Waiting-Line / Queuing Models

Waiting-Line /
Queuing Models
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. D–1

Waiting Lines
Often called queuing theory
Waiting lines are common situations in life.
Useful in both manufacturing
and service areas
It is mathematical approach

to the analysis of waiting lines.
•Waiting line (queue) is items or people in a line
awaiting service.
• Occurs whenever customers arrive randomly for
services.
Common Queuing
Situations
Situation Arrivals in Queue Service Process
Supermarket Grocery shoppers Checkout clerks at cash register
Highway toll booth Automobiles Collection of tolls at booth

Bank Customer Transactions handled by teller
Doctor’s office Patients Treatment by doctors and nurses
Computer system Programs to be run Computer processes jobs

Telephone company Callers Switching equipment to forward
calls
Machine maintenance Broken machines Repair people fix machines
Harbor Ships and barges Dock workers load and unload

Table D.1
Question?
• Let say on a busy Monday, you went to CBE to transfer
money very shortly to one of your friends in Addis .
Suppose you were in hurry. However, the number of
customers waiting for the service is many as compared to
the service outlets.
Q1.What would immediately comes in to your mind to
recommend to concerned body about the service?
• Possible answers:
To increase the number of servers
To do some thing to speed up the service
Cont’d…
Q2. How rational are these answers?
Subtleties in the Answers

• Most services have the capacity to process more
customers over the long run than they are called on the
process; hence the problem of customers waiting is a
short term phenomenon.
• At certain times the system is empty, and servers are idle,
looking for customers. Thus by increasing service
capacity, the server idle time would even increase.
 Thus, the service design must weigh the cost of
providing a given level of service capacity against the
potential (implicit) cost of customers waiting for service.
Objects to be on the queue
Customers could be:
People waiting for service
Orders waiting to be filled
Trucks waiting to be unloaded
Jobs waiting to be processed
Equipments awaiting repairs
Ships waiting to dock
Planes waiting to land
Patient waiting for a nurse
Cars waiting at stop sign

Why waiting?
Customers arrive at random intervals than at
evenly spaced intervals.
Some orders take longer than the other
– Thus both arrival and service times exhibit a high
level of variability
– The system might be under loaded from macro point
of view; but due to variability in arrival and service
times the system may be overloaded from micro
standpoint.
In systems where variability is minimal or non
existent, waiting lines do not form.
Goal of queuing Analysis
The goal of queuing analysis is
essentially to minimize total cost.
• There are two categories of costs in
queuing situation:
Those associated with customer waiting
for the service
Those associated with service capacity
Costs
 Capacity costs are the cost of maintaining the ability to provide service
including:
Number of tellers in a bank
Number of bays in car washes
Number of checkouts in the super market
Number of repair people to handle machine breakdown
Number of lanes on a high way
 Cost of customer waiting include:
The salaries paid for employees while they are waiting for
service ( mechanics waiting for tools, driver waiting for unload)-
The cost of the space for waiting( fuel consumed by planes
waiting to land)
Any loss of business due to customers refusing to wait and
possibly going else where in the future.
Loss of image

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. D – 10
Cont’d…
As capacity increases, cost also increases; but the
number of customers and the time they wait tend to
decrease ; thereby decreasing waiting cost.
As a result of a trade-off, the shape of the curve is
a U-shape.
So the goal of an analysis is to identify a level of
service capacity that will minimize the total cost.
– The minimum point on the cost curve is not usually at
the point where the two lines intersect unlike other
models like EOQ.

Suggestions for managing queues

Characteristics of Waiting-Line
Systems
1. Arrivals or inputs to the system
 Population size, behavior, statistical distribution
2. Queue discipline, or the waiting line itself
 Limited or unlimited in length, discipline of people
or items in it
3. The service facility
 Design, statistical distribution of service times

Parts of a Waiting Line
Population of Arrivals Queue Service Exit the system
dirty cars from the (waiting line) facility
general Caleb's
population … Car Wash
Enter Exit
Arrivals to the system In the system Exit the system
Arrival Characteristics Waiting Line Service Characteristics

 Size of the population Characteristics  Service design
 Behavior of arrivals  Limited vs.  Statistical
 Statistical distribution unlimited distribution of
of arrivals  Queue discipline service

