QUEUING THEORY

QUEUING THEORY
Queuing theory is a body of knowledge about
waiting line. A waiting line is also known as
queue. Queuing theory uses queuing models to
represent the various types of queuing systems
that arise in practice. Queuing models help
managers to understand to understand and make
better decisions concerning the operation of
waiting lines.
 QUEUING THEORY SCENARIOS
Situation Arrivals in Queue Service Process
Bank Customers arrive at bank Transactions handled
by teller
Supermarket Grocery shoppers Check-out clerk at
cash register
Machine maintenance Broken machines Repair crew fix
machines
Harbour Ships and barges Dock workers unload
and load
Highway toll booth Automobiles Collection of tolls at
booth
Doctor’s clinic Patients Treatment by doctors
and nurses
 COMPONENTS OF QUEUE
Three basic components of a queuing process
are:
1. Arrivals
2. Service Facilities
3. The actual waiting line/queue
Most waiting line problems can be solved by
increasing the level of service (either people or
machines or any other resources) over which the
management has control.
 STRUCTURE OF QUEUING SYSTEM

A queuing system consists of the following

components or parts.
1. The customers and their source
2. The arrival process
3. The service facility and the service process
4. The queue
 M/M/1 MODEL
M/M/1 is a single channel queuing model with Poison arrivals and
Exponential service times. with unlimited population. This is the most
common case of queuing problems which involves a single channel or single
server waiting line or queue. In this model arrivals form a single line to be
serviced by a single station. The following are the model assumptions.
1. Customer arrivals follow Poisson distribution and come from an infinite
population
2. Arrivals are independent of preceding arrivals but average number of
arrivals does not change over time
3. Arrivals are served on a FIFO basis and every arrival waits to be served
irrespective of the queue length
4. Service times vary from one customer to the next and are independent of
one another but their average rate is known
5. Service times occur according to the negative exponential distribution
6. The service rate is faster than the arrival rate (mu >lambda)
 M/M/1 MODEL METRICS
1. Mean or Average arrival rate = λ
(Mean or average number of arrivals per unit time)
2. Average or mean inter arrival time=1/λ
3. The mean or average service rate =µ
(Mean or average number of services per time period)
4. Average or mean service time=1/µ
5. Utilization factor =λ/µ
(Probability of service facility being busy)
6. Probability of n customers in the system Pn=[1- λ/µ][λ/µ]^n
7. Probability of no customers in the system Po=1-  = [1- λ/µ]
8. The average number of customers in the system (both waiting and being served) Ls =[λ/(µ- λ)]
9. Average number of customers in the waiting line or queue Lq =[λ^2/µ (µ- λ)]
10. Average time a customer spends in the system Ws= 1/[µ- λ]
11. Average time a customer spends waiting in the queue before served Wq =[λ/µ (µ- λ)]
12. The average time a unit spends in the system Ws=Wq+1/µ
DEMONSTRATION PROBLEM 1
An auto mechanic in an automobile repair shop is able to install new
carburettor at the rate of 3 per hour(or about one in every 20 minutes). The
service rate follows an exponential distribution. Customers seeking this service
arrive at the repair shop on the average of 2 per hour following Poisson
distribution. The customers are served on a FIFO basis and come from an
infinite population of possible customers. Determine

1. Average number of customers in the system

2. Average number of customers waiting to be served or average queue length
3. Average time a customers spends in the system
4. Average waiting time of a customer before being served
5. Utilization factor for the system
6. Probability of zero units in the system
 SOLUTION TO DEMONSTRATION PROBLEM 1

Solution:
Arrival rate λ=2 cars per hour
Service rate µ = 3 cars per hour
Average time interval between two arrivals =1/ λ=1/2 hour
Average service time=1/ µ=1/3 hour
1. Average number of cars in the system
Ls =[λ/(µ- λ)] = 2 cars
2. Average number of cars waiting to be served or average queue length
Lq =[λ^2/µ (µ- λ)] =4/3=1.33 cars
3. Average time a customers spends in the system
Ws= 1/[µ- λ]=1 hour
4. Average waiting time of a customer before being served
Wq =[λ/µ (µ- λ)]=2/3 hour (approximately 40 minutes)
5. Utilization factor for the system
=λ/µ =2/3=66.66% (66.66% of the times the mechanic was busy)
6. Probability of zero units in the system
Po=1-  = [1- λ/µ]=[1-2/3]=0.33 (there is a 33% chance that there are no cars in the system)
DEMONSTRATION PROBLEM 2
The arrivals at an ATM booth are assumed to be exponentially distributed. The
arrival rate is 4 per hour and the service rate is 12 per hour. Determine

1. Average number of customers in the system

2. Average number of customers waiting to be served or average queue length
3. Average time a customers spends in the system
4. Average waiting time of a customer before being served
 SOLUTION TO DEMONSTRATION PROBLEM 2

Solution:
Average time interval between arrivals: 1/λ =15 mins or λ=1/15
Average service rate =1/µ=5 mins or µ=1/5 customers

1. Average number of customers in the system

Ls =[λ/(µ- λ)]=0.5 customers
2. Average number of customers waiting to be served or average queue length
Lq =[λ^2/µ (µ- λ)]=1/6 customers
3. Average time a customers spends in the system
Ws= 1/[µ- λ]=7.5 mins
4. Average waiting time of a customer before being served
Wq =[λ/µ (µ- λ)]=2.5 mins