Scheduling software application to reduce shift work exhaustion, a case of weight and balance group in saigon ground services joint stock company

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business Mai Duc Nam SCHEDULING SOFTWARE APPLICATION TO REDUCE SHIFT WORK EXHAUSTION: A CASE OF WEIGHT AND BALANCE GROUP IN SAIGON GROUND SERVICES JOINT STOCK COMPANY MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2018 UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business Mai Duc Nam SCHEDULING SOFTWARE APPLICATION TO REDUCE SHIFT WORK EXHAUSTION: A CASE OF WEIGHT AND BALANCE GROUP IN SAIGON GROUND SERVICES JOINT STOCK COMPANY MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SUPERVISOR: PROF NGUYEN THI MAI TRANG Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2018 Executive Summary Fatigue, which is the common issue of every single worker in any area, tends to be worse in the service industry, especially in 24/7 continuous service like aviation, rail or medical Comparing to all industries, shift work is a different element of service For example, labor in aviation field like air traffic controller, cabin crew and ground staff mentioned shift work as a common cause of their fatigue beside specific job’s traits The consequences of fatigue are low productivity, poor health and even high turnover rate which should be paid more attention by human resources management as an important task In this case, imbalance shift distribution is the main cause of increasing fatigued level Obviously, shift arrangement would not only decide how effective and appropriate shift system is, but also play a key role in fatigue level of workers Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge all who supported me during my study without whom I wouldn’t be where I am today I would especially like to thank my supervisor – Professor Nguyen Thi Mai Trang for all her advice and guidance, without her help this could not have been possible I also would like to show my gratitude to my colleagues at work and classmates at ISB for their continuous support I also send my sincere thankfulness to my parents and friends for their support and encouragement Table of contents Introduction 1.1 Company background .7 1.2 Company structure Problem context 2.1 Fatigue in service and aviation industry 2.2 Fatigue in Weight and balance group of ground operation department 10 Problem identification 11 3.1 Effort – reward imbalance 12 3.2 Shift working exhausted 13 3.3 Annual leave shortage 14 Problem validation 15 Cause validation 18 Alternative solutions 23 6.1 First alternative solution: Software application 23 6.2 Second alternative solution: Erasing level barrier 26 6.3 Third alternative solution: Flexible shift 29 Implementation 32 Conclusion 35 Supporting information 36 List of Figures Figure 1: Saigon Ground Services JSC Organization structure Figure 2: Ground operation department structure of Saigon Ground Services JSC Figure 3: Causes fishbone diagram 18 17 Figure 5: The Best Employee Scheduling & Shift Planning Software of 2017 25 Figure 6: Original ERI Model (Siegrist, 1996) 41 Figure 7: Current ERI Model (Siegrist, 1999) 41 List of Tables Table 1: Data of fatigue measurement 11 Table 2: Estimated cost for scheduling & shift planning software 25 Table 3: Estimated cost for level change 28 Table 4: Flexible shift options 30 Table 5: Organization action plan for applying Software in shift arrangement .34 Table 6: Interviewee’s demographic 37 Introduction 1.1 Company background Saigon Ground Services 26 (SAGS) is a subsidiary of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), SAGS is now the leading ground handling company in Vietnam SAGS are offering a full range of ground services to a diverse customer base of international and domestic airlines at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN), the country’s largest and busiest aviation gateway SAGS also expanded their business to Da Nang International Airport from 01 May 2015 and to Cam Ranh International Airport from 01 July 2016 Over 10 years of experience in ground handling, SAGS have obtained and successfully renewed the ISO9001 quality management certification and the industry ISAGO (IATA Safety Audits for Ground Operations) registration In 2016, company’s revenue is over VND 876 billion, increased 46% than 2015 SAGS already set the new milestone with over VND 1,000 billion in 2017 1.2 Company structure Source: http://sags.vn/About-Us/Organization-Chart/ Figure 1: Saigon Ground Services JSC Organization structure Ground operation department Operation Source: Made by Author based on SAGS’s data Figure 2: Ground operation department structure of Saigon Ground Services JSC Weight and Balance group belongs to Ground Operation Department They are responsible for doing load sheet and contributing to the accuracy of passenger, baggage and cargo weight for captain and airlines load control center Weight and Balance activity is always included in service