dispatcher
A dispatcher ( English dispatch "send", "check in") controls on the level of management of an operation optimum use of the available resources and ensures the proper flow of information and the physical act flow . As a rule, the dispatcher supports the people carrying out the work with troubleshooting. It makes a significant contribution to ensuring that processes are trouble-free. The term can also be found in computer science in the context of operating system administration ; see Dispatcher (Computer Science) .
Demarcation
Unlike the dispatcher, the dispatcher not only determines the final assignment of a resource, but also the order in which this resource is used and thus temporally deepens the binding of the resource that may have been prepared by a dispatcher. In classic work preparation , dispatching refers to loading (when and in what order), while scheduling only determines the allocation (who and what with what). If these two steps are drawn together, there is no degree of freedom in the planning process.
Usage of the East German planned economy
Based on the Soviet occupation of East Germany after the Second World War, the word dispatcher (Диспетчер) was adopted in the GDR from Russian (used there as a foreign word in English).
In official parlance, a dispatcher was a manager in companies and facilities who was responsible for the operational management and control of production and transport processes from available resources.
It was the dispatcher's task to secure the scheduled operational sequence using the communication and measuring technology. As part of his responsibility, he issued the necessary instructions and initiated immediate measures in the event of disruptions to guarantee or restore the planned process. These instructions were considered to be orders from the responsible manager.
Dispatchers were used particularly in mining, mechanical engineering, transportation, metallurgy, as well as in electricity supply and the chemical industry. As a rule, technical means of signaling, regulation and remote control systems were available to the dispatcher. A special area of application was the dispatcher service at the agricultural production cooperatives (LPGs) .
The dispatcher was obliged to report to his head and the dispatcher of the higher-level management about the status of the plan fulfillment, about disruptions, about irregularities and about the measures taken to overcome deficiencies or disruptions in the operational process.
Even today, the term is still used by long-time employees at the Berlin transport companies in the eastern parts of the city as an unofficial term for the employees of the operations management, but over the course of time it is increasingly disappearing from linguistic usage.
Railway operations
In the case of railways, the dispatcher is to be distinguished from a simple dispatcher (department, operations or dispatcher), as he is part of the operational management of the transport company and is usually authorized to issue general instructions. Since two departments are usually affected in the case of railways, their managers must also obey the dispatcher's instructions and process them with priority.
It minimizes disruptions (ideally with their rectification) by using the existing railway infrastructure, e.g. B. searches in connection with train crossings for the appropriate crossing station deviating from the book timetable and informs the train drivers involved about the changes in good time via train radio . A dispatcher is used, for example, in passenger transport in order to have a transfer process due to a train delay of the train to which a connection should be guaranteed, with the simultaneous presence of another possible transfer station within the train route . Then, as a legal consequence, the train to which a connection must be guaranteed has to wait.
At the Deutsche Reichsbahn (1945–1993) a hierarchical distinction was made between office dispatchers at the Reichsbahnämter, directorate dispatchers at the head dispatcher management (Odl) of the Reichsbahn directorates. The central operational management was carried out by the main dispatchers at the main dispatcher management (Hdl) Berlin.
Fleet organization
In aviation , dispatcher is the colloquial term for the flight dispatcher (also flight operation officer or flight operation controller ). He plans flights from the point of view of safety, punctuality and economy, taking into account legal requirements, the performance of the aircraft, the weather, the guidelines of the airline etc. The term is also sometimes used for the operations controller . In the event of irregularities, the latter decides on the implementation, diversion or termination of a flight. In addition to the radar pilot, the flight dispatcher is also the direct contact person for the pilot in charge and observes the flights in order to eliminate problems in advance.
Emergency management
In the rescue service , the dispatcher picks up emergency calls , decides whether there is a life-threatening situation and whether, in addition to an ambulance , an ambulance should also be sent to the scene or a rescue helicopter is used (see also dispatcher or rescue coordination center ).
Information service
In information technology (IT) , the dispatcher assigns incoming customer inquiries to employees who have the appropriate specialist knowledge.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Dispatcher - Duden , 2018; u. a. with "executive employee"
- ^ Nise, WE / Dumler, SA: Der Dispatcher (translated from: Large Soviet Encyclopedia, Volume 14, 2nd Edition, Moscow 1952 / Volume 15, Chapter III, Moscow 1951). Berlin: The economy 1953.
- ↑ Manfred Pohl: The Railway in Germany: From the Beginnings to the Present (online) , CH Beck Verlagsgruppe, 1999, ISBN 978-3-406-45817-0 .