2 research outputs found
Crew Management in Passenger Rail Transport
__Abstract__
Crew management in passenger rail transport is an important factor that contributes to both the quality of service to the railway passengers and to the operational costs of the train operating company. This thesis describes how the (railway) Crew Management process can be improved with the introduction of advanced decision support systems, based on advanced mathematical models and algorithms. We provide a managerial perspective on the change process, related to the introduction of these systems, and give an overview of the lessons learned.
We have shown that introducing decision support can give substantial improvements in the overall performance of a railway company. Within NS, the support for the Crew Management process has led to a stable relationship between management and train crew. In addition, the lead-time of the planning process is shortened from months to hours and NS is now able to perform scenario analyses, e.g., to study effects of adjusting the labour rules.
Also, NS can adjust their service when severe weather conditions are expected, by creating a specific winter timetable shortly before the day of operation. Finally, we also introduced a decision support system for real-time rescheduling of crew duties on the day of operations. This enables us to adapt the actual crew schedules very quickly. As a result, we reduce the number of cancelled trains and fewer trains will be delayed in case of unforeseen disruptions
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Instructors as learning managers : span of control as a factor of class size in higher education
Research suggests that a key factor in student persistence and success is the relationships students form with faculty (Chickering & Gamson, 1991; Kuh et al., 2005; Tinto, 1987). While it appears to be intuitive that small classes would promote these instructor/student relationships, research on class size provides conflicting results, with only some studies showing positive student outcomes in small classes. In business, however, research clearly identifies that a small ratio of manager to employees, called span of control and with an average size of 1:10, is important for maintaining employee satisfaction, facilitating skill development, and when tasks require complex problem-solving and creativity (Doran et al., 2004; Gittell, 2001; McManus, 2007).
This study explores the perceptions of managers and instructors concerning the nature of their work with employees and students, respectively. An intersect of the management and instruction roles may be that both help people acquire skills in order to fulfill work objectives. If there are commonalities between the way managers and instructors work with people, then span of control may be an appropriate application for determining class size. If managers can only work with 10 people because of the complexities of the human experience and job tasks, the question is, why do instructors
work with at least twice as many people, but must expect the same results?
Using the Q method and a focus group as a way to compare study participants' attitudes, there appears to be a significant correlation between the way managers and instructors perceive their roles in working with employees and students. Both managers and instructors in the study believe building collaborative relationships with others is important for producing positive outcomes. Both report the importance of their roles in helping individuals develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In addition, the managers and instructors in the study acknowledge important similarities within their work with employees and students.Keywords: span of control, higher education, class size, student outcomes, education outcomes, educational policie