Queuing Theory

Manoj Kumar Sain, Reader, ME

A Queuing System
Average Wait

in Queue

(Wq )
Service

Arrival
Rate

Average Number
in Queue

(Lq )

Departure

Rate (

Avg Time in System (W

Avg Number in System (L

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

)
2

Why is Queuing Analysis Important?

Capacity problems are very common in industry
and one of the main drivers of process redesign
Need to balance the cost of increased capacity
against the gains of increased productivity and
service
Queuing and waiting time analysis is particularly
important in service systems
Large costs of waiting and of lost sales due to
waiting

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

Examples of Real World Queuing Systems?

Commercial Queuing Systems
Commercial organizations serving external customers
Ex. Dentist, bank, ATM, gas stations, plumber, garage

Transportation service systems

Vehicles are customers or servers
Ex. Vehicles waiting at toll stations and traffic lights, trucks or ships
waiting to be loaded, taxi cabs, fire engines, elevators, buses

Business-internal service systems

Customers receiving service are internal to the organization providing
the service
Ex. Inspection stations, conveyor belts, computer support

Social service systems

Ex. Judicial process, the ER at a hospital, waiting lists for organ
transplants or student dorm rooms
Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

Principal Queue Parameters

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Calling Population
Arrival Process
Service Process
Number of Servers
Queue Discipline

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

1. The Calling Population

Population of customers or jobs
The size can be finite or infinite
The infinite is most common

Can be homogeneous
Only one type of customers/ jobs

Or heterogeneous
Several different kinds of customers/jobs

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

2. Arrival Process
In what pattern do jobs / customers arrive to the
queueing system?

Distribution of arrival times?

Batch arrivals?
Finite population?
Finite queue length?

Poisson arrival process often assumed

Many real-world arrival processes can be modeled using a
Poisson process

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

3. Service Process
How long does it take to service a job or customer?
Distribution of arrival times?
Rework or repair?
Service center (machine) breakdown?

Exponential service times often assumed

Works well for maintenance or unscheduled service
situations

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

4. Number of Servers
How many servers are available?
Single Server Queue

Multiple Server Queue

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

Multi-server /single queue

queue
arrivals

Dispatching
discipline

server0

= arrival rate

server1
.
Servern-1

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

10

Multi-server /Multiple queues

queue
server0
arrivals

queue
server1
.
queue
Servern-1

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

11

Multiple v.s. Single Customer Queue

Configuration
Multiple Line Advantages
1. The service provided can be
differentiated
Ex. Supermarket express lanes

2. Labor specialization possible

3. Customer has more flexibility
4. Balking behavior may be
deterred
Several medium-length lines are
less intimidating than one very
long line

Single Line Advantages

1. Guarantees fairness
FIFO applied to all arrivals

2. No customer anxiety regarding

choice of queue
3. Avoids cutting in problems
4. The most efficient set up for
minimizing time in the queue
5. Jockeying (line switching) is
avoided

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

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5. Queue Discipline
How are jobs / customers selected from the queue
for service?

First Come First Served (FCFS)

Shortest Processing Time (SPT)
Earliest Due Date (EDD)
Priority (jobs are in different priority classes)

FCFS default assumption for most models

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

13

Queuing System Costs

1. Cost of providing service
2. Cost of not providing service (waiting time)

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

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Poisson Distribution
Average arrival rate is known
Average arrival rate is constant for some
number of time periods
Number of arrivals in each time period is
independent
As the time interval approaches 0, the average
number of arrivals approaches 0

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

15

Poisson Queue

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

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Poisson Distribution
= the average arrival rate per time unit
P(x) = the probability of exactly x arrivals
occurring during one time period

P(x) = e- x
x!
Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

17

Behavior of Arrivals
Most queuing formulas assume that all
arrivals stay until service is completed
Balking refers to customers who do not join
the queue
Reneging refers to customers who join the
queue but give up and leave before
completing service
Jokeying refers to customers who change the
queue
Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

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Queue Characteristics
Queue length (max possible queue length)
either limited or unlimited
Service discipline usually FIFO (First In First
Out)

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

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Service Facility Characteristics

1. Configuration of service facility
Number of servers (or channels)
Number of phases (or service stops)
2. Service distribution
The time it takes to serve 1 arrival
Can be fixed or random
Exponential distribution is often used
Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

