Supplement B

C Waiting Lines
PowerPoint Slides by For Operations Management, 9e by

Krajewski/Ritzman/Malhotra
Jeff Heyl © 2010 Pearson Education
Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C–1
Why Waiting Lines Form
 Define customers
 Waiting lines form
 Temporary imbalance between demand and capacity
 Can develop even if processing time is constant
 No waiting line if both demand and service rates are
constant and service rate > than demand
 Affects process design, capacity planning, process
performance, and ultimately, supply chain performance

Uses of Waiting-Line Theory
 Applies to many service or manufacturing situations

 Relating arrival and service-system processing characteristics to output
 Service is the act of processing a customer

 Hair cutting in a hair salon
 Satisfying customer complaints
 Processing production orders
 Theatergoers waiting to purchase tickets
 Trucks waiting to be unloaded at a warehouse
 Patients waiting to be examined by a physician

Structure of Waiting-Line Problems
1. An input, or customer population, that generates

potential customers
2. A waiting line of customers
3. The service facility, consisting of a person (or crew),
a machine (or group of machines), or both necessary
to perform the service for the customer
4. A priority rule, which selects the next customer to be
served by the service facility

Structure of Waiting-Line Problems
Customer
population
Service system
Served
Waiting line customers
Service
facilities
Priority
rule
Figure C.1 – Basic Elements of Waiting-Line Models

Customer Population
 The source of input

 Finite or infinite source
 Customers from a finite source reduce the chance of new
arrivals
 Customers from an infinite source do not affect the
probability of another arrival
 Customers are patient or impatient
 Patient customers wait until served
 Impatient customer either balk or join the line and renege

The Service System
 Number of lines
 A single-line keeps servers uniformly busy and levels waiting times
among customers
 A multiple-line arrangement is favored when servers provide a limited
set of services
 Arrangement of service facilities
 Single-channel, single-phase
 Single-channel, multiple-phase
 Multiple-channel, single-phase
 Multiple-channel, multiple-phase
 Mixed arrangement

The Service System
Service facilities
(a) Single line Service facilities
Figure C.2 – Waiting-Line

Arrangements
(b) Multiple lines

The Service System
Service
facility
(a) Single channel, single phase
Service Service
facility 1 facility 2
(b) Single channel, multiple phase
Figure C.3 – Examples of Service Facility

Arrangements

The Service System
Service
facility 1
Service
facility 2
(d) Multiple channel, multiple phase
(c) Multiple channel, single phase

Service Service
Service Service
Arrangements
Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 10

The Service System
Routing for : 1–2–4
(e) Mixed arrangement
Routing for : 2–4–3
Routing for : 3–2–1–4
Service facility Service facility

1 2
Service facility Service facility

3 4

Arrangements

Priority Rule
 First-come, first-served (FCFS)—used by most service

systems
 Other rules
 Earliest due date (EDD)
 Shortest processing time (SPT)
 Preemptive discipline—allows a higher priority
customer to interrupt the service of another customer
or be served ahead of another who would have been
served first

Probability Distributions
 The sources of variation in waiting-line problems come from

the random arrivals of customers and the variation of service
times
 Arrival distribution
 Customer arrivals can often be described by the Poisson
distribution with mean = T and variance also = T
 Arrival distribution is the probability of n arrivals in T time periods
 Interarrival times are the average time between arrivals

Interarrival Times
(T)n -T
Pn = n! e for n = 0, 1, 2,…
where
Pn = Probability of n arrivals in T time periods
 = Average numbers of customer arrivals per period
e = 2.7183

Probability of Customer Arrivals
EXAMPLE C.1
Management is redesigning the customer service process in a large department
store. Accommodating four customers is important. Customers arrive at the desk
at the rate of two customers per hour. What is the probability that four
customers will arrive during any hour?
SOLUTION
In this case customers per hour, T = 1 hour, and n = 4 customers. The probability
that four customers will arrive in any hour is
[2(1)]4 –2(1) 16 –2
P4 = = e = 0.090
4! e 24

