Waiting Line Management

Economies of Waiting Line

Problems
Service capacity is a dominant factor
Trade-off between cost of service capacity
& waiting Line Cost
TRADE–OFF BETWEEN SERVICE CAPACITY & WAITING LINE
Components of the Queuing
System
Components of the Queuing
System

Source population & the way customers

arrive at the system
The service system
Condition of the customer existing in the
system
Customer Service Population
Sources

Population Source

Finite Infinite
Example:
Example:Number
Number Potential
Potentialnumber
numberof of
of
ofmachines
machines customers
customersgreatly
greatly
needing
needingrepair
repair exceeds
exceedsthe
thesystem
system
when
whenaacompany
company capacity.
capacity.E.g.
E.g.
only
onlyhas
hasthree
three supermarket,
supermarket,drugstore,
drugstore,
machines.
machines. banks,
banks,restaurants,
restaurants,
theatres,
theatres,toll
tollbridges
bridges
Arrival Characteristics
Arrival Characteristics
Arrival rate Size of arrival Units
Constant or Single Arrivals
variable Batch arrivals
Distribution of Degree of patience
arrivals/service Patient
Exponential Impatient
Poisson  Balking

Arrival patterns  Reneging

 Jockeying
Controllable
Uncontrollable
Degree of Patience

No Way! No Way!

BALK RENEG
Service Pattern

Service
Pattern

Constant Variable
Example:
Example:Items
Items Example:
Example:People
People
coming
comingdown
downan an spending
spendingtime
time
automated
automated shopping.
shopping.
assembly
assemblyline.
line.
 The Queuing System

Length

Queuing Number of Lines &

Queue Discipline
System Line Structures

Service Time
Distribution
Line Structures
Examples of Line Structures

Single
Multiphase
Phase

One-person
Single Channel Car wash
barber shop

Bank tellers’ Hospital

Multichannel
windows admissions
Waiting Line Models

Source
Model Layout Population Service Pattern
1 Single channel Infinite Exponential
2 Single channel Infinite Constant
3 Multichannel Infinite Exponential

These three models share the following characteristics:

 Single phase
 Poisson arrival
 FCFS
 Unlimited queue length
Notation: Infinite Queuing: Models 1-3
 == Arrival
Arrivalrate
rate
 ==Service
Servicerate
rate
11
 Average
Average service
service time
time

11
 Average
Average time
time between
between arrivals
arrivals


 == == Ratio
Ratioof of total
totalarrival
arrivalrate
rate totosevice
sevicerate
rate

for
for aa single
singleserver
server
LqLq  Average
Average number
number wai waiting
tinginin line
line
LLss == Average
Average number
numberin in system
system
(including
(including those
thosebeing
beingserved)
served)
Wq
Wq == Average
Average time
time waiting
waitingin in line
line
Ws  Average
Ws Average total
total time
timeinin system
system
(including
(including time
timeto tobe
beserved)
served)

rr  Avg
Avg number
numberof of customers
customersbeing served
beingserved

SS == Number
Numberofof identical
identicalservice
servicechannels
channels
Pn  Probabilit
Pn Probabilityyof
of exactly
exactlynn units
unitsin in system
system
Pw Probabilit
Pw Probabilityyof
of waiting
waitinginin line
line
Example: Model 1
Assume a drive-up window at a fast food restaurant.
Customers arrive at the rate of 25 per hour.
The employee can serve one customer every two
minutes.
Assume Poisson arrival and exponential service
rates.
Determine:
Determine:
A)
A) What
Whatisisthe
theaverage
averageutilization
utilizationofofthe
theemployee?
employee?
B)
B) What
Whatisisthe
theaverage
averagenumber
numberof ofcustomers
customersin inline?
line?
C)
C) What
Whatisisthe
theaverage
averagenumber
numberof ofcustomers
customersin inthe
the
system?
system?
D)
D) What
Whatisisthe
theaverage
averagewaiting
waitingtime
timein
inline?
line?
E)
E) What
Whatisisthe
theaverage
averagewaiting
waitingtime
timein
inthe
thesystem?
system?
F)
F) What
Whatis isthe
theprobability
probabilitythat
thatexactly
exactlytwo
twocars
carswill
willbe
be
in
inthe
thesystem?
system?
Example: Model 1

A) What is the average utilization of the

employee?

