Improving the Process for a Ski Resort

Seven Springs Ski Resort has trouble with bottlenecks in the arrival and checkout processes. While an obvious response would be to add more personnel to facilitate a quicker push through the entryway, this can lead to more bottlenecks later in the system.

Students at the University of Pittsburgh simulated the customer experience at Seven Springs Ski Resort to find and eliminate bottlenecks from the arrival to the checkout processes: parking, transport to the ticket office, checking-in, preparing ski equipment, refreshment, rest, and returning ski equipment. Students assessed current equipment, capabilities and process.

After simulating a few scenarios, the students found the main bottlenecks to be at the Ticket Office and the Lower Ski Lift Station. Using Simio allows Seven Springs to know how many more ticket booths and clerks they will need to streamline this process without overwhelming other sections of the resort.