MICA Dining Hall

Running header: MICA DINING HALL CASE STUDY
MICA Dining Hall Case Study
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MICA DINING HALL CASE STUDY 2
Abstract
It is common to find a dining hall in various institutions, including higher education institutions.
This is a large room where people can have meals together (Peterson et al., 2010). For a dining
hall to be effective, there are various factors to consider, such as the number of people it will
accommodate and the available space. Staff in the dining hall must also be enough. In most
scenarios, problems arise in a dining hall setting, such as long queues and wait line hours. When
this happens in a school, delays will occur, and students will be late for class. Such a situation
might make the students miss attendance. It, therefore, becomes important to fix such a problem
before it gets worse. This paper discusses a case study on MICA dining hall. There is a look at
the problems in the case study, a diagram of the problems, the root cause of the problems, how
the problem can be fixed, and an example of personal experience similar to the case.
Summary of the case
The case is on the dining hall problems at MICA, a higher education institution for strategic
marketing and communications. This institution has a high number of students. An issue was
raised by a student regarding long queues and wait time existing in the main dining hall during
lunchtime. The delays that resulted could be more than 30 minutes sometimes. This made
students late for class, thus missing attendance. This called for intervention to study the situation
and give recommendations to fix the problem. MICA campus had three different outlets where
the students ate; the main dining hall, MICAFE, and Chhota Canteen. These three eateries were
distributed over the campus and operated during different hours. The type of food found at the
different outlets was also different. The dining hall comprised the main dining hall and an
extended dining hall.
An investigation into the issue was conducted for several days. On the first day, it was
discovered that there was overcrowding between service counter one and counter two. Several
bags occupied the seats in the dining hall. This was because some students used to place their
bags on the benches and tabletops. On the second day, the reasons for crowding between the two
counters were studied. It was discovered that students were helping themselves to dressings (for
curd), pickles, and salt, which were placed between the counters. On the general observations,
student behavior was a major point of focus. The students were not coming directly to the dining
hall but instead caught up with their peers, went to the washrooms, or went to the hostel rooms to
stow their bags. They would then proceed to the dining hall in groups. The seats in the dining
hall were being occupied by both students and their bags, and this reduced the available seating
capacity in the two dining halls. Some of the tables were unoccupied, even when the dining hall
was almost full. Some tables were perceived to be occupied by the faculty members, staff,
research associates, and research assistants. There was also a table close to the water counter, and
this is where the register and after-dinner mints were kept. This called for the need to gate the
free capacities better utilized. Another important observation was that people avoided the
extended dining hall, mainly because it was extremely hot. The air coolers were also broken, and
this made the situation worse. These findings were reported to the president and director, who
gave the go-ahead to implement the action plan.
Problems at the Dining Hall, who is affected, how bad is the problem, and what would happen if
nothing is done.
The case study presents various problems that prompted an investigation. The major problem at
the dining hall was long queues and wait time during lunchtime. The delays were sometimes
more than thirty minutes. This situation made students late for class, and most of them ended up
missing attendance. For example, two students had already experienced this after losing
attendance for two classes. These two students were only one session away from getting a grade
penalty. Another five students had already missed out on a surprise test because they were not
allowed to enter the class after being late for more than ten minutes. The above problems affect
the students as well as MICA employees. After analyzing the case study, it would be correct to
conclude that the problem is quite serious. For example, long queues and wait times have
resulted in students being late for class. This means that a lot of time is spent in the dining hall,
which could otherwise be spent studying. Missing class attendance can negatively affect the
students, for example, through poor performance.
In most cases, students can also be penalized for missing exams. If nothing is done, the situation
could turn from bad to worse. The queues would get longer, and the wait time would increase.
The result would be more students being late for class and missing attendance. The overall
performance of the students would negatively be affected, which means the higher education
institution would perform poorly compared to other institutions.
Diagram of the problems
The case can be presented in a fishbone diagram, also known as a cause and effect diagram. This
diagram gives the various possible causes of a given problem (Luo et al., 2007).
The root cause of the problems
The problems of long queues and wait times are caused by various factors. First, counters 1 and
2 were characterized by crowding. Some seats were occupied by bags after students placed them
on benches and tabletops. After investigating the reasons behind the crowding at the two
counters, it was discovered that the low movement was caused by students helping themselves to
dressings (for curd), pickles, and salt, which were placed between service counter one and
service counter two. Some of the students would even go back a second time to take the salt and
pickle after taking their seats. This behavior was clearly slowing down operations and leading to
crowding. Another strange activity identified was that some students who were already at the end
of counter one and counter two were passing bowls to their colleagues in the queue behind them.
It was also noted that some students who managed to get hold of the bowls at the end of the two
counters would stretch out their arms across hands or even go back to pick an extra helping of
curry or dal. The behavior increased the overall queue wait time as well as adding to the
confusion. This was an issue that needed to be addressed. Student behavior was also a
