Technical Report (Final Draft - Introduction)

1 Introduction

1.1 Situation background

In SIT@Dover, there are two canteens where students and staff commonly have their meals before their next lesson. However, the canteens are always packed during lunch break due to the overwhelming population of approximately 2,500 students and staff members in SIT@Dover. As a result, there are very few seats available during said periods in the canteens of SIT@Dover, with a total seating capacity of around 600 people. Some students might even opt to skip out on their lunch, which could lead to negative health effects. Skipping lunch can lead to individuals being distracted from their work and other effects such as “drowsiness, fuzziness, and fatigue” (Hyatt, 2017). As such, it is crucial for SIT to address the lack of seats at the canteen during lunchtime.

According to a survey done by 66 students and staff members in SIT@Dover (Refer to Appendix I), 97% of the participants consume their lunch in the canteens within SIT campus, and 98% of them will be in groups of two or more. Furthermore, 78% usually have to wait for more than 5 minutes to get a seat during lunch break. As 68% people finish their meals within half an hour, the turnover rates for the tables should be high, yet the students and staff still have problems finding seats during peak period. It has been observed that the cause of this issue is patrons are occupying the seats after their meals.

An email exchange with a staff member from the Division of Estate revealed that there are plans on improving the crowd during lunch period, from 12noon to 1pm, at the canteen. (Refer to Appendix II)

There should be available seats in the two canteens of SIT@Dover for students and staff members during lunch time, removing the waiting time spent on finding a vacant seat.

1.2 Problem Statement

There is a lack of seats at the canteens during lunch period due to patrons who do not leave after consuming their meals, resulting in students and staff members to be unable to find any available seats. An online reservation system at SIT@Dover could facilitate the turnover rate of seats in the canteens, helping students and staff members to cut unnecessary time waiting for unoccupied seats.

1.3 Purpose Statement

The aim of this report is to propose to SIT’s Division of Estate the usage of an online booking system for the canteens. This system will allow students to reserve a seat without having to spend time waiting for one, as well as allowing the management of the canteen to better facilitate the lunch crowd at SIT@dover.