Summary
The chosen case study for the current assignment is the construction of the London Eye – one of Europe’s most prominent sightseeing attractions. Nevertheless, the construction of the Millennium Wheel was significantly complicated by unexpected external factors, and the opening date was slightly postponed. The commotion occurred due to the extensive degree of technological complexity, unexpected lateral load, and security issues. The current assignment examines the construction and operation processes of the London Eye and provides a comprehensive analysis of the project.
Construction of the London Eye
Similar to most construction processes, the input-transform-output model for the building of the London Eye concern raw materials and human resources, work activity, and the final project. In the current case, the inputs included the overall budget of £20 million spent on the materials and HR development. The transformation process consisted of 149 separate major site activities, including wheel assembly, capsule fixing, etc. Ultimately, the output of the project was the finished London Eye attraction prepared for operation.
The 4Vs model of operation management generally includes the assessment of volume, variety, variation, and visibility. In the current case, the primary characteristics are volume and visibility due to the project’s specific requirements (Hattangadi, 2021). Variety and variation are not significant factors since the project is not designed to meet the needs of the customers in the construction phase (Hattangadi, 2021). Lastly, the operation layout for the construction process was chosen correctly. The core principle of the London Eye construction was safety. Needless to say, the safety of people and equipment should always be the top priority, specifically in the areas of technological innovation. Additionally, the operation layout for the project is the fixed-position system, which is highly prominent for construction. In other words, all the material was transported to the major site and reconstructed to meet the initial requirements. Ultimately, the input-transformation-output model, the 4Vs profile, and the operation layout were chosen appropriately for the project.
Operation of the London Eye
Unlike the construction process, the operation of the London Eye resembles the service-type input-transformation-output model. The inputs include:
- the maintenance work of the attraction and marketing strategies;
- transformation covers the research and development process;
- output concerns the eventual services of the tourist attraction.
The 4Vs model of the operation emphasizes volume, variation, and visibility. The former is necessary to establish the required levels of demand and profitability. Variation should be taken into account to mitigate periods of low demand (e.g., coronavirus restrictions), and visibility is essential to increase the popularity of tourist attractions (Hattangadi, 2021). At the same time, variety is not a significant factor in the operation of the London Eye since the project has only one primary activity. Similar to the construction phase, the operation layout is position-fixed.
Concerning operation performance objectives, the operation of the London Eye emphasizes the quality of the services. It is complicated to add variety to the services due to the nature of the project; nevertheless, it is essential to ensure the highest quality and flexibility of the scheduling. For this purpose, the operations management decided on the 30-minute rides with an overall daily working time of twelve hours in summer and eight hours in winter. Such scheduling allows for greater operations flexibility and accessibility. Lastly, the specific characteristics of the delivered services include the unique experience and scenic views. At present, the London Eye is the highest tourist attraction in Europe and the fourth highest in the world. The possibility of a unique experience attracts a large number of customers both from the UK and overseas. Consequently, the scenic view from the capsules is the major point of interest; that is why the operating hours in summer are longer to match the natural daylight cycle. Ultimately, the chosen operation strategies revolve around the unique experience that only the London Eye can provide in Europe.
Reference
Hattangadi, V. (2021). Understanding the four Vs of operations management – Volume, variety, variation and visibility.