level agreement of all airlines, which have been provided ground services by SAGS Meanwhile, Loading group is only in charge of international flights and cargo flights Operation group involves in coordinating of international flights and domestic flights Shift working hour is a trait of aviation industry, there are fourteen different shifts at Weight and Balance group, nineteen shifts at Operation group and twelve shifts at Loading group to ensure handling flights This study concentrates on Weight and Balance group because of its typical traits and involvement in all kind of flights In addition, Weight and Balance group not only has suitable organizational size but also allows author to access secondary sources and collect primary data There are three levels of skills for Weight and Balance staff Entry level (level 1) focuses on narrow body aircraft, level is on wide body aircraft and level is on cargo flight Weight and Balance group includes one manager, three deputy managers, two supervisors and sixteen members Employees are required to work 48 hours per week and the schedule changes weekly Furthermore, they are arranged specific flights with their ID beside flight number on SAGS management information system (SMIS) each day Problem context 2.1 Fatigue in service and aviation industry Aviation industry is 24/7 service therefore shift working is the only way to keep every task being done constantly, which is similar to railway industry or healthcare industry There is no doubt that fatigue is common status of labors in these industries Shift work , which has been associated with fatigue, is frequently cited as a major cause of fatigue Fatigue is defined and operated in different ways, for example in terms of increased sleepiness and reduced alertness According to the report from International transport workers’ Federation in 2009, 46% of respondents felt that fatigue was an issue happening in the most of the aviation workers they represent with 35% respondents said that most of aviation workers feeling burned out from work but more than half show that only some workers had this feeling Pursuant to fatigue statistic indicated in occupational groups including cabin crew, ground staff and air traffic service workers with more than 50% respondents reported that most of the ground staff workers felt tired in the morning as a fatigue symptom This proportion is the same in case of feeling used up at the end of the workday of ground staff workers In addition, fatigue has been pointed out as a serious problem by ICAO and has been defined as “A physiological state of reduced mental or physical performance capability, resulting from sleep loss or extended wakefulness, circadian phase, or workload (mental and/or physical activity) that can impair a person’s alertness and ability to perform safety related operational duties.” 2.2 Fatigue in Weight and balance group of ground operation department In first stage of collecting data, 11 employees had been asked about fatigue symptoms by several short questions about quality and quantity of fatigue according to the health care 27 professional Feeling in the morning has been described by employees that sleepy, tired, headache Employees also mentioned that the feeling depends on types of shift and sleeping time The feeling after finishing shift is more similar, tired and leave immediately was the 10 An Nam An Nam An Nam An Nam An Nam An Nam An Nam An Nam An Nam An Nam Time Place Interviewee Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan 56 Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam 58 Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lam Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Lan Nam Time Place Interviewee Nam Lan Nam Hong Nam Hong 60 Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Hong Nam Shift work Khoa Lam Phuoc An Lan Hong 63 Effort and reward Khoa I one Sta mo Lam At as a pro Rew com los Phuoc The rec Fat He dep An The mig ove Lan Sta wo Rec Hong It s any My 64 Entitlement Khoa No Lam Ent bec rec It is try one trai Phuoc Res hav I sa An We and Bu is h Lan Ent Ad lea Hong The stil An lac 65 Reference James Mc The impact of shift work on health [Internet] 2016 January 11 [cited 2017 July 28] Available from: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288310.php International Transport Workers’ Federation Stressed and Fatigued on the Ground and in the Sky [Internet] 2009 [cited 2017 July] Available from: http://unhealthywork.org/wpcontent/uploads/Published_ITF_Stress_and_Fatigue_Study_Report-1.pdf Jansen NWH, Van Amelsvoort LGPM, Kristensen TS, etal Work schedules and fatigue: a prospective cohort study Occup Environ Med 2003 06;60 Kris Tr Proceeding of Fatigue Management Approaches Symposium 2016 of ICAO, April 5-6, 2016: Fatigue, Risk, Assessment Uniting Aviation: ICAO Available from: https://www.icao.int/Meetings/fmas/Documents/Presentations/Kris%20Tritschler_ 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