc. number of conveyor belts for economy class tray set ups.g. Diabetic Meals. S.b) Develop order winners and qualifiers for your business segments. Infrastructure of the flight kitchen(staff strength. stormy weather etc. no A B C D E F G CRITERIA(parameters) On time Delivery Last minute increase in passenger load Last minute changes in configuration of aircrafts Number of Airlines catered Profile of Airlines catered Last minute catering to unscheduled flights Ability to cater to increased number of flights due to natural calamities like foggy conditions. ) Ability to cater to increased number of flights due to natural calamities like foggy conditions. Kosher Meals etc. I. IV. It is an order losing criteria because even a minute’s delay can cost the Airline thousands of dollars. Factors like Number of Airlines catered Profile of Airlines catered Infrastructure of the flight kitchen(staff strength. Oman Air is the sole flight catering company in the country of Oman.g. number of conveyor belts for economy class tray set ups. II. Sometimes it is important to cater to idiosyncrasies of regular crew to an acceptable level so that sometimes human error issues can be resolved/adjusted by the flying crew. On time delivery of the catering items are of paramount importance and it can be achieved only if all processes in the system are in place and are functioning in harmony. Soft skills like experienced senior staff who can handle variety of situations may be contract winning criteria over other bidders. number of hydraulic catering trucks) Variety of Special Meals that can be provided (e.c) Critically comment if the process choice and various other elements of your business fit the above. V. stormy weather etc. Diabetic Meals. The mentioned elements fit the business of flight catering. III. . Professional Relationship with cabin crew is of paramount importance so that last minute requirements do not delay flights.