General Information

Operational Research

Operational Research can be described as a scientific approach to decision making and the solution of problems in the management of complex systems. It was probably first used in anger during World War II when a large number of scientists were called upon to allocate scarce resources to military operations and to deal with strategic and tactical problems. After the war many of these scientists pursued further research in the subject in the United Kingdom and the USA. An example is the development of the simplex method for solving linear programming problems by George Danzig in 1947.

Operational Research has been used intensively in business, industry and government. Many new analytical methods have evolved, such as mathematical programming, simulation. game theory, networks, decision analysis, multi-criteria analysis, etc., which have powerful application to practical problems with the appropriate logical structure.

Operational Research in practice is a team effort, requiring the close cooperation between decision makers, the skilled OR analysts and the people who will be affected by management action.

IFORS

The International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) is an international organisation of national societies whose primary objective is the advancement of operational research, as a unified science throughout the world.

IFORS was established in 1959, with the initial membership composed of the national societies of the USA, UK and France. Currently there are 36 national member societies and 10 kindred member societies and regional groupings.

AGIFORS

The Airline Group of IFORS is a society with the avowed purpose of forwarding the practice of Operational Research in airlines. The membership consists of Operational Research workers who are also employed by recognized civil airlines. There are, in addition, correspondents who are people keenly interested in the application of Operational Research to aviation problems.

AGIFORS is the outcome of informal discussions between six airline Operational Research workers (from Trans Canada, Air France. Sabena, BEA, and Swissair) who were present at the second international conference in Operational Research at Aix en Provence, France in 1960. These informal discussions led to the setting up of a committee. which organised a Symposium on Operational Research in airlines, at Spring Valley, New York in October 1961. This Symposium was a pronounced success and those attending it voted in favour of the idea that AGIFORS should be constituted as a society.

Today the AGIFORS membership exceeds 500, with more than 70 airlines and air transport associations represented.

Annual Symposium

The Annual Symposium has become the focus of AGIFORS activities, and it is held during September or October each year. Presentations are made by AGIFORS members on various airline OR subjects. Guest speakers are invited from the academic world as well as from related industries, to present the latest state of-the art practices in OR. At recent Symposia, such presentations have been made on Supercomputers, Artificial Intelligence, Expert Systems and advances in Mathematical Programming. The Symposium also includes panel sessions, discussion groups and tutorials. A concurrent spouses programme takes place and evening social events take advantage of the varied local attractions.

The participation in the Symposia and the nature of the subjects discussed, show clearly the international nature of AGIFORS, its growth and the wide range of interests of its members. One of the most valuable benefits obtained from participation is the number of contacts made with people studying similar problems in other airlines.

Copies of the proceedings of the Symposia may be obtained, so long as they remain available, at 60.00 (USD) per copy, by contacting the AGIFORS Publications Officer

Listing of Symposium Locations

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AGIFORS Council

Study Groups

Membership

More information on AGIFORS Symposia, Proceeding, Study Groups or Membership may be obtained from the Secretary.

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11 June 1996, by John Quillinan