Read the article footnoted in Sec. 3.5 that describes the second case study presented in that section: “Personnel Scheduling at United Airlines.”

(a) Describe how United Airlines prepared shift schedules at airports and reservations offices prior to this OR study.

(b) When this study began, the problem definition phase defined five specific project requirements. Identify these project requirements.

(c) At the end of the presentation of the corresponding example in Sec. 3.4 (personnel scheduling at Union Airways), we pointed out that the divisibility assumption does not hold for this kind of application. An integer solution is needed, but linear programming may provide an optimal solution that is noninteger. How does United Airlines deal with this problem?

(d) Describe the flexibility built into the scheduling system to satisfy the group culture at each office. Why was this flexibility needed?

(e) Briefly describe the tangible and intangible benefits that resulted from the study.