Chapter 12: Queues and Process Simulation Modeling

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Queueing Systems

Customer arrivals: people, machines, telephone calls, messages Servers: people, machines, airport runways, ATMs, computers Queue (waiting line): single, parallel, multiple with common line, series

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Customer Characteristics

Arrival process: deterministic or probabilistic Poisson Process

customers arrive randomly and independently with mean rate l customers/time past does not influence the future probability of arrival does not vary over time (stationary)

Calling population: finite or infinite Behavior: reneging, balking, jockeying

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Service Characteristics

Service process: deterministic or probabilistic Exponential services

mean service rate m customers/time (average service time is 1/m)

Number of servers: one or many

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Queue Characteristics

Queue discipline: order in which customers are served FCFS LCFS Priority

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System Configuration

One or more parallel servers fed by a single queue. Several parallel servers fed by their own queues. A combination of several queues in series.

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Performance Measures

The quality of the service provided to the customer. Waiting time in the queue Time in the system (waiting time plus service time) Completion by a deadline The efficiency of the service operation and the cost of providing the service. Average queue length Average number of customers in the system (queue plus in service) Throughput -- the rate at which customers are served Server utilization -- percentage of time servers are busy Percentage of customers who balk or renege
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Operating Characteristics

Lq = average number in the queue L = average number in the system Wq = average waiting time in the queue W = average time in the system P0 = probability that the system is
empty

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Analytical Models Single Server Model

Assumptions Single server Poisson arrivals, mean rate = l Exponential services, mean rate = m FCFS queue discipline Other models Arbitrary service times Multiple servers Finite calling populations
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Single Server Model Operating Characteristics

Average number in queue = Lq = l2/[mml
Average number in system = L = lml Average waiting time in queue = Wq = lmml Average time in system = W = 1/(ml Probability system is empty = 1 - lm
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Example

Customers arrive at an airline ticket counter at a rate of l = 2 customers/minute and can be served at a rate of m = 3 customers per minute.

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Calculations

Lq = L=

22 3(2)

=1.33 customers

2 33

= 2.00 customers

Wq =
W=

2 3(3 2)

= 0.67 minutes

1 3 2

= 1.00 minutes

P0 = 1 2/3 = 0.33
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Analytical Models vs. Simulation

Analytical models provide only longterm steady-state results Simulation results show short-rerm transient behavior

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Littles Law

For any steady-state queuing system, L = lW Other relationships Lq = lWq L = Lq + lm W = Wq + 1/m

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Process Simulation Concepts

Customer arrives

Customer waits for service if server is busy

Customer receives service
next!

Customer leaves
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Observations

If a customer arrives and the server is idle, then service can begin immediately upon arrival. If the server is busy when a customer arrives, then the customer cannot begin service until the previous customer has completed service. The time that a customer completes service equals the time service begins plus the actual service time.
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Manual Process Simulation

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Process Simulation with SimQuick

SimQuick Elements Entrances where objects enter a process. Buffers places where objects can be stored

(inventory storage, queues of people or parts, and so on). Work Stations places where work is performed on objects (machines, service personnel, and so on). Decision Points where an object goes in one of two or more directions (outcomes of processing activities, routings for further processing, and so on). Exits places where objects leave a process according to a specified schedule.
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Process Simulation with SimQuick

Statistical Distributions Normal: Nor(mean, standard

deviation)

Exponential: Exp(mean) Uniform: Uni(lower, upper) Constant Discrete: Dis(i), where i is the reference to table i of the worksheet

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SimQuick Control Panel

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SimQuick Queuing Simulation Model

Customers at a car wash arrive randomly at an average of 15 cars per hour (or one car every 4 minutes). A car takes an average of 3 minutes to wash (or 20 cars per hour) Process flow map:

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Entrances Worksheet

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Buffers Worksheet

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Work Stations Worksheet

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Simulation Results

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Work Station Statistics

Final status: status of the work station when the simulation ends Final inventory (int. buff.), Mean inventory (int. buff.), and Mean cycle time (int. buff.): Work cycles started: the number of times the work station has started processing Fraction time working: utilization of the work station Fraction time blocked: fraction of time that the work station was waiting to pass on an object to the next element.
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Buffer Statistics

Objects leaving: number of objects that left the buffer Final inventory: Inventory refers to the number of objects in the buffer. Final inventory is the number remaining at the end of the simulation Minimum inventory; Maximum inventory; Mean inventory: statistics on the number of objects during the simulation Mean cycle time: mean time that an object spends in the buffer
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Comparison to Analytical Results

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Queues in Series with Blocking

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Buffers Worksheet with Queue Capacities

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Grocery Store Model with Resources

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Resources Worksheets

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Inspection Model with Decision Points

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Decision Point Table

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Pull System Supply Chain With Exit Schedules

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Other SimQuick Features

Discrete distributions Custom schedules

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Continuous Simulation Modeling

A continuous simulation model defines equations for relationships among state variables so that the dynamic behavior of the system over time can be studied.

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Example: Cost of Medical Services

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Modeling Equations

POPLVL(t) = POPLVL(t - 1) + GROWTH(t) DEMAND(t) = POPLVL(t) - [MEDRATE(t - 1) - MEDRATE(t - 2)] MEDRATE(t) = MEDRATE(t = 1) + POPLVL(t) - POPLVL(t - 1)

+ .8*[INSRATE(t - 1) - INSRATE(t - 2)]

INSRATE(t) = INSRATE(t = 1) + .10*MEDSUIT(t - 1) - [RISK(t - 1) RISK(t - 2)] MEDSUIT(t) = MEDSUIT(t - 1) + [MEDRATE(t - 1) - 1]/RISK(t - 1) RISK(t) = RISK(t - 1) + .10*[MEDSUIT(t - 1) - 1]

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Simulation Results

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