Subsections
• Example 1
• Example 2
• Example 3
• Example 4

  
Consultancy services

Some examples of the kinds of consultancies that can be addressed are as follows.

  
Example 1

OPCOM's client wished to substantially augment the level of service it provided to its customers.

• This meant a need for a significant number of extra staff--a number which they calculated using traditional manual methods.
• To hire and train these extra staff would have been expensive and time-consuming.
• OPCOM, through the application of its optimisation methods, suggested some rearrangements of work patterns which met all the rules relating to employment conditions. It was able to fulfill the new requirements with eight fewer new staff, in a total of around 100, than the manual solution proposed. The optimisation could be run in minutes, rather than the weeks previously taken to obtain a solution.
• This radically changed the thinking within the organisation.

Soon we were presented with a number of  `what if...?'  scenarios to process.

  
Example 2

A large manufacturing and distribution organisation was planning the relocation of its production facility.

• A major consideration was the costing and feasibility of scheduling timely deliveries to its customers.
• OPCOM was engaged as a consultant to carry out a comparison of costs between potential sites.
• OPCOM used its vehicle despatch and routing software to discriminate between the sites, and to carry out a sensitivity analysis for scenarios around the suggested operating parameters.

The analysis was an important part of the overall planning model used to make the final decision.

  
Example 3

OPCOM provided technical support to a client developing a decision support system for superannuation fund managers and trustees, in the allocation of financial resources to investment portfolios.

OPCOM was able to provide...

• mathematical modelling for a number of alternative suggested approaches;
• recommendations on appropriate generic optimisation packages to incorporate in the system;
• contact with expert consultants who complemented OPCOM;
• development of statistical software modules and other general advice.

  
Example 4

A public transport operator needed to find a way of optimally combining scheduled blocks of work on either side of a meal-break, to construct complete daily shifts of work which minimised the total cost of unproductive time.

• OPCOM provided the solution, by solving the mathematical model known as minimum cost - perfect matching.
• The execution of the program saves around $50,000 at each depot, compared to manual pairing of work blocks.
• This is applied to four depots, at least once a year.