Optimizing Workforce Scheduling for Davis Instruments

Davis Instruments has two manufacturing plants located in Atlanta, Georgia. Product demand varies considerably from month to month, causing Davis extreme difficulty in workforce scheduling. Recently Davis started hiring temporary workers supplied by Workforce Unlimited, a company that specializes in providing temporary employees for firms in the greater Atlanta area. Workforce Unlimited offered to provide temporary employees under three contract options that differ in terms of the length of employment and the cost. The three options are as follow:

The longer contract periods are more expensive because Workforce Unlimited experiences greater difficulty finding temporary workers who are willing to commit to longer work assignments.

Over the next 6 months, Davis projects the following needs for additional employees:

Each month, Davis can hire as many temporary employees as needed under each of the three options. For instance, if Davis hires 5 employees in January under Option B, Workforce Unlimited will supply Davis with 5 temporary workers who will work for two months: January and February. For these workers, Davis will have to pay 5($4800) = $24,000. Because obligations for some merger negotiations underway, Davis does not want to commit to any contractual obligations for temporary employees that extend beyond June.

Davis’s quality control program requires each temporary employee to receive training at the time of hire. The training program is required even if the person worked for Davis Instruments in the past. Davis estimates that the cost of training is $875 each time a temporary employee is hired. Thus, if a temporary employee is hired for one month, Davis will incur a training cost of $875, but will incur no additional training cost if the employee is on a two- or three-month contract.

Due to its tight budget, Davis Instruments cannot afford expensive consulting services to help them determine what the firm should do when it comes to scheduling its temporary workforce. Sharon, one of the managers, suggested that the firm can contact the MBA program of a nearby local college and request assistance from some of the MBA students. She believes the MBA students will be able to help the firm map out its staffing plan.

You have been assigned to the team of MBA students to determine the number of temporary employees Davis should hire each month under each contract plan in order to meet the projected needs at a minimum total cost. In addition, there are also a few issues that also need to be addressed:

1.If the cost to train each temporary employee could be reduced to $700 per month, what effect would this have on the hiring plan? Discuss the implications that this effect on the hiring plan has for identifying methods for reducing training costs. How much of a reduction in training costs would be required to change the hiring plan based on a training cost of $875 per temporary employee?

2.Suppose Davis hired 10 full-time employees at the beginning of January in order to satisfy part of the labor requirements over the next 6 months. If Davis can hire full-time employees for $16.50 per hour, including fringe benefits, what effect would it have on total labor and training costs over the 6-month period as compared to hiring only temporary employees? Assume that full-time and temporary employees both work approximately 168 hours per month. Provide a recommendation regarding the decision to hire additional full-time employees.