20

Exponential Distribution
= average service time
t = the length of service time (t > 0)
P(t) = probability that service time will be
greater than t

P(t) = e- t

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

21

Measuring Queue Performance

= utilization factor (probability of all
servers being busy)
Lq = average number in the queue
L = average number in the system
Wq = average waiting time
W = average time in the system
P0 = probability of 0 customers in system
Pn = probability of exactly n customers in
system
Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

22

Kendalls Notation
A/B/s
A = Arrival distribution
(M for Poisson, D for deterministic, and G
for general)
B = Service time distribution
(M for exponential, D for deterministic,
and G for general)
S = number of servers
Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

23

The Queuing Models

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Arrivals follow the Poisson distribution

FIFO service
Single phase
Unlimited queue length
Steady state conditions

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

24

Name Models Covered

(Kendall Notation)
Example
Simple system
Customer service desk in a
(M / M / 1)
store
Multiple server
Airline ticket counter
(M / M / s)
Constant service
(M / D / 1)
General service
(M / G / 1)
Limited population
(M / M / s / / N)

Automated car wash

Auto repair shop

An operation with only 12

machines that might break

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

25

Single Server Queuing System (M/M/1)

Poisson arrivals
Arrival population is unlimited
Exponential service times
All arrivals wait to be served
is constant
> (average service rate > average arrival
rate)

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

26

Operating Characteristics for M/M/1 Queue

1. Average server utilization(population density)
=/
2. Average number of customers waiting(in
queue)
Lq =

( )
3. Average number in system (waitng+ being
served)
Ls = Lq + /
Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

27

4. Average waiting time

Wq = Lq =

( )
5. Average time in the system
Ws = Wq + 1/
6. Probability of 0 customers in system
P0 = 1 /
7. Probability of exactly n customers in system
Pn = (/ )n P0
Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

28

Example
A TV mechanic finds that the time spent on his
jobs has an exponential distribution with a
mean 30 minutes, and he repairs set in FCFS. If
the arrival of sets is approximately Poisson
with an average rate of 10 per eight hour day.
What is the mechanics expected idle time
each day? How many jobs are ahead of the
average set just brought in?
Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

29

Solution
1
=
30
=

10
=
860

1/48

1/48
=
1/301/48

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

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- Fraction of the time of busyness

Number of hours for busy

8x30/48=5
Idle time 8-5=3 hrs

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

31

Example 2
At what average rate a clerk at a supermarket
work, in order to ensure a probability of 0.90
that the customer will not have to wait longer
than 12 minutes? It is assumed that there is
only one counter, to which customer arrives in
a Poisson fashion at an average rate of 15 per
hour. The length of service by the clerk has an
exponential distribution.

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

32

Solution
15
60

Arrival rate =

1
4

Probability(waiting time 12) = 1-0.9 = 0.10

12

0.10 = 1

312

1
=2.26

12

= 0.10

minutes per service

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

33

Example 3
Arrival at a telephone booth is considered to
be Poisson, with an average time of 10
minutes between two arrivals. The length of a
phone call is assumed to be exponentially
distributed with three minutes mean.
What is the probability that a person arriving
at the booth will have to wait?
What is the waiting time in the queue?

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

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Solution
Arrival rate = 1/10
Service rate =

1
3

Probability of waiting= 1 0 =

=3/10=0.30
=

()

=7/9

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

35

Multiple Server System (M / M / s)

Poisson arrivals
Exponential service times
s servers
Total service rate must exceed arrival rate
( s > )
Many of the operating characteristic formulas
are more complicated

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

36

Single Server System With Constant Service

Time (M/D/1)
Poisson arrivals
Constant service times (not random)
Has shorter queues than M/M/1 system
- Lq and Wq are one-half as large

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

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Single Server System With

General Service Time (M/G/1)
Poisson arrivals
General service time distribution with known
mean () and standard deviation ()
>

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

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Muti-Server System With

Finite Population (M/M/s//N)
Poisson arrivals
Exponential service times
s servers with identical service time
distributions
Limited population of size N
Arrival rate decreases as queue lengthens

Manoj Kumar Sain,Reader, ME, SKIT

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