Case: Ontario Power Generation

 Ontario Power Generation is a very large North American power company, with a generating capacity ofmore than 16 000 megawatts. OPG provides power to more than half of all Ontario homes and businesses. With just over 10 000 employees, 0 PG produces electricity using a combination ofhydroelectric, thermal, nuclear, biomass, and wind-powered stations. Roughly 95 percent of the power produced by OPG in 2013 came from hydroelectric and nuclear sources, which produce zero emissions that contribute to smog and climate change. The power-producing industry is characterized as having fairly stable demand, although the regulatory and social environment in which power companies operate is going through a period of change. For example, OPG is ahead of the Ontario Ministry of Energy-mandated schedule to close its coal-fired generating stations. These stations have been shuttered, but not sold, and may one day be converted to natural gas-fired stations. OPG's Pickering nuclear power stations will be shut down by 2020, while phasing in greater use ofwind, solar, bio-energy, and hydroelectric power over roughly the same period. Consumer demand for power is dynamic, with daily, weekly, and monthly peaks, as well as seasonal differences in demand. OPG must anticipate power demand and determine how to satisfy its total power demand with power from different stations. Each type ofpower station has its own unique operating require- ments for technicians, and so the HR demand for technicians depends not only on total power needs, but also the mix ofpower stations in use at any given time. Because the company has varying skill requirements for its technicians, OPG seeks to hire technicians with the basic engineering skills qualifications, and then provides extensive training. The training period lasts up to five years, which indicates how strategically important technicians are to OPG. The forecasting of demand for technicians must account for these cyclical differences in power demand in order to prevent over- or understaffing. In addition to these demand requirements, the utility must plan for future requirements given the expected growth in the demand for electricity over time, and its own strategic initiative to reduce total full-time employment levels by roughly 20 percent from its 2011 levels over a five-year period. Organizational planners have many years ofprior sales and consumption data from which to draw forecasts. The utility also has a management team that has deep knowledge ofthe regulatory and political landscape, the energy sector in general, and the electricity market in the province. Other attributes that may influence the demand for energy and therefore the demand for technicians include the extent to which third-party (consultant) services are utilized, the total capital budget ofthe company, the total number of kilowatt hours generated, the kilowatt hours produced by each station, the type of power stations available for use, and sales revenues.

Assuming that OPG wishes to improve its HR demand forecasts for technicians over a three-year period, do you think that OPG should use a quantitative or qualitative type of model to assess its demand for technicians and why? 

What specific form of quantitative or qualitative model do you think OPG should use and why?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Determining the best possible model quantitative or qualitative for OPG to use in improving its HR demand forecasts for technicians depends on a host ... View the full answer