How do you assure on-time arrivals? This is a difficult problem if you think about system complexity and variability, but what if you were to think outside of the box?
WSJ published “Why a Six-Hour Flight Now Takes Seven”
For some airlines, longer scheduled times for flights reflects inefficiency in the nation’s air travel system, which often can’t handle the volume of planes without delay,
For travelers, it can seem like airlines are cheating. “If you leave late, you know you will arrive late. But now you leave late and arrive early,” said frequent traveler Steve Edmonds, who works for the city of Austin, Texas.
So that explains why we keep arriving on time even when the flight leaves late. All I really care about is getting to my destination on time to board a connecting flight in time, or get to my destination on time. By managing our expectations, the airlines have solved the on-time problem.
Did the airlines in fact really solve anything? I mean did they eliminate the cause for late arrivals, or just mask the defect?
Can we copy these ideas to our own work? How about starting with managing your boss’s expectations?
- When given that new and totally cool project, we can hardly wait and get all optimistic.
- We gladly commit to getting it done in two weeks, that seems like a long time.
- How many times do we apologize for being late?
- We tend to overestimate our ability to complete a task by underestimating its complexity and by underestimating our uninterrupted availability.
Airlines have worked hard to improve their service given unpredictable commodity prices and brutal competition. Out of necessity, airlines have applied elements of the Human Performance Model innovatively.
For example most airlines now add a $15 bag handling fee at check-in. I suspect the purpose of this was not to increase revenue, but to change behaviors.
- Now hardly anyone checks their bag, which makes it difficult to lose since it’s not checked.
- Fewer bags are now handled by the airport’s system which frees up resources (equipment, space, and time).
- People who previously loaded baggage now have extra time and space for loading more cargo — which increases revenue.
Sustaining Lean 