Service Science

by Daskin, Mark S.

• ISBN13: 9780470525883
• ISBN10: 0470525886
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-14
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

This book addresses the many important problems in service operations management, which can be analyzed using two core methodologies: optimization and queueing theory (including numerical simulation of queues).After an introductory chapter on services, Chapter 2 provides a summary of optimization, and Chapter 3 discusses queueing theory. In addition to these two methodologically-based chapters, the book includes a lengthy review of probability (as an appendix).Chapters 4 through 11 present specific topics within service operations management, including location modeling, assignment problems, short and long-term workforce management, applications of queueing theory (particularly to call center design), inventory models, vehicle routing, pricing, and auctions.Chapter 12 provides a summary chapter that also outlines steps to utilize the disucssed concepts and methods in practive. The author's own SITATION software is utilized throughout the book in addition to a program that numerically solves time-dependent queueing problems. SITATION is a program that was originally included with the author's prior book, Network and Discrete Location: Models, Algorithms, and Applications. This software has been significantly updated over the years and has been rewritten from a DOS-based version to a version that operates under Windows.A Powerpoint overview of SITATION as well as a user-guide are included on the book's related web site.Chapter coverage includes: optimization; queueing theory; location models; assignment problems; short-term and long-term workforce scheduling; applications of queueing in services; inventory models; vehicle routing and services; pricing problems and combinatorial auctions for services; and an overview of probability.

Author Biography

Mark S. Daskin, PhD, is Clyde W. Johnson Collegiate Professor and Chair of the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. A Fellow of both the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) and the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), he has published extensively in his areas of research interest, which include supply chain network design, supply chain reliability, location modeling, healthcare operations research, and service operations management. Dr. Daskin is past-president of INFORMS and a past editor-in-chief of both Transportation Science and IIE Transactions. He is the author of Network and Discrete Location: Models, Algorithms, and Applications, also published by Wiley.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Why study services?

What are services

Services as a percent of the economy

Public versus private service delivery

Why model services?

Key service decisions

Philosophy about models

Outline of the book

Problems

References

Methodological Foundations

Optimization

Introduction

Five key elements of optimization

Taxonomy of optimization models

You probably have seen one already

Linear programming

Special network form

Integer problems

Multiple objective problems

Mark's ten rules of formulating problems

Problems

References

Queueing theory

Introduction

What is a queueing theory?

Key performance metrics for queues and Little's formula

A framework for Markovian queues

Key results for non-Markovian queues

Solving queueing models numerically

When conditions change over time

Conclusions

Problems

References

Application Areas

Location and districting problems in services

Example applications

Taxonomy of location problems

Covering problems

Median problems - minimizing the demand-weighted average distance

Multi-objective models

Districting problems

Franchise location problems

Summary and software

Problems

References

Inventory decisions in services

Why is inventory in a service modeling book?

EOQ - a basic inventory model

Extensions of the EOQ model

Time varying demand

Uncertain demand and lead times

Newsvendor problem and applications

Summary

Problems

References

Resource allocation problems and decisions in services

Example resource allocation problems

How to formulate an assignment or resource allocation problem

Infeasible solutions

Assigning students to freshman seminars

Assigning students to intersession courses

Improving the assignment of zip codes to Congressional districts

Summary

Problems

References

Short-term workforce scheduling

Overview of scheduling

Simple model

Extensions of the simple model

More difficult extensions

Linking scheduling to service

Time-dependent queueing analyzer

Assigning specific employees to shifts

Summary

Problems

References

Long-term workforce planning

Why is long-term workforce planning an issue?

Basic model

Grouping of skills

Planning over time

Linking to project scheduling

Linking to personnel training and planning in general

Simple model of training

Summary

Problems

References

Priority services, call center design and customer scheduling

Examples

Priority queueing for emergency and other services

service in each class with non-preemptive priorities

Priority service with Poisson arrivals, multiple servers and identically distributed exponential service times

Preemptive queueing

Call center design

Scheduling in services

Summary

Problems

References

Vehicle routing and services

Example routing problems

Classification of routing problems

Arc routing

The traveling salesman problem

Vehicle routing problems

Summary

Problems

References

Where to from here?

Introduction

Other methodologies

Other applications in services

Summary

References

Appendices

Sums of series - basic formulae

Overview of probability

Introduction and basic definitions

Axioms of probability

Joint, marginal and conditional probabilities and Bayes' theorem

Counting, ordered pairs, permutations and combinations

Random variables

Discrete random variables

Continuous random variables

Moment and probability generating functions

Generating random variables

Random variables in Excel

References

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.