contributing factor. For example, the students did not proceed directly to the dining halls after
leaving their classes. They first caught up with their friends, went to the washrooms, went to the
hostel rooms to stow their bags, and then came as a group to the dining hall for lunch (page 5).
Faculty members would also start by finishing their pending work before lunch before joining in
small groups. The dining hall seats were not only occupied by the learners but also by their bags.
For example, there was an average of 15 bags occupying seats at around 1:00 pm, and this
happened during the peak lunch hours (page 5). This trend was reducing the expected seating
capacity in the dining hall and warranted attention.
Another strange behavior observed was that even when the main dining hall was almost fully
occupied, some tables were still unoccupied. These tables were perceived to be occupied by the
faculty members, staff, research associates, and research assistants. The table near the water
counter was also unoccupied, and this is where the register and the after-dinner mints were kept.
The extended dining hall also had a problem. The hall was sometimes very hot because it was
partially open. One could even feel the hot breeze as it passed by. The two air coolers installed in
the extended dining hall were also broken. It was discovered that the air coolers had been in an
out of order state for more than two months. This situation in the extended dining hall meant that
some seats were not occupied, and this increased the long queues and wait time.
Strategies to fix the problems
The problems in this case study can be fixed through the Drum-buffer-rope theory of constraints.
The theory was named after three major elements of the solution. The drum represents the
constraint in the situation or the weakest link. The buffer is the material release duration, while
the rope is the release timing. The theory of constraints mainly emphasizes the importance of
enhancing system performance by exploiting the identified bottleneck (Bhardwaj et al., 2010).
The crowding at counters 1 and 2 could be solved by ensuring the students do not help
themselves to dressings (for curd), pickles, and salt. This step will prevent movement from being
slowed down. The school management could also sensitize the students on the importance of
keeping time. For example, the students could be requested to go directly to the dining hall
instead of catching up with friends first, going to the washroom unless necessary, or going to the
hostel rooms to stow their bags. This approach would ensure that the students do not waste a lot
of time during lunch hour. There is a problem with dining hall seats being occupied by bags. This
situation is because students come to the dining hall with their bags. This problem can be fixed
by urging the students to leave their bags away from the dining hall. Another alternative would
be setting up a strategic station outside the dining hall where the students can keep their bags.
The bags would be picked later once they are done with the dining hall. This approach will
ensure there is enough sitting capacity in the dining halls. It would also be crucial to address the
issue of unoccupied tables. For example, there are tables perceived to be occupied by the staff,
research associates, research assistants, and faculty members. This situation contributed to
reduced space. Therefore, a strategy would be ensuring the tables are used. Another problem has
to do with the extreme heat in the extended dining hall. This problem could be fixed by using
fans to facilitate cooling, in addition to tower air conditioners. This approach would ensure the
unutilized space in the extended dining hall gets fully utilized. In a nutshell, the theory of
constraints could be applied to execute measures such as obtaining a table for register and after-
dinner mints, putting up a rack for bags, acquiring masala, pickle, pepper, and salt containers,
temporary closures, crates and racks for soiled plates, standing fans, tower air conditioners, and
water jugs. These measures would solve the major problems of long queues and wait time during
lunch hours.
Example of personal experience
An example of a personal experience that has similarities with this one is overcrowding in the
dining hall. This situation was accompanied by similar cases of long queues as well as wait time.
The major cause of this overcrowding was limited sitting space. Overcrowding led to other
problems such as stress among the dining hall staff. It was proving difficult to attend to all the
students effectively. This problem was solved by increasing the size of the dining hall. However,
this solution did not solve the problem completely, and it prompted the construction of an
additional dining hall. There were also additional seats and dining tables to cater for all the
students. A strategy was implemented where the students went for lunch at different intervals,
thus reducing the number of students in the dining halls at any given moment. It also became
necessary to hire additional staff to serve the students. After a few months, the problem of
overcrowding was completely solved.
References
Bhardwaj, A., Gupta, A., & Kanda, A. (2010). Drum-Buffer-Rope: The technique to plan and
control the production using the theory of constraints. World Academy of Science, Engineering
and Technology, 45, 103-106.
Ivey Publishing (2019). MICA Dining Hall: Debottlenecking Operations.
Luo, Y. M., Huang, S. Y., & Cao, S. Y. (2007). Application of Improved fishbone diagram in
Operation Management. INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL-GUANGZHOU-, 10(2),
138.
Peterson, S., Duncan, D. P., Null, D. B., Roth, S. L., & Gill, L. (2010). Positive changes in
perceptions and selections of healthful foods by college students after a short-term point-of-
selection intervention at a dining hall. Journal of American College Health, 58(5), 425-431.
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Running header: MICA DINING HALL CASE STUDY

MICA Dining Hall Case Study

Summary of the case

extended dining hall.

gave the go-ahead to implement the action plan.

students, for example, through poor performance.

institution would perform poorly compared to other institutions.

Diagram of the problems

The root cause of the problems

capacity in the dining hall and warranted attention.

Strategies to fix the problems

Example of personal experience

overcrowding was completely solved.

and Technology, 45, 103-106.

Ivey Publishing (2019). MICA Dining Hall: Debottlenecking Operations.

Operation Management. INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL-GUANGZHOU-, 10(2),

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