Lean Operations at Alaska Airlines
Question #1
The key ingredients of Lean identified in Alaska Airlines are based on the need of customers through a continuous effort of improvement. These ingredients include:
- Concentration on constant organizational development.
- Metrics are used in the organization in order to measure employee performance against the specific set target.
- Educative workshops, teams, classes are implemented as a form of training workers in the company.
- It is considered essential for employees to know and recognize individual vendor members and also establish effective working relationships, which would be aimed at improving the operations of Alaska Airlines.
- Modern technology was further incorporated in Lean to enhance smooth operations within the organization.
- A regular system of communication was incorporated. This helped in engaging employees within the company.
- Committed sponsors and Financial partners at Lean provided appropriate support, which helped in improving the transition of goods in Alaska Airlines.
Question#2
Parallel loading: Two boarding points of airplanes are required in parallel loading. This involves the first cabin passengers from the front point of boarding, and the half remaining is from the actual boarding point. The parallel boarding points helps in the optimization of the usage of the cabin space within the Alaska Airlines organization.
Rear to Front: Alaska airline uses rear to front boarding of passengers. This involves the pre-boarding of certain passengers on the plane. In this case, the first-class passengers are allowed to board before the other lettered boarding groups. The rear to the front door at Alaska airport does not have jetways but only has a staircase, which leads to the tarmac.
Window Passengers First: This allows the loading of first passengers who will be sitting on the right side of the plane near the window. The boarding strategy often starts with the last row, then the third las row, the fifth last row and other rows in the plane according to the outlined order. However, the same procedure is done while loading passengers on the left side of the window on the plane. Also, the window passenger first method is applied in the middle right, middle left, and in the aisles. The same procedure of loading passengers is also done during the unloading process.
Dual Door Access: This involves the act of loading passengers using front and aft door, and at the same time, unloading passengers from the stair door to the tarmac. The dual door technique helps to speed the passengers off time. It further assists in saving the company money.
Question #4
A major issue viewed in the Alaska airline involves loading and unloading passengers; thus, substantial research is undertaken in the organization. The research involves the role of a computer simulation with an attempt to reduce the turn time of airplanes. This research is done under a comprehensive simulation, which was developed by Boeing Aircraft. Also, new methods of boarding passengers in the plane are being researched. This involved the act of assigning some specific seats to the passengers based on the number of bags. The implementation of the rear door loading and unloading of passengers and also using the technique of lining up passengers in the form of groups. Eventually, Alaska Airlines have undertaken some investigation towards the efficiency of Airline operations. This involves the outline of several procedures that will be required in boarding the airplane. The efficiency of the airline will be considered effective based on the importance of each boarding procedures.