Running Head: HEURISTIC USE BY AN EXPERT
Heuristic Use by an Expert in the Commercial Moving Industry
Matthey Bilyeu, Daniel Kaskoun, Quoc Le, David Nelson, Aaron Pagano
Drexel University
Running Head: HEURISTIC USE BY AN EXPERT
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Introduction
Experts are often faced with tasks that can seem quite complex and difficult to others. To
deal with such challenges, experts commonly make use of heuristics, or rules of thumb, they
have learned through their experience in their field.
As observed by Crandall, Klein and Hoffman (2006), experts tend to know a large
number of heuristics that they can apply to problems in their field (Crandall, Klein, and
Hoffman, 2006, p. 42). Experts develop these through training, working with others, and simply
making observations during their work. Having learned these heuristics, they can then break
down more complicated problems into smaller pieces and use the general heuristics they have
learned to solve these smaller, simpler problems.
In this paper, we examine an expert in the field of commercial moving (moving offices)
and present him with a series of sample moving problems. Having him think aloud, we were
able to see how he broke down each problem, identify a variety of heuristics he uses to solve the
problems, then predict the amount of workers, equipment, and time would be necessary to
complete such a project.
Methods
A highly experienced salesman in the field of commercial moving services was asked by
an observer to think aloud as he worked through the problem of estimating the time, equipment,
and manpower needed to perform hypothetical move jobs. The move jobs were modeled by
providing a drawn floor plan of a building with the offices, cubicles, and other office features
included. These floor plans can be seen in Figures 1-4 in the appendix (located on page 8). The
subject was instructed to use the provided floor plan and list of items that needed to be moved
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into a space that is comparable to the original space (i.e. having the similar features that would
make moving in comparable in difficulty to moving out). The subject was allowed to take notes
as needed during the session and use other tools at his disposal in his office that would be
normally used when doing this type of work. The session was audio recorded so that there was a
record of the subject speaking and that notes could be taken at a later time.
Observations
The subject, when solving the presented problems, appealed to known heuristics learned
through experience to quickly and efficiently estimate components such as time needed or
manpower needed. The most commonly used of these is the concept of man-hours. When
given a set number of cubicles that needed moving, the subject would divide them up based on a
known number of man-hours needed in order to move a cubicle. Based on this heuristic, the
number of cubicles moving could be divided by number of man-hours to make a simple, quick
estimate of men or time needed.
Another commonly used heuristic is the number of dollies (a small frame with wheels
used to move objects) can be fit onto a straight-truck (a large commercial truck with two or three
axles that is not a tractor-trailer) based on what is on them. The number of boxes or pieces of
furniture that needed to be moved could be divided by the number of each type of dolly-load that
can be fit on a truck to estimate the number of trucks needed to complete a job. This process was
used seamlessly throughout the session in each of the four example situations.
Another observation was that move jobs that did not include furniture were far simpler
and easier to plan out, whereas those that involved moving furniture needed specialized crews
and more complex planning. It was observed that the subject spent considerably more time
Running Head: HEURISTIC USE BY AN EXPERT
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overall planning a move that involved furniture and spent more time looking over the floor plan
and thinking before writing down notes or making calculations whereas notes and calculations
were done immediately for simpler moves.
Results
Observed heuristics. The sessions took between two and seventeen minutes, the mean
session length was 7.13 minutes. Each move required different levels of crew, time, and
equipment. However, the planning process of each move involved a common set of heuristics.
The heuristics found can be broken into five categories, under which sub-rules fall. A total of 19
“rules” or heuristics were elicited overall. The five heuristic categories are:
1.
Pre- and post-move crews
2.
Man-hours/Crew Size
3.
Number of trucks
4.
Split crews
5.
Furniture
At present, these categories will likely seem vague considering the numerous sub-rules are the
determining factors. In addition, these categories often intertwine (e.g. number of trucks is
influenced if the crew is split). These ambiguities will be cleared in an example from a session
that will follow.
Session example. Session 4 was the most complex example of the four given examples.
In this example, every heuristic was employed rather than a specific sample of them. The floor
plan for example 4 is provided in Figure 4. As is seen in the floor plan and move itinerary,
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everything in the space, including furniture and cubicle panels will be moved from the site into
another, comparable site.
