Determination of technical support requirements of an office automation system

Abstract

The Body & Chassis Engineering Department of Ford Motor Company recently formulated plans for greatly increasing (from 155 to 476) the number of Fortune engineering-workstation computers. This increase represents a vital step in the implementation of an office automation system. Systems-analysis personnel of the Department used discrete simulation as a tool to quantify the impact of this increase on the workload of technical support personnel. In turn, Department management used the results of these simulations to formulate a hiring plan consistent with the planned rate of terminal acquisition.