Operations Management II (ORM2BJ[D]22-3)

Session 12 → Waiting Line Management

(Continued)
Steady State Conditions – Little’s Law

◼ Notations (all are average values)

◼ Arrival rate = ; Service rate in any server = 
◼ Inter-arrival time = 1/ ; Service time = 1/
◼ Waiting time in QUEUE = 𝑊𝑞
◼ Waiting time in SYSTEM = 𝑊𝑠
◼ Number/Length of customers in QUEUE = 𝐿𝑞
◼ Number/Length of customers in SYSTEM = 𝐿s

◼ Little’s Law → For both QUEUE/ SYSTEM

◼ Inventory = (Throughput rate) × (Flow time)
◼ Average number of customers
= Average Arrival rate × Average time
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Steady State Conditions – Continued

◼ More Notations
◼ Number of servers = S (in Textbook M)
◼ Average Service rate considering all servers = S
◼ Average Server utilization =  = /(S)
◼ How to increase average server utilization?
◼ Average number of customers being served (at any
time, considering all servers) = r = /
◼ Relation between QUEUE and SYSTEM
◼ Average time waiting in SYSTEM = Average time
waiting in QUEUE + Average time for service
◼ Average number waiting in SYSTEM = Average number
waiting in QUEUE + Average number being served
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M/M/1 System

◼ Average number of customers being served (at any time)

= System utilization (as only one server) = /
𝜆2
◼ Average number of customers in QUEUE = 𝐿𝑞 =
𝜇(𝜇−𝜆)

◼ Probability of “Less than ‘n’ units” in the SYSTEM = 𝑇𝑃𝑛−1

= 1 − (/)𝑛 = σ𝑛−1 𝑛=0 𝑃𝑛

◼ Probability of “Zero units” in the SYSTEM = SYSTEM is idle

= 𝑃0 =1 – SYSTEM Utilization

◼ Probability of “n units” in the SYSTEM = 𝑃𝑛 = 𝑃0 (/)𝑛

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M/M/1 – Problem

◼ Customers arrive at an average of one every 15 minutes,

and their requests take on average 10 minutes to be
processed. The service counter is staffed by only one clerk.
Assume Poisson arrivals and exponential service times.
a. What percentage of time is the clerk idle?
b. How much time, on average, does a customer spend
waiting in line?
c. How long is the (waiting) line on average?
d. What is the probability that an arriving customer (just
before entering the SYSTEM) will find at least one other
customer waiting in line?
◼ Textbook – Problem 1.a, 1.b (Page 816)
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M/M/1 – Space Constraint

◼ Customers will arrive at the rate of 15 per hour. The staff

can service customers at the rate of one every three
minutes.
◼ Because of limited space availability and a desire to
provide an acceptable level of service, the organization
would like to ensure, with 95 percent confidence, that no
more than three customers will be in the system at any
time.
◼ What is the present level of service for the three-car limit?
◼ What level of staff use must be attained and what must be
the service rate of the staff to ensure the 95 percent level
of service?
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M/D/1 System

◼ Different from M/M/1 in terms of Service time

assumption
◼ In M/M/1 → Service time is exponential
◼ In M/D/1 → Service time is constant

𝜆2
◼ Average number of customers in QUEUE = 𝐿𝑞 =
𝟐𝜇(𝜇−𝜆)
◼ Textbook – Problem 2 (Page 816)

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M/M/S System

◼ There are S servers and one single QUEUE

◼ First calculate
◼ Average number of customers being served = /
◼ Different from UTILIZATION
◼ For (/) and S(or M) → Table 18.4 (Page 796-797)
◼ Average number of customers in QUEUE = 𝐿𝑞
◼ Probability of “Zero units” in the SYSTEM = 𝑃0

◼ Average waiting time for a customer who is not

immediately served = 𝑊𝑎 = 1/(S – )
◼ Probability that a customer have to wait after arrival = 𝑃𝑤
= 𝑊𝑞 / 𝑊𝑎
Dipankar Bose - XLRI