PROBLEM B: Wheel Chair Access at Airports & U! e7 J, P0 Z" v2 A1 l& I- k
One of the frustrations with air travel is the need to fly through multiple airports, and each stop generally requires each traveler to change to a different airplane. This can be especially difficult for people who are not able to easily walk to a different flight's waiting area. One of the ways that an airline can make the transition easier is to provide a wheel chair and an escort to those people who ask for help. It is generally known well in advance which passengers require help, but it is not uncommon to receive notice when a passenger first registers at the airport. In rare instances an airline may not receive notice from a passenger until just prior to landing. ( F& Z$ J% N8 [- ~4 gAirlines are under constant pressure to keep their costs down. Wheel chairs wear out and are expensive and require maintenance. There is also a cost for making the escorts available. Moreover, wheel chairs and their escorts must be constantly moved around the airport so that they are available to people when their flight lands. In some large airports the time required to move across the airport is nontrivial. The wheel chairs must be stored somewhere, but space is expensive and severely limited in an airport terminal. Also, wheel chairs left in high traffic areas represent a liability risk as people try to move around them. Finally, one of the biggest costs is the cost of holding a plane if someone must wait for an escort and becomes late for their flight. The latter cost is especially troubling because it can affect the airline's average flight delay which can lead to fewer ticket sales as potential customers may choose to avoid an airline. $ O2 R5 e' d+ E* JEpsilon Airlines has decided to ask a third party to help them obtain a detailed analysis of the issues and costs of keeping and maintaining wheel chairs and escorts available for passengers. The airline needs to find a way to schedule the movement of wheel chairs throughout each day in a cost effective way. They also need to find and define the costs for budget planning in both the short and long term. % b% o3 Y- W" ]5 o$ ~Epsilon Airlines has asked your consultant group to put together a bid to help them solve their problem. Your bid should include an overview and analysis of the situation to help them decide if you fully understand their problem. They require a detailed description of an algorithm that you would like to implement which can determine where the escorts and wheel chairs should be and how they should move throughout each day. The goal is to keep the total costs as low as possible. Your bid is one of many that the airline will consider. You must make a strong case as to why your solution is the best and show that it will be able to handle a wide range of airports under a variety of circumstances. : s& O2 Q4 @! Y. H# C; b, G ~Your bid should also include examples of how the algorithm would work for a large (at least 4 concourses), a medium (at least two concourses), and a small airport (one concourse) under high and low traffic loads. You should determine all potential costs and balance their respective weights. Finally, as populations begin to include a higher percentage of older people who have more time to travel but may require more aid, your report should include projections of potential costs and needs in the future with recommendations to meet future needs. ! P. q7 P. Q& K3 b
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8 }* L- s; L: T! v0 Z( s9 F" GB 题: 在机场使用轮椅的问题 8 R- p# }% V# |! |' W7 ~4 a乘飞机旅行令人头疼的事情之一就是需要在多个机场转机,而且每到一个机场通常都要求旅客去转乘另外一架飞机. 对那些行动有困难的旅客而言，从一个候机区走到另外一个候机区就特别困难了. 解决办法之一是航空公司为请求帮助的这些旅客提供轮椅和陪同人员, 使得中转更加方便. 通常都能预先知道那些乘客要求帮助，但也常有旅客宁愿在到机场登记时才请求帮助. 在很罕见的情形, 知道飞机就要降落前，航空公司可能还没有接到需要帮助的旅客的请求. . u, M5 y8 C8 q8 \2 d航空公司面临着降低成本的持续的压力. 轮椅会磨损、昂贵而且还需要管理和维护. 提供陪同人员也需要费用. 另外, 为给需要帮助的旅客在他们的航班到达机场时能及时提供帮助, 轮椅和陪同人员还要不断在机场移动. 在一些大机场, 人员和设备在机场内部移动所花费的时间也是不容忽视的. 轮椅还需要有存放的地方，! U" _- v, l0 s D. [+ u. k
但是机场候机大厅场地的租费昂贵而且极其有限. 还有，把轮椅留在客流繁忙的通道, 当过往旅客试图绕过轮椅时也会妨碍行人通过. 最后，最大的代价之一就是, 如果某位旅客必须等候陪同人员的到来而导致飞机等他而延误航班的代价. 这种代价特别令人烦恼，因为它有可能影响到航空公司的平均航班延误时间，其后果是有些潜在乘客会因此而避开这个公司的航班，造成该航空公司机票销售的减少。; e% D' e% r# u6 ?' ^- {
Epsilon 航空公司决定请求第三方帮助他们就为旅客提供轮椅和陪同人员服务的管理和维护中的各种问题和成本进行详细的分析. 这家公司希望得到一个讲求成本效益的每天的轮椅调度方法，并找出和定义短期和长期的预算规划所需的各种成本. * z4 C$ g# z$ k) A4 {/ M4 G8 v; r p
Epsilon 航空公司要求你们的咨询小组汇集你们的分析形成一个投标以帮助该航空公司解决他们的问题. 你们的投标书应该包括对实际情况的概述和分析, 以便这家航空公司能够确定你们是否已经完全了解他们的问题. 他们需要你们提供将要执行的算法的详细叙述，该算法能确定轮椅和陪同人员应该安置在那里，以及每天应该怎样移动. 目标是使总的成本尽可能低. 你们的投标书是Epsilon 航空公司将会考虑的许多投标书之一. 你们必须提供一个强有力的案例以说明为什么你们的解决方案是最佳的而且能够处理各种环境下的各种机场的问题. * r. y. k; ? W7 a/ R. P4 @* H
你们的投标书还应该包括该算法如何处理大型 (至少4 个候机大厅)、中型 (至少2 个候机大厅)和小型(1 个候机大厅)机场在客流高峰和低谷时段的各种例子. 你们应该确定所有潜在的成本并权衡它们各自的权重. 最后，因为老年旅客在旅客总数中开始占有更大的比重，因为他们有较多的时间外出旅行, 但也可能提出更多的帮助要求, 所以你的报告还应该包括对未来潜在成本和乘客需求的规划, 以及怎样满足未来需求的建议.
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发表于 2008-12-20 00:54
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