Designing Guest Flow and Operations Logistics for the Dolphin Tales

Authors:
Eva K. Lee;Chien-Hung Chen;Niquelle Brown;Joseph Handy;Alex Desiderio;Ruth Lopez;Brian Davis
Affiliations:
School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332;School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332;School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332;Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia 30313;Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia 30313;Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia 30313;Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia 30313
Venue:
Interfaces
Year:
2012

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Abstract

To prepare for its new Dolphin Tales exhibit, Georgia Aquarium partnered with Georgia Institute of Technology to design the exhibit's guest movement with the goal of enhancing the guest experience while limiting congestion. The result was the development and application of the RealOpt-ABM© simulation decision support system for complex modeling and optimization. This work advanced the knowledge frontier in analytical methods in three ways. First, we developed a powerful heuristic algorithm for finding good feasible solutions for intractable nonlinear mixed-integer program resource allocation instances. Second, we integrated simulation and optimization technology into a unified software framework for realistic modeling of large-scale applications with human cognitive and behavioral elements; the software assists in optimizing overall operational dynamics. Third, we developed software for automatically interpreting computer-rendered drawings of processes and tasks into system process maps for simulation and optimization; as advanced visualization becomes more common, automatic translation from mouse clicks and keystrokes to an analytic workflow model serves as an important facilitator in human-computer interfaces. The system provided recommendations that were implemented for strategic and operational planning of the exhibit. These recommendations resulted in reduced congestion, enhanced guest experience, lower operating costs, improved wellness of the dolphins, and better performance in operational logistics, efficiency, and show schedules. The total dollar value of improvements from using the decision support system in reducing the number of shows by one show per week was estimated to be at least $1.5 million per year.