Service Time
 Service time distribution can be described by an exponential

distribution with mean = 1/ and variance = (1/ )2
 Service time distribution: The probability that the service time
will be no more than T time periods can be described by the
exponential distribution
P(t ≤ T) = 1 – e-T
where
μ = average number of customers completing service per
period
t = service time of the customer
T = target service time
Service Time Probability
EXAMPLE C.2
The management of the large department store in Example C.1 must determine
whether more training is needed for the customer service clerk. The clerk at
the customer service desk can serve an average of three customers per hour.
What is the probability that a customer will require less than 10 minutes of
service?
SOLUTION
We must have all the data in the same time units. Because
 = 3 customers per hour, we convert minutes of time to hours, or T = 10
minutes = 10/60 hour = 0.167 hour. Then
P(t ≤ T) = 1 – e–T
P(t ≤ 0.167 hour) = 1 – e–3(0.167) = 1 – 0.61 = 0.39

Using Waiting-Line Models
 Balance costs against benefits

 Operating characteristics
 Line length
 Number of customers in system
 Waiting time in line
 Total time in system
 Service facility utilization

Single-Server Model
 Single-server, single line of customers, and only one
phase
 Assumptions are
1. Customer population is infinite and patient
2. Customers arrive according to a Poisson distribution, with a
mean arrival rate of 
3. Service distribution is exponential with a mean service rate
of 
4. Mean service rate exceeds mean arrival rate
5. Customers are served FCFS
6. The length of the waiting line is unlimited

Single-Server Model

 = Average utilization of the system =

n = Probability that n customers are in the system
= (1 –  ) n
L = Average number of customers in the service system

= 
–
Lq = Average number of customers in the waiting line
= L
W = Average time spent in the system, including service

= 1
–
Wq = Average waiting time in line
= W
Calculating the Operating Characteristics
EXAMPLE C.3
The manager of a grocery store in the retirement community of Sunnyville is
interested in providing good service to the senior citizens who shop in her store.
Currently, the store has a separate checkout counter for senior citizens. On
average, 30 senior citizens per hour arrive at the counter, according to a
Poisson distribution, and are served at an average rate of 35 customers per
hour, with exponential service times. Find the following operating
characteristics:
a. Probability of zero customers in the system

b. Average utilization of the checkout clerk
c. Average number of customers in the system
d. Average number of customers in line
e. Average time spent in the system
f. Average waiting time in line
SOLUTION
The checkout counter can be modeled as a single-channel, single-phase
system. Figure C.4 shows the results from the Waiting-Lines Solver from OM
Explorer.
Figure C.4 – Waiting-Lines Solver for Single-Channel, Single-Phase System

Both the average waiting time in the system (W) and the average time
spent waiting in line (Wq) are expressed in hours. To convert the results to
minutes, simply multiply by 60 minutes/ hour. For example, W = 0.20(60)
minutes, and Wq = 0.1714(60) = 10.28 minutes.

Application C.1
Customers arrive at a checkout counter at an average 20 per hour, according
to a Poisson distribution. They are served at an average rate of 25 per hour,
with exponential service times. Use the single-server model to estimate the
operating characteristics of this system.
 = 20 customer arrival rate per hour

 = 25 customer service rate per hour
SOLUTION
 =  20
1. Average utilization of system = = 0.8
 25

Application C.1
L =  = 20
=4
2. Average number of customers in the
– 25 – 20
service system
3. Average number of customers in the Lq = L = 0.8(4) = 3.2

waiting line
1 1
4. Average time spent in the system, W = = = 0.2
– 25 – 20
including service
5. Average waiting time in line Wq = W = 0.8(0.2) = 0.16

Analyzing Service Rates
EXAMPLE C.4
The manager of the Sunnyville grocery in Example C.3 wants answers to the
following questions:
a. What service rate would be required so that customers average only 8 minutes
in the system?
b. For that service rate, what is the probability of having more than four
customers in the system?
c. What service rate would be required to have only a 10 percent chance of
exceeding four customers in the system?

