A discrete event simulation model for performance evaluation at University Service Center

Abstract

For any organisation that offers certain services, waiting time is very important as it indicates the level of service performance. University Service Centre (USC) is a one-stop centre that provides most of the services for students’ affair. It is estimated that around 667 students pay a visit to USC every day for the services. Although there are twenty seven counters, only three of them are very busy. The issue arises whether all the counters are fully utilized by the management. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of USC in giving services to the students. The simulation model is developed to represent the real operation system of the USC. The data is obtained from the USC database for the period of 4 days of operation. The results show that the maximum waiting time for information counter, counter 24 and counter 25 in USC are 16.37 minutes, 160.95 minutes and 42.41 minutes, respectively. Two scenarios have been created for what-if analysis in finding ways to improve the service performance. The findings can help the management of USC to plan and manage resources efficiently while providing the best services.For any organisation that offers certain services, waiting time is very important as it indicates the level of service performance. University Service Centre (USC) is a one-stop centre that provides most of the services for students’ affair. It is estimated that around 667 students pay a visit to USC every day for the services. Although there are twenty seven counters, only three of them are very busy. The issue arises whether all the counters are fully utilized by the management. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of USC in giving services to the students. The simulation model is developed to represent the real operation system of the USC. The data is obtained from the USC database for the period of 4 days of operation. The results show that the maximum waiting time for information counter, counter 24 and counter 25 in USC are 16.37 minutes, 160.95 minutes and 42.41 minutes, respectively. Two scenarios have been created for what-if analysis in finding ways to improve the service per...