A. Arrival Characteristics
1. Size of the population(arrival or source)
The source from which customers arrive could
be : Unlimited (infinite) or limited (finite)
i) Unlimited, or infinite population is a queue in which
a virtually unlimited number of people or items
could request the services, or in which the number
of customers or arrivals on hand at any given
moment is a very small portion of potential arrivals.
e.g. Cars arriving at a big-city car wash, shoppers
arriving at a supermarket, customers arriving at
bank.
Infinite calling population
cont’d…
The potential number of customers greatly
exceed the system capacity.
Exists whenever services are unrestricted.
Most queuing models assume such an
infinite arrival population

Finite population
ii) Limited, or finite population- a queue in which
there are only a limited number of potential
users of the service.
e.g. A repair man responsible for a certain
number of machines
 A nurse may be responsible for answering
patients calls for 10-beds ward
 An operator may be responsible for a loading
and unloading a bank of four machines,

Arrival Characteristics cont’d…
2. Pattern of arrivals at a system
Arrivals could be Scheduled or random.
Often customers arrive at a service facility either
according to some known schedule (for example, one
patient every 15 minutes or one student every half hour)
or else they arrive randomly.
Arrivals are considered random when they are
independent of one another and their occurrence cannot
be predicted exactly.
Frequently in queuing problems, the number of arrivals
per unit of time can be estimated by a probability
distribution known as a Poisson distribution
Poisson
Poisson Distribution
distribution
Poisson distribution –A discrete probability
distribution that often describes the
customer’s arrival rate in queuing theory.
For any given arrival time (such as 2
customers per hour or 4 trucks per minute), a
discrete Poisson distribution can be
established by using the formula:

Poisson Distribution cont’d…
e-x
P(x) = for x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, …
x!
where P(x) = probability of x

arrivals
x = number of arrivals per
unit of time
 = average arrival rate
e = 2.7183 (which is the base
of the natural logarithms)
e- can be obtained from poison disn table
Poisson Distribution
e-x
Probability = P(x) =
x!
0.25 – 0.25 –
0.02 – 0.02 –
Probability
Probability
0.15 – 0.15 –
0.10 – 0.10 –
0.05 – 0.05 –
– x –
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 x
Distribution for  = 2 Distribution for  = 4
Figure D.2

Behavior of arrivals
• Most queuing models assume that an arriving
customer is a patient customer (Wait in the queue
and do not switch lines)
• Patient customers are people or machines that
wait in the queue until they are served and do not
switch between lines
• Unfortunately, life is complicated by the fact that
people have been known to balk or to renege.

Behavior of arrivals
Balking customers are those who refuse to join
the waiting line because it is too long to suit
their needs or interests.
Reneging customers are those who enter the
queue but then become impatient and leave
without completing their transaction.
No balking or reneging is assumed in waiting
analysis.

B. Waiting-Line Characteristics
Two characteristics: length of queue and
discipline of the queue
i)The length of waiting line could be limited or
unlimited queue.
A queue is limited when it cannot, either by law
or because of physical restrictions, increase to an
infinite length.
 A small barbershop, for example, will have
only a limited number of waiting chairs.
Queue length cont’d…
Queuing models are treated in this module under
an assumption of unlimited queue length.
A queue is unlimited when its size is unrestricted,
as in the case of the toll booth serving arriving
automobiles, customers arriving at bank, clearing
supper market etc.

Waiting-Line Characteristics cont’d…
ii) Queue discipline -refers to the rule by which
customers in the line are to receive service.
Most systems use a queue discipline known as the first-in,
first-out (FIFO) or FIFS ( First in first served rule).
First-in, first-out (FIFO) rule refers to a queue discipline in
which the first customers in line receive the first service.
Other priority rules ( LIFO/LIFS)may be used in special
circumstances
e.g. In a hospital emergency room or an express checkout line
at a supermarket, however, various assigned priorities may
preempt FIFO

Service Characteristics
Two basic properties are important:
(1) design of the service system and
(2) the distribution of service times.
1)Queuing system designs
Service systems are usually classified in terms of their
number of channels (e.g" number of servers) and number of
phases (e,g., number of service stops that must be made)
Based on the above two variables, systems could be:
 Single channel, Single-Phase system *
 Multiple channel system, Single- Phase*
 Multiple- Phase, Single –channel*
 Multiple -Channel, multiphase system*
Queuing system design cont’d…
a) Single phase, Single-channel queuing system - a service
system with one line and one server.
e.g. bank with only one open teller, family doctor
b) Single Phase, Multiple-channel queuing system – a
service system with one waiting line but with several
servers.
Eg. Bank with several tellers on duty, with each customer
waiting in one common line for the first available teller,
 most large barbershops, airline ticket counters, and
post offices.

