Operational Research in Twenty Companies in Australian Private Industry

Abstract

A survey of companies in Australia which might be utilizing OR was carried out in May 1974 and the information gained for twenty of these companies has been used as a basis for most of this report. A weighted averaging of time spent on a man-hour basis shows that the most common problem types are co-ordination problems and production planning problems. Also, a similar procedure leads to the conclusion that network analysis, simulation and tailored models are the solution techniques which are most used. A cross-tabulation of problem types and solution techniques is given as well. This is followed by a discussion regarding OR worker qualifications.