SOLUTION
The Waiting-Lines Solver from OM Explorer could be used iteratively to answer
the questions. Here we show how to solve the problem manually.
a. We use the equation for the average time in the system and solve for

1
W=
–
1
8 minutes = 0.133 hour =
 – 30
0.133 – 0.133(30) = 1
 = 37.52 customers/hour

b. The probability of more than four customers in the system equals 1 minus the
probability of four or fewer customers in the system.
4
P=1– Pn
n=0
4
=1– (1 – ) n

n=0
and
30
= = 0.80
37.52
Then,
P = 1 – 0.21(1 + 0.8 + 0.82 + 0.83 + 0.84)
= 1 – 0.672 = 0.328
Therefore, there is a nearly 33 percent chance that more than four

customers will be in the system.

c. We use the same logic as in part (b), except that  is now a decision
variable. The easiest way to proceed is to find the correct average
utilization first, and then solve for the service rate.
P = 1 – (1 –  )(1 +  +  2 +  3 +  4)
= 1 – (1 –  )(1 +  +  2 +  3 +  4) +  (1 +  +  2 +  3 +  4)
= 1 – 1 –  –  2 –  3 –  4 +  +  2 +  3 +  4+ 5 = 5
or
 = P1/5
If P = 0.10
 = (0.10)1/5 = 0.63

Therefore, for a utilization rate of 63 percent, the probability of more than

four customers in the system is 10 percent.
For  = 30, the mean service rate must be
30
= 0.63

 = 47.62 customers/hour

Application C.2
In the checkout counter example, what service rate is required to have
customers average only 10 minutes in the system?
SOLUTION
1
W = = 0.17 hr (or 10 minutes)
–
0.17( – ) = 1, where  = 20 customers arrival rate per hour
1 + 0.17(20)
= 0.17 = 25.88 or about 26 customers per hour

Multiple-Server Model
 Service system has only one phase, multiple-channels
 Assumptions (in addition to single-server model)
 There are s identical servers
 The service distribution for each server is exponential

The mean service time is 1/
 s should always exceed 


 = Average utilization of the system =
s
P0 = Probability that zero customers are in the system

1
s 1 n s
  /    /    1  
=    
 n 0 n! s!  1   
Pn = Probability that n customers are in the system

n
  /  
 P0 0  n  s
n!
=  n

  /  
P0 n  s
 s ! s n  s


s
P 0  /   
= 2
s ! 1   
L
Wq = Average waiting time of customers in line = q

1
= W q



= W

Estimating Idle Time and Costs
EXAMPLE C.5
The management of the American Parcel Service terminal in Verona, Wisconsin,
is concerned about the amount of time the company’s trucks are idle (not
delivering on the road), which the company defines as waiting to be unloaded
and being unloaded at the terminal. The terminal operates with four unloading
bays. Each bay requires a crew of two employees, and each crew costs $30 per
hour. The estimated cost of an idle truck is $50 per hour. Trucks arrive at an
average rate of three per hour, according to a Poisson distribution. On average,
a crew can unload a semitrailer rig in one hour, with exponential service times.
What is the total hourly cost of operating the system?

SOLUTION
The multiple-server model is appropriate. To find the total cost of labor and
idle trucks, we must calculate the average number of trucks in the system.
Figure C.5 shows the results for the American Parcel Service problem using the
Waiting-Lines Solver from OM Explorer. Manual calculations using the equations
for the multiple-server model are demonstrated in Solved Problem 2 at the end
of this supplement. The results show that the four-bay design will be utilized 75
percent of the time and that the average number of trucks either being
serviced or waiting in line is 4.53 trucks. That is, on average at any point in time,
we have 4.53 idle trucks. We can now calculate the hourly costs of labor and
idle trucks:

Labor cost: $30(s) = $30(4) = $120.00
Idle truck cost: $50(L) = $50(4.53) = 226.50
Total hourly cost = $346.50
Figure C.5 – Waiting-Lines Solver for Multiple-Server Model

Application C.3
Suppose the manager of the checkout system decides to add another counter.
The arrival rate is still 20 customers per hour, but now each checkout counter
will be designed to service customers at the rate of 12.5 per hour. What is the
waiting time in line of the new system?
s = 2,  = 12.5 customers per hour,  = 20 customers per hour
SOLUTION
 20
1. Average utilization of the system = = = 0.8
s 2  12 . 5 

