NCJ Number
12736
Date Published
Unknown
Length
7 pages
Annotation
THE APPLICABILITY OF THREE OPERATIONAL RESEARCH TECHNIQUES TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT MANAGER/PLANNER IN PLANNING TO ESTIMATE THE BEST USES OF TIME AND MONEY IS EXAMINED.
Abstract
THE TECHNIQUES WHICH ARE CONSIDERED ARE: ONE NAMED FOR HENRY L. GANTT, ITS CREATOR (GANTT); PROGRAM EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE (PERT); AND CRITICAL PATH METHOD (CPM). THE GANTT CHART WAS DESIGNED TO SHOW THE RELATIONSHIP OF TASKS WITHIN SOME VISUAL FRAMEWORK OF TIME, IN ORDER TO DISTRIBUTE A WORKLOAD EVENLY AND KEEP ALL EFFORTS INVOLVED SMOOTH AND CONTINUOUS. THE CHART SHOWS ALL WORK ACTIVITY IN RELATION TO TIME; EACH ACTIVITY AND EVENT CAN BE DRAWN SO THAT THE MANAGER/PLANNER CAN VISUALIZE ALL THE COMPONENTS IN RELATION TO EACH OTHER AND SCHEDULE EVENTS TO OCCUR IN A LOGICAL AND ECONOMICAL FASHION. A SAMPLE GANTT CHART IS GIVEN ILLUSTRATING A HYPOTHETICAL PLANNING PROBLEM. PERT IS AN EXTENSION OF THE GANTT CHART CONCEPT: ITS FOCUS IS ALSO ON EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES, BUT THESE ARE LAID OUT IN A NETWORK INSTEAD OF A BAR/TIME GRAPH. PERT SHOWS ALL THE WORK NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE A STATED OBJECTIVE WHILE ALLOWING THE MANAGER/PLANNER TO PREDICT TIME AND COSTS UNDER A VARIETY OF CONDITIONS. IT ALSO SPOTLIGHTS UNCERTAINTIES OR PROBLEMS THAT MIGHT IMPEDE OR DELAY THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVE. A PERT NETWORK IS PRESENTED WHICH ILLUSTRATES THE SAME PROBLEM SHOWN IN THE SAMPLE GANTT CHART. TO CONSTRUCT A PERT NETWORK, THE MANAGER/PLANNER MUST FIRST LAY OUT A LOGICAL FLOW OF EVENTS -- ESTIMATE ALL ACTIVITIES NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL AND CALCULATE WHICH CAN OCCUR CONCURRENTLY AND WHICH MUST AWAIT THE COMPLETION OF OTHER STEPS -- AND THEN COLLECT INFORMATION ON TIME REQUIRED. EVERY PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR A PHASE OF THE WORK ESTIMATES OPTIMISTIC TIME, MOST LIKELY TIME, AND PESSIMISTIC TIME; EACH OF THESE IS PLACED INTO THE PERT NETWORK. A FORMULA IS PROVIDED FOR DETERMINING THE EXACT TIME AN ACTIVITY WILL PROBABLY REQUIRE, BASED ON THESE THREE ESTIMATES. BY USING THE NETWORK, THE MANAGER/PLANNER CAN ESTIMATE HOW LONG THE ENTIRE PROJECT WILL TAKE TO COMPLETE AND HOW LONG A PARTICULAR EVENT WILL TAKE. THE CRITICAL PATH METHOD IS BASED UPON THE PERT NETWORK. IT IS THE PATH INVOLVING THE LONGEST TIMES AND IS OBTAINED BY ADDING UP ALL THE EXPECTED TIMES (THE AVERAGES OF THE THREE ESTIMATED TIMES OF EACH EVENT). IF A POLICE MANAGER/PLANNER MUST ACCELERATE A PROGRAM TO MEET A SHORTER DEADLINE THAN ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED, HE OR SHE WOULD HAVE TO CONCENTRATE RESOURCES ON SHORTENING THE TIME INVOLVED IN THIS CRITICAL PATH. THIS ASSURES THAT PRESSURE IS BROUGHT TO BEAR ON THE CORRECT AREAS IF DOLLAR ESTIMATES CAN BE ADDED TO THE PERT NETWORK. DOLLAR ESTIMATES CAN BE ADDED TO THE PERT NETWORK. (VDA)