 == 25
25 cust
cust // hr
hr
11 customer
customer
 == == 30
30 cust
cust // hr
hr
22 mins (1hr / 60 mins)
mins (1hr / 60 mins)

 25
25 cust
cust // hr
hr = .8333
 == == = .8333
 30 cust /
30 cust / hrhr
 Example: Model 1

B) What is the average number of customers in

line?
22
(25)
(25)
22
Lq
Lq == == == 4.167
4.167
(( --)) 30(30
30(30--25)
25)
C) What is the average number of customers in the
system?
 25
25
Ls
Ls =
= =
= =
= 55
 --  (30
(30--25)
25)
Example: Model 1

D) What is the average waiting time in line?

Lq
Lq
Wq
Wq == == .1667
.1667 hrs
hrs == 10
10mins
mins

E) What is the average waiting time in the system?

Ls
Ls 11
Ws
Ws == Wq
Wq  ==.2
.2 hrs
hrs ==12
12mins
mins
 
Example: Model 1

F) What is the probability that exactly two cars

will be in the system (one being served and the
other waiting in line)?

  nn
pp =
= (1-
(1- )()( ))
nn
 
25
25 25 25 22
pp2 == (1-
(1- )()( )) == .1157
.1157
2 30
30 30 30
 Repair calls are handled by one repairman at
a photocopy shop. Repair time, including
travel time, is exponentially distributed, with a
mean of two hours per call. Requests for
copier repairs come in at a mean rate of three
per eight-hour day (assume Poisson).
Determine:
The average number of customers awaiting
repair.
The amount of time during an eight-hour day
that the repairman is not out on a call.
The probability of two or more customers
waiting in the system.
A new shopping mall is considering setting up
an information desk manned by one
employee. Based upon information obtained
from similar information desks, it is believed
that people will arrive at the desk at a rate of
20 per hour. It takes an average of 2 minutes
to answer a question. It is assumed that the
arrivals follow a Poisson distribution and
answer times are exponentially distributed.
Find the probability that the employee is idle.
Find the proportion of the time that the employee is
busy.
Find the average number of people receiving and
waiting to receive some information.
Find the average number of people waiting in line to
get some information.
Find the average time a person seeking information
spends in the system.
Find the expected time a person spends just waiting in
line to have a question answered (time in the queue).
Assume that the information desk employee in
the previous problem earns $10 per hour. The
cost of waiting time, in terms of customer
unhappiness with the mall, is $12 per hour of
time spent waiting in line. Find the total
expected costs over an 8-hour day.
The Atlanta plant of Computer Products Corporation
(CPC) ships personal and small-business computers
by company trucks to regional warehouses in the
eastern half of the United States. Trucks return from
the warehouses to the plant for loading on the
average of four per eight-hour day. The plant uses
one loading crew in the shipping department that
assembles customers’ orders for personal and small-
business computers and loads outgoing orders onto
the trucks. The loading crew does warehouse work
when no outgoing trucks are at the plant and loads
the outgoing trucks on a first-come first-served basis.
The loading crew can load six trucks per eight-
hour day on the average. Each truck occupies
about 200 square feet of parking space, each
truck driver is paid $20 per hour including fringe
benefits, and the loading crew is paid a total of
$150 per hour including fringe benefits. CPC’s
union contract with its truck drivers does not allow
drivers to assist in loading or unloading trucks.
a. On the average, how much parking space
should be necessary for trucks waiting to be
loaded?

b. How much does the union contract clause

barring drivers from doing loading work cost CPC
per year if the Atlanta plant works 250 days per
year and if we assume that drivers’ idle time
could be put to a use that would be of equal value
to their present pay?