Operational Challenges of Birmingham Airport, Glastonbury Festival, and Cadbury - Case Study Example

December 16, 2007 Compare and contrast between the operations and operational challenges of Burmingham International Airport, Glastonbury Festival and Cadbury Ltd A comfortable pair of shoes is all that Burmingham International Airport (BIA) Operation Director would wish for. Making space for 10 million passengers and their flights is no child’s play. On every weekday for about 30 minutes that is around 5 p.m. 20 flights shuttle through the Eurohub Terminal (Johnston 1997). Always on their toes, the BIA employees ensure a smooth take off for every passenger. There are many operational challenges to meet on day-to-day basis, while making plans to accommodate the future needs. The ground crew, air-ticketing staff and the information desk work in tandem to make the journey hassle-free for the passengers. On the airfield front, the work involves maintaining the runways, allocating slots to airlines & developing and taking care of the safety management system. Customer care is the other operational side that needs to be taken care of. While the information centre answers passenger queries, the lounges and toilets have to be kept clean and the restaurant and duty-free shops stocked up with stuff. Facilities management team and the engineering service team mange the show at the terminal. Security is a key area with 300 personnel working round-the-clock to ensure passenger safety (Johnston 1997). A proper procedure is in place that is tried and tested to make it a smooth run in case of an emergency like fire, evacuation, bomb threats, ill passengers and even death at the terminal. On the set infrastructure, the operation team has to co-ordinate between airlines, handling agents, retailers, cargo handler etc. This well coordinated effort has helped the airport function smoothly. However planned, the large setting has to tackle recurring problems like flight delays and diversions. In such cases, the duty manager has to make sure that the passengers get the required information and save them from unnecessary ordeals. The terminal manager should be adept in handling any crisis situation. The job does not end here. To efficiently run the show, annual operational plan is a prerequisite. It helps in proper allocation of infrastructure to the airlines. The Eurohub too has to keep pace with the growing number of airlines and passengers. It is growing at the rate of 10 per cent for over the last 10 years (Johnston 1997). Based on the forecast, new building projects with catering outlet car parking and people mover system are planned with a capital of about 50 million pound a year for next 15 years, says the case study. All the effort aims at making it the best regional airport in Europe. Organizing the four-day Glastonbury Festival is no less challenging. It requires months of planning and proper implementation. Preparations begin seven months in advance with allocation of duties followed by meetings and discussions that helps things fall in a proper place. With increasing popularity of the fest, responsibility of the organizers has gone up by manifolds. In 1970, the festival was attended by 1,500 people, the case study put the number at 80,000 in 1995 (Sara Mountey, Michael Eavis and Angela Watts 1996). A yearly feature, the festival has become a huge affair with over 1000 acts on 17 stages. Beginning from scratch every year is no mean job, as they get very less rest period. For the farm owners, Michael and Jean Eavis, the work starts with organizing the team of 12. Having divided the farm geographically, the work is delegated to the co-ordinators and volunteers. They are responsible for construction and running of services before, during and after the festival. The application for licence to the local district council kick starts the process. The licence lays down the norms regarding site plan and security, roadways, sanitation facilities, emergency coordination, noise and food hygiene among others. The official announcement comes in January when the contractors and co-ordinatiors meet to discussion the plan and budget allotted to each one of them. The next three months is spent booking traders and bands for the festival. Most of the plans are now on paper. About six weeks before the fest, things on the ground start moving. Stages are erected and services are laid by efficient staff. The work involves close monitoring to see that the paper plan is well-executed on the ground. The operational skills of the organizers are put to test here as they have to make arrangements for the workers to camp at the site while the work is on. It ends with the dismantling of the equipments once the fest is over. The need for accommodation, food, power and water is well taken care of. The campsite opens two days in advance to allow the festival-goers pitch tents. The mid-summer festival begins on Friday and though the show ends on Sunday evening, the fest closes on Monday. Now, the focus shifts from construction to operation. On call crew are stationed at the site by each contractor to monitor the festival and answer to whole lot of problems. Water