Queuing system design
cont’d…
iii) Single channel, Multiple phase–a system in which
the customer receives service from single line with
multiple phases and then exits the system.
e.g. Students receiving their meal service at cafeteria.
iv) Multi Channel system, Multiple phase - a system in
which the customer receives services from several
stations before exiting the system.
e.g. A situation in which the restaurant requires you
pay at one station, to place your order at a second,
and pick up your food at a third.
Queuing System Designs
A family dentist’s office
Queue
Service Departures
Arrivals facility after service
Single-channel, single-phase system
Students waiting for their meal in cafeteria
Queue
Phase 1 Phase 2 Departures
Arrivals service service
after service
facility facility
Single-channel, multiphase system

Figure D.3

Most bank and post office service windows
Service
facility
Channel 1
Queue
Service Departures
Arrivals facility
after service
Channel 2
Service
facility
Channel 3
Multi-channel, single-phase system

Figure D.3

Some college registrations
Phase 1 Phase 2
service service
Queue facility facility
Channel 1 Channel 1
Departures
Arrivals after service
Phase 1 Phase 2
service service
facility facility
Channel 2 Channel 2
Multi-channel, multiphase system

Figure D.3

Service Characteristics cont’d…
2. Service time distribution
Service patterns are like arrival patterns in that they may
be either constant or random.
If service time is constant, it takes the same amount of
time to take care of each customer.
This is the case in a machine-performed service operation
such as an automatic car wash, ATM).
More often, service times are randomly distributed.
In many cases, we can assume that random service times
are described by the negative exponential probability
distribution.

Service time cont’d…
Negative exponential probability distribution
Negative exponential probability distribution – A
continuous probability distribution often used to describe
the service time in a queuing system.
If service times follow a negative exponential distribution,
the probability of any very long service time is low.
For example, when an average service time is 20
minutes (or three customers per hour), seldom if ever
will a customer require more than 1.5 hours in the
service facility. Or
If the mean service time is 1 hour, the probability of
spending more than 3 hours in service is quite low.

Negative Exponential
Distribution
Probability that service time is greater than t = e-µt
-µt for t ≥ 1
µ = Average service rate

1.0 – e = 2.7183
Probability that service time ≥ 1
0.9 –
0.8 – Average service rate (µ) = 3 customers per hour
 Average service time = 20 minutes per customer
0.7 –
0.6 –
0.5 –
0.4 –
Average service rate (µ) =
0.3 – 1 customer per hour
0.2 –
0.1 –
0.0 |– | | | | | | | | | | | |
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00
Figure D.4 Time t (hours)
Measuring Queue
Performance
1. Average time that each customer or object spends in the
queue
2. Average queue length
3. Average time each customer spends in the system
4. Average number of customers in the system
5. Probability that the service facility will be idle
6. Utilization factor for the system
7. Probability of a specific number of customers in the
system
Queuing Costs
The two major costs of waiting analysis are: the cost of
providing good service and the cost of customer or
machine waiting time.
The management always must recognize the trade-off that
takes place between the two costs.
Managers want queues that are short enough so that
customers do not become unhappy and either leave
without buying or buy but never return.
However, managers may be willing to allow some
waiting if it is balanced by a significant savings in
service costs.

Queuing Costs cont’d…
One means of evaluating a service facility is to look at total
expected cost.
Total cost is the sum of expected service costs plus expected
waiting costs.
Service costs increase as a firm attempts to raise its level of
service.
Capacity can be varied by having standby personnel and
machines that they can assign to specific service stations to
prevent or shorten excessively long lines.
E.g. In grocery stores, managers and stock clerks can open
extra checkout counters, in banks and airport check in
points, part-time workers may be called in to help.
Queuing Costs cont’d…
As the level of service improves (that is, speeds up),
however, the cost of time spent waiting in lines decreases.
Waiting cost may reflect lost productivity of workers while
tools or machines await repairs or may simply be an
estimate of the cost of customers lost because of poor
service and long queues.
In some service systems (for- example, an emergency
ambulance service), the cost of long waiting may be
intolerably high.

