Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

An Approximate Model For Field Service Territory Planning

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Field service managers are often faced with the problem of balancing the number of technicians, territory size, and field service quality. This paper presents an approximate state-dependent queuing model that can help field service managers make these tradeoffs. Simulation experiments over a variety of field service environments demonstrate that this model is quite accurate for predicting mean travel time and mean response time. The approximate queuing model has been imbedded in a decision support system and implemented by a Fortune 100 company. Management found the decision support system very useful in making important field service decisions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2-10
Number of pages9
JournalIIE Transactions (Institute of Industrial Engineers)
Volume24
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1992

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by grants from the University of Minnesota Operations Management Center and the IBM Corporation.

Copyright:
Copyright 2015 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'An Approximate Model For Field Service Territory Planning'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this