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Rapid Prototyping Solves Airline Dilemma
The Challenge
In the early years of its growth Southwest Airlines needed to significantly reduce claims from damaged baggage. Reduction could not come at the expense of increasing the turnaround time of loading and unloading planes beyond 10 minutes.
Motivated baggage handlers were making it possible for Southwest to “turn” planes in the 10 minute model. However, in their zeal to get bags on and off in such a short timeframe, they were throwing and damaging huge numbers of bags on every flight.
Though a profitable operation, the $40,000 per month in claims was a significant drain on revenue and was hurting customer satisfaction.
The Outcome
Southwest asked Kelly Allan Associates, Ltd. (KAAL) to work with a team of advisors to collaborate on solving the problem.
Southwest flew in its lead baggage handlers from each airport to confer with the team in Dallas.
The team spent the first day in a conference room listing problems, analyzing operations, and identifying solutions. The next day, the group was at the airport, doing trial runs and testing their theories.
The Results
Through root cause analysis and rapid prototyping, within two days the team had completely remade the baggage handling process.
The team developed zones of movement and “handling styles” for the handlers. Bottleneck constraints were identified and fixed. The zones specified how many handlers would be at each post, and how the baggage would flow through the system. The most ergonomic handling styles were created and implemented as well.
The new process was more efficient, increased speed, reduced errors, and made it easier for baggage handlers. Southwest’s claims eventually dropped from $40,000 per month to almost zero.
Southwest also experienced a reduction in turnover and training costs. Because baggage handling was such a tough job, turnover of personnel had been high. With the new processes, turnover decreased as quality and efficiency improved.
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“Your collaborative approach was a perfect fit for our team-based culture. You made a big difference.”
~ Project Leader, Southwest Airlines
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Challenge: Reduce the cost of luggage claims – as quickly as possible.
Outcome: Rapid prototyping helps team create zones of movement to reduce chaos and improve efficiency. Better “handling styles” were developed to reduce strain on baggage handlers, as well.