Application C.3
2. Probability that zero  

customers are in the system  
 
 1 
P0 =  s 
    
 
      1 
1    
  s!  1    
 
 
 
 1 
= = 0.11
  20 
2

   
20  12 . 5   1 
1    
 12 . 5 2!  1  0 . 8  

Application C.3
3. Average number of s
customers in the waiting P 0  /   
Lq =
line s ! 1   
2
2
 20 
0 . 11   0 .8
 12 . 5 
= 2
= 1.408
2 ! 1  0 . 8 
4. Average waiting time of L q 1 . 408

customers in line Wq = = = 0.0704 hrs
 20
(or 4.224 minutes

Little’s Law
 Relates the number of customers in a waiting line system to

the waiting time of customers
 Using the notation from the single-server and multiple-server
models it is expressed as L = W or Lq = Wq
 Holds for a wide variety of arrival processes, service time
distributions, and numbers of servers
 Only need to know two of the parameters

Little’s Law
 Service
 Estimate W
Average time L customers

=W=
in the facility  customer/hour
30
= = 0.75 hours or 45 minutes
40
 Manufacturing
 Estimate the average work-in-process L
Work-in-process = L = W
= 5 gear cases/hour (3 hours) = 15 gear cases

Little’s Law
 Provides basis for measuring the effects of process

improvements
 Is not applicable to situations where the customer
population is finite

Finite-Source Model
 Assumptions
 Follows the assumption of the single-server, except that
the customer population is finite
 Having only N potential customers
 If N > 30, then the single-server model with the assumption
of infinite customer population is adequate

Finite-Source Model
P0 = Probability that zero customers are in the system

n
1
 N N !   
=    
 n  0  N  n !    
 = Average utilization of the server = 1 – P0

  
= N  1  P 0 


Finite-Source Model


= N  1  P 0 

1
Wq = Average waiting time in line = L q  N  L  

1
= L  N  L  

Application C.4
DBT Bank has 8 copy machines located in various offices throughout the
building. Each machine is used continuously and has an average time between
failures of 50 hours. Once failed, it takes 4 hours for the service company to
send a repair person to have it fixed. What is the average number of copy
machines in repair or waiting to be repaired?
 = 1/50 = 0.02 copiers per hour

 = 1/4 = 0.25 copiers per hour

Application C.4
SOLUTION
n
1
 N
N !   
1. Probability that zero customers are P0 =    
in the system  n  0  N  n !    
1
=
8! 0 8! 1 8! 8 
 8 !
 0 . 08    0 . 08     0 . 08 

7! 0!
= 0.44
2. Average utilization of the server  = 1 – P0 = 1 – 0.44 = 0.56

3. Average number of customers in the L= N  1  P 0 
service system 
0 . 25
= 8   1  0 . 44  =1
0 . 02
Analyzing Maintenance Costs
EXAMPLE C.6
The Worthington Gear Company installed a bank of 10 robots about 3 years
ago. The robots greatly increased the firm’s labor productivity, but recently
attention has focused on maintenance. The firm does no preventive
maintenance on the robots because of the variability in the breakdown
distribution. Each machine has an exponential breakdown (or interarrival)
distribution with an average time between failures of 200 hours. Each machine
hour lost to downtime costs $30, which means that the firm has to react quickly
to machine failure. The firm employs one maintenance person, who needs 10
hours on average to fix a robot. Actual maintenance times are exponentially
distributed. The wage rate is $10 per hour for the maintenance person, who can
be put to work productively elsewhere when not fixing robots. Determine the
daily cost of labor and robot downtime.

SOLUTION
The finite-source model is appropriate for this analysis because the customer
population consists of only 10 machines and the other assumptions are satisfied.
Here,  = 1/200, or 0.005 break-down per hour, and  = 1/10 = 0.10 robot
per hour. To calculate the cost of labor and robot downtime, we need to
estimate the average utilization of the maintenance person and L, the average
number of robots in the maintenance system at any time. Figure C.6 shows the
results for the Worthington Gear Problem using the Waiting-Lines Solver from OM
Explorer.