Considerable planning was made, using the heuristics, starting with furniture. A sub-rule
under the furniture heuristic category is that furniture must be moved and set up in the new space
before boxes can be delivered to the new offices/cubicles. Additionally, moving furniture uses
two heuristic categories, man-hours and number of trucks. A heuristic used for man-hours to
knock down furniture is that it is one man-hour for each cubicle or office (i.e. it takes one man,
one hour to take apart office furniture or cubicle panels and wrap it to be moved). Additionally,
to pack one truck with furniture is one man-hour (due to safety reasons, this is split between two
workers, who take 30 minutes to pack a truck with furniture).
To determine number of trucks needed the split-crew and number of trucks heuristic
categories were used. Because of the size and complexity of the job, as well as the need to work
on both the destination and origin so furniture can be placed and set at destination while boxes
are packed at origin (a split-crew sub-rule), the crew must be split between the two sites.
Therefore, the most efficient use or trucks would be to shuttle two trucks between the two sites
continuously until the origin is cleared (a split-crew sub-rule). Man-hours for loading the trucks
is calculated using the sub-rules for number of dollies that can be fit on a truck and based on how
many boxes and pieces of furniture need to be moved. In the case of example 4, 10 truck-loads
are required.
Based on the heuristics used, the subject determined that a total of 125 man-hours were
required for the move (28 workstations + 18 offices + 2 conference rooms + file cabinets + truck
loading + post-move crew) using rules such as each cubicle equals one man-hour at both the
Running Head: HEURISTIC USE BY AN EXPERT
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origin and destination. Also, it was determined that two trucks are needed by using the splitcrew sub-rule of shuttling trucks.
After the conclusion of the move, because furniture was moved and reinstalled, a postmove crew would be needed (a pre-/post-move crew sub-rule). The reason for this is that
employees of the client often want minor adjustments to their furniture for ergonomic or
aesthetic reasons. Also, because of the vast number of boxes used in the move, empty and
discarded boxes need to be taken away.
As an overview, each category of heuristic was used in this example. A post-move crew
was determined necessary because furniture needed moving, man-hours were decided based on
the number of cubicles, offices, number of truck-loads, furniture, the need for supervisors, and
the use of an elevator. The number of trucks needed was decided based on the number of dollyloads a truck can hold based on the types of things being dollied (furniture, boxes). And lastly,
the need to move furniture decided the need for the split-crew, the number of man-hours, the
number of trucks, and the type of workers needed (skill level). As can be seen based on these
results, all heuristics from all five categories are used in this type of move situation.
Discussion
From the present study, we can see that experts often face problems in their field that are
rarely seen by other people. Therefore, they have developed some special rules of thumb that
help them solve problems quickly. These skills are often acquired through real-world experience
and formal training.
The expert in the study had to work through some problems in which he estimated the
amount of man-hours, dollies, and trucks were needed to move a certain number of offices and
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cubicles given the constraints of the building. By letting him “think out loud”, we are able to see
the heuristics that he developed to solve them. This task, which would likely take non-expert
hours to finish, only took between two to seventeen minutes.
There was only one expert subject in the present research. There are a couple of ways to
expand this study for future research. First, instead of one expert, it would be beneficial to have
multiple experts working on these problems, either individually or collaboratively. Through
collaborative work, a researcher may able to understand not only experts’ rules of thumb but also
the way experts communicate to accomplish such tasks. Moreover, this type of study could also
include non-experts under the same conditions, in order to compare and contrast their methods.
The results of this research could be applicable for designing professional working environments
or support software to aid those who may be non-experts or to allow experts to work more
quickly.
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Appendix
Figure 1: The first floor plan used. Note on the bottom left the list of items being moved.
Running Head: HEURISTIC USE BY AN EXPERT
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Figure 2: The second floor plan shown. Note the list of items being moved on the lower
portion.
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Figure 3: The third floor plan shown. Note the list of items being moved on the bottom
right.
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Figure 4: The fourth and final floor plan shown. Note in the center the list of items to be
moved.
Running Head: HEURISTIC USE BY AN EXPERT
References
Crandall, B., Klein, G., Hoffman, R.R. (2006). Working minds. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
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