and electricity are the key areas that need to taken care of. The generators have to be refuelled, which takes about 12 hours and water transported to the site, store and pumped for use. Emergency services too are in place to take care of any unforeseen accident, as was the case in1994 when a person was shot in a field. Once the fest is over, its time to evaluate and plan strategy for the next year, which happens in a meeting a month later. Meanwhile, it takes the crew a month to remove the services laid and another four months to organically clean up the litters. To reduce pressure on the environment, the organisers encourage festival-goers to use public transports, a turbine contributes to 150kw of power required and tin and glass collected are recycled. The sewage from the toilet and pits are processed and reused on the land after six months (Sara Mountey, Michael Eavis and Angela Watts 1996). According to the case study (1996), 90 per cent of the total amount raised through ticket sales and traders’ fee is spent on festival overhead and the remaining 10 per cent go for charity purpose, which makes it a no-profit venture. Things, on the other hand, are not all sweet for Cabdury Ltd. The greatest challenge it faces is to maintain its lead in the European market. The volume is continuously increasing by five per cent annually and to retain its turf, the company has to continuously introduce products considering the requirements of taste buds in varied geographies. Considering that the company is already facing problems on the production front, the on-going debate is on whether to try out the new technology custom built to suit company’s specific needs or as the manufacturing department suggests purchase the tried and tested conventional conch machine (Stuart Chambers, 1992). The manufacturing department wants to play it safe. An identical fifth machine would allow more flexibility with the available trained staff. Moreover, one machine can be dedicated to one grade of chocolate to cut down on changeover cost. The department argued that it’s time to concentrate on output and new product pipeline instead of experimenting with a new technology that would take 12 to 15 months for installation. It would also cost 0.5 million pound more when compared with installation of conventional conch machine. The marketing director too accepted the fact that they didn’t have time in hand. Though the small trial machine has passed the panel test on taste, but the same cannot be said for a machine ten times larger. Unnecessary delays and risks are the last thing they want (Stuart Chambers, 1992). The Engineering department that has been working on the new technology for the last two years, according to the case study, was not ready to buy this theory. Gone are the days of dedicated production lines for single product, they argued. The cost of the machine may be more, but trial suggests reduction in direct labour and associated overhead cost. Since, it was not a routine investment decision, the chairman wanted to re-examine the conventional capital expenditure that would provide a better perspective on the incremental cost following the installation of new conch machine. The technology should help us competitively, he said. Besides day-to-day functioning such as supply of raw material, production and distribution in geographies across the world, the think tank needs to choose between bringing in additional capacity of the existing technology and newer technologies required for future growth. Trials on Cadbury’s full product range with the new conch process showed that there was no detectable change in taste or aroma. It, however, brought down the fat content in some of the products which could be utilized in promotional activities (Stuart Chambers, 1992, Appendix 20.1) The new technology also had an edge over the conventional one in preparation of material that would help reduce the wastage thereby increasing efficiency. It also takes much less time to be utilized for different recipes and could cut down on the time. The chocolate prepared through the new method could be applied immediately and the device would also help produce a wide range of products that were not possible with the conventional technology. Having deliberations on the trial results with the new technology, the member of the board understood that it would save about 100,000 pound every year on the current production levels on account of increased performance, while a saving of another 140,000 pounds would come from reduction in reject material. In addition, the technology could efficiently utilize the liquids with varied viscosities. Be it the airport or the fest only a close coordinated effort could ensure its success. But the operation wing at the airport has little or no breathing space. What makes their task difficult is the recurring problem contributed by delays and diversions of flight, which is much beyond their control. It’s not a four day affair for them. They work 24 hours a day, all year round, for the smooth flow of traffic at the airport. Planning goes side-by-side to make the system efficient. Unlike the fest organizers, the operation wing at BIA they