Manual computations using the equations for the finite-source model are
demonstrated in Solved Problem 3 at the end of this supplement. The results
show that the maintenance person is utilized only 46.2 percent of the time, and
the average number of robots waiting in line or being repaired is 0.76 robot.
However, a failed robot will spend an average of 16.43 hours in the repair
system, of which 6.43 hours of that time is spent waiting for service. While an
individual robot may spend more than two days with the maintenance person,
the maintenance person has a lot of idle time with a utilization rate of only
42.6 percent. That is why there is only an average of 0.76 robot being
maintained at any point of time.

Figure C.5 – Waiting-Lines Solver for Finite-Source Model
The daily cost of labor and robot downtime is

Labor cost: ($19/hour)(8 hours/day)(0.462 utilization) = $36.96
Idle robot cost: (0.76 robot)($30/robot hour)(8 hours/day) = 182.40
Total daily cost = $219.36

Application C.5
The Hilltop Produce store is staffed by one checkout clerk. The average
checkout time is exponentially distributed around an average of two minutes
per customer. An average of 20 customers arrive per hour.
What is the average utilization rate?
SOLUTION
 =  20
= = 0.667
 30

Application C.5
What is the probability that three or more customers will be in the checkout
area?
First calculate 0, 1, and 2 customers will be in the checkout area:
n = (1 –  ) 0 = (0.333)(0.667)0 = 0.333
n = (1 –  ) 1 = (0.333)(0.667)1 = 0.222
n = (1 –  ) 2 = (0.333)(0.667)2 = 0.111
Then calculate 3 or more customers will be in the checkout area:
1 – P0 – P1 – P2 = 0.333 – 0.222 – 0.111 = 0.334

Application C.5
What is the average number of customers in the waiting line?
Lq = L =   = 
 0 . 667 
20 
= 1.333

–  30  20 
What is the average time customers spend in the store?
1 1
W= = = 0.1 hr  60 min/hr = 6 minutes
– 30  20

Decision Areas for Management
1. Arrival rates
2. Number of service facilities
3. Number of phases
4. Number of servers per facility
5. Server efficiency
6. Priority rule
7. Line arrangement

Solved Problem 1
A photographer takes passport pictures at an average rate of 20 pictures per
hour. The photographer must wait until the customer smiles, so the time to take
a picture is exponentially distributed. Customers arrive at a Poisson-distributed
average rate of 19 customers per hour.
a. What is the utilization of the photographer?

b. How much time will the average customer spend with the photographer?
SOLUTION
a. The assumptions in the problem statement are consistent with a single-
server model. Utilization is
 =  19
= = 0.95
 20

Solved Problem 1
b. The average customer time spent with the photographer is
1 1
W = = = 1 hour
– 20 – 19

Solved Problem 2
The Mega Multiplex Movie Theater has three concession clerks serving customers
on a first come, first-served basis. The service time per customer is
exponentially distributed with an average of 2 minutes per customer.
Concession customers wait in a single line in a large lobby, and arrivals are
Poisson distributed with an average of 81 customers per hour. Previews run for
10 minutes before the start of each show. If the average time in the
concession area exceeds 10 minutes, customers become dissatisfied.
a. What is the average utilization of the concession clerks?

b. What is the average time spent in the concession area?

Solved Problem 2
SOLUTION
a. The problem statement is consistent with the multiple-server model, and the
average utilization rate is
 81 customers/ hour
= = = 0.90
s  60 minutes/se rver hour 
 3 servers  
 2 minutes/cu stomer 
The concession clerks are busy 90 percent of the time.

Solved Problem 2
1
b. The average time spent in the system, W, is W = W q


Here,
1
 s 1   /  
s n s
L P 0  /     /    1  
Lq = and P0 = 
q
Wq = 2
  
 s ! 1     n 0 n! s!  1   
We must solve for P0, Lq, and Wq, in that order, before we can solve for W:
1
s 1 n s
  /    /    1  
P0 =    
 n 0 n! s!  1   
1
= 2 3
 81 / 30  2 . 7   2 . 7   1 
1     
1 2  6  1  0 .9 
1 1
= = = 0.0249
1  2 . 7  3 . 645  32 . 805 40 . 15

Solved Problem 2
s 3
P 0  /    0 . 0249  81 / 30   0 . 9  0 . 4411
Lq = = 2
= = 7.352 customers
6  0 . 01 
2
s ! 1    3 ! 1  0 . 9 
L q 7.352 customers
Wq = = = 0.0908 hour
 81 customers/ hour
1 1  60 minutes 
W= W q
 = 0.0908 hours + hour =  0.1241 hour  
 30  hour 
= 7.45 minutes
With three concession clerks, customers will spend an average of 7.45

minutes in the concession area.