don’t have to start by building blocks every year. The infrastructure is in place and so, they need to concentrate on proper allocation of space and services and ensure their smooth functioning. But the growing traffic cannot be ignored. To avoid chaos at the airport, the available space has to be put to proper use, while conceiving expansion plans. The Eavis’ task is to adhere to norms laid by the council and make the affair more environment-friendly. There has to be a strong monitoring team to guide the contractors on proper implementation of the paper plan. Since the fest is held on a large scale, minute details have to taken care of including the choice of coordinators who are mostly volunteers. While the airport authority has to deal with delays and diversion of flights, the fest organizers should have in-hand replacements for bands in case of cancellation of booking. The popularity of the fest, though, has put them in a comfortable position with bands make a beeline at the booking counter, it is best to avoid such a situation (Sara Mountey, Michael Eavis and Angela Watts 1996). The other key challenge for the organizers is to keep the water and electricity supply running. According to the case study by Sara Mountey, Michael Eavis and Angela Watts (1996), the generators use 40,000 litres of diesel in the four days and it takes 12 hours to completely refuel the circuit. Similarly, since water cannot be drawn from the main source meant for local villagers, the organisers have to transport it in milk tankers from a reservoir seven miles away. The 100,000 litre storage facility at the farm has to be continuously replenished by the tankers. It’s a job that needs continuous monitoring. The supply is then distributed through a 15 kilometre network of temporary pipeline for consumption purpose. Here, they have another related task in hand that is to treat the water with chlorine. While BIS employees strive for a spick and span look, the fest organiser have a bigger task at hand. With 80,000 people thronging the fest, the amount of rubbish generated is phenomenal. The litter patrol tries its best to mange the scene while the show is on. It is hard to miss the filthy trucks and oil drum full of rubbish at the site. To reduce the environmental impact of the festival, the organisers go on a recycling mode. The tin and glass are recycled and sewage from the toilet is processed and reused on the land after six months, according to the case study (1996). The whole operation takes about four months. Emergency situation is something that both the BIS and fest organiser have to deal with. The fest witnessed a murder in 1994 and the speed with which police and ambulance had the place sealed was impressive (Sara Mountey, Michael Eavis and Angela Watts 1996). With flights landing and taking up at regular intervals, BIS plan has to be full proof to avoid any collision at the runway. They have a medical team to take care of ill passenger. The terminal manager has to be extra alert with rising cases of bomb scare. Evacuation of passengers busy with different activities while keeping them calm is no mean task. The fest organisers too have to be prepared for such a situation, but only for those four days. For the airport authority, every morning comes with new challenges. They have the basic framework in place, but the plans may get awry and no excuse can help the situation. They have to act and act fast. In no circumstance, they can close down the airport. Contingence plans in their kitty can keep the airport running. These experience help them plan a better operation scheme and it is updated in day-to-day basis. The fest organisers, on the other hand, have a few months to ponder as to what went wrong, if any, and how to better the present situation keeping the growing number of participants in mind. While the fest organisers have to plan for the subsequent year, the BIS forecasts for the next 10 years. Infrastructure and better service is their focus area. They have to provide more space and facilities for the passengers. To better the show, the fest organisers look at introducing variety and new bands to attract people. The operational challenges at Cadbury Ltd are somewhat similar to BIS, as in both the cases the management has to ensure expansion of facilities without hampering the current operations. Another challenge is to utilize the available space to upgrade the operations. With increasing inflow of passengers at the airport and raised production capacity of chocolate, workforce has to be allocated different jobs on a continual basis. The fest organisers, as mentioned earlier, have to be extra careful while choosing contractors for the job. Experience has to be the key while selecting the contractors. The good thing about the fest is every contractor has a specific job at hand and the team of coordinators closely monitor the work. Cadbury Ltd has to ensure that input materials for chocolate making reach the factory in time. While working on the technology to increase the production to meet the market requirement, quality cannot be compromised. The stress is on production of a variety of products to cater to every need. Read More