Solved Problem 3
The Severance Coal Mine serves six trains having exponentially distributed
interarrival times averaging 30 hours. The time required to fill a train with coal
varies with the number of cars, weather-related delays, and equipment
breakdowns. The time to fill a train can be approximated by an exponential
distribution with a mean of 6 hours 40 minutes. The railroad requires the coal
mine to pay large demurrage charges in the event that a train spends more
than 24 hours at the mine. What is the average time a train will spend at the
mine?
SOLUTION
The problem statement describes a finite-source model, with N = 6. The
average time spent at the mine is W = L[(N – L)]–1, with 1/ = 30 hours/
train,  = 0.8 train/day, and  = 3.6 trains/day. In this case,

Solved Problem 3
n
1
 N N !    1
P0 =     = n
     
6
 n  0 N  n ! 6!  0 .8 
  
 6  n !  3 . 6 
n 0
1
= 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
 6 !  0 .8    6 !  0 .8    6 !  0 .8    6 !  0 .8    6 !  0 .8    6 !  0 .8    6 !  0 .8  
                                 
 6 !  3 . 6    5 !  3 . 6    4 !  3 . 6    3 !  3 . 6    2 !  3 . 6    1!  3 . 6    0 !  3 . 6  
1 1
= = = 0.1541
1  1 . 33  1 . 48  1 . 32  0 . 88  0 . 39  0 . 09 6 . 49
  3 .6 
L= N  1  P 0  = 6 
 0 . 8
 1  0 . 1541 

= 2.193 trains

1 2 . 193 Arriving trains will spend an

W= L  N  L   = = 0.72 day average of 0.72 day at the
 3 . 807 0 . 8
coal mine.


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C Waiting Lines

PowerPoint Slides by For Operations Management, 9e by

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C–2

 Applies to many service or manufacturing situations

 Service is the act of processing a customer

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C–3

1. An input, or customer population, that generates

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C–4

Figure C.1 – Basic Elements of Waiting-Line Models

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C–5

 The source of input

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C–6

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C–7

(a) Single line Service facilities

Figure C.2 – Waiting-Line

(b) Multiple lines

(a) Single channel, single phase

(b) Single channel, multiple phase

Figure C.3 – Examples of Service Facility

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C–9

(c) Multiple channel, single phase

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 10

Service facility Service facility

Service facility Service facility

Figure C.3 – Examples of Service Facility

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 11

 First-come, first-served (FCFS)—used by most service

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 12

 The sources of variation in waiting-line problems come from

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 13

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 14

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 15

 Service time distribution can be described by an exponential

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 17

 Balance costs against benefits

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 18

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 19

L = Average number of customers in the service system

W = Average time spent in the system, including service

a. Probability of zero customers in the system

Figure C.4 – Waiting-Lines Solver for Single-Channel, Single-Phase System

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 22

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 23

 = 20 customer arrival rate per hour

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 24

3. Average number of customers in the Lq = L = 0.8(4) = 3.2

5. Average waiting time in line Wq = W = 0.8(0.2) = 0.16

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 25

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 26

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 27

=1– (1 – ) n

Therefore, there is a nearly 33 percent chance that more than four

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 28

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 29

Therefore, for a utilization rate of 63 percent, the probability of more than

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 30

0.17( – ) = 1, where  = 20 customers arrival rate per hour

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 31

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 32

P0 = Probability that zero customers are in the system

Pn = Probability that n customers are in the system

Co pyrig h t © 2 0 10 P ea rs o n Ed u catio n , In c. P u b lis h in g a s P ren tice H a ll. C – 33

Lq = Average number of customers in the waiting line

W = Average time spent in the system, including service