Queuing Costs
Cost
Minimum
Total Total expected cost
cost
Cost of providing service
Cost of waiting time
Low level Optimal High level

of service service level of service
Figure D.5
Queuing Models
The four most widely used queuing

models here all assume:
 Poisson distribution arrivals

 FIFO discipline
 A single-service phase

Queuing Models
Model Name Example
A Single-channel Information counter
system at department store
(M/M/1)
Number Number Arrival Service

of of Rate Time Population Queue
Channels Phases Pattern Pattern Size Discipline
Single Single Poisson Exponential Unlimited FIFO
Table D.2
Queuing Models
Model Name Example
B Multichannel Airline ticket
(M/M/S) counter , bank counters

Multi- Single Poisson Exponential Unlimited FIFO
channel
Table D.2
Queuing Models
Model Name Example
C Constant- Automated car
service wash
(M/D/1)

Single Single Poisson Constant Unlimited FIFO
Table D.2
Queuing Models
Model Name Example
D Limited Shop with only a
population dozen machines
(finite population) that might break

Single Single Poisson Exponential Limited FIFO
Table D.2
Notation
• The first letter refers to the arrivals (where M stands for
Poisson distribution); the second letter refers to service
(where M is again a Poisson distribution, which is the
same as an exponential rate for service and a D is a
constant service rate); the third symbol refers to the
number of servers.
• So an M/D/1 system (our Model C) has Poisson arrivals,
constant service. and one server.

Model A – Single-Channel
1. Arrivals are served on a FIFO basis and every
arrival waits to be served regardless of the
length of the queue.
2. Arrivals are independent of preceding arrivals
but the average number of arrivals does not
change over time.
3. Arrivals are described by a Poisson probability
distribution and come from an infinite
population

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 (µ > )

 = Mean number of arrivals per time
period
µ = Mean number of units served per
time period
Ls  = Average number of units
µ–
(customers) in the system (waiting and being
served)
=
1
µ s–  =
W Average time a unit spends in the
system (waiting time plus service time)
Table D.3
=
Lq = Average number of units waiting
in the queue
2
= = Wq 
µ(µ – )
Wq = Average time a unit spends
waiting in the queue
 = Lq/
=
µ(µ – )
p = Utilization factor for the system

µ =
Table D.3

P0 = Probability of 0 units in the
system (that is, the service unit is idle)

= 1–
µ
Pn > k = Probability of more than k units in the
system, where n is the number of units in
the system
k+1

µ =
Table D.3

Single-Channel Example
 = 2 cars arriving/hour
2 µ = 3 cars serviced/hour

µ– 3-2
Ls = = = 2 cars
in the system on average
1 1
µ– 3-2
Ws = = = 1
2 22 hour average waiting time in
µ(µ – ) 3(3 - 2) the system
Lq = = =
1.33 cars waiting in line
 = 2 cars arriving/hour
µ = 3 cars serviced/hour
 2
Wq = =
µ(µ – ) 3(3 - 2)
= 2/3 hour = 40 minute
average waiting time
 p = /µ = 2/3 = 66.6%

P0 = 1 - = .33 probability
µ of time mechanic is busy
there are 0 cars in the system

Probability of more than k Cars in the System
k Pn > k = (2/3)k + 1
0 .667  Note that this is equal to 1 -
P0 = 1 - .33
1 .444
2 .296
3 .198  Implies that there is a 19.8%
chance that more than 3 cars are in the
system
4 .132
5 .088
6
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. .058 D – 55
Single-Channel Economics
once we have computed the operating characteristics of a queuing
system, it is often important to do an economic analysis of their
impact.
Let Customer dissatisfaction
and lost goodwill = $10 per hour
Wq = 2/3 hour
Total arrivals = 16 per day
Mechanic’s salary = $56 per day
Total hours
customers spend 2 2
= (16) = 10 hours
waiting per day 3 3
2
Customer waiting-time cost = $10 10 = $106.67
3
Total expected costs = $106.67 + $56 = $162.67

Exercise
If customer waiting time is actually $20 per

hour and if the mechanic gets a salary
increase of $10 per hour, what is the total
daily expected cost? ANS:$293.34

Note
Recognize that arrival and service times are
converted to the same rate.
For example
A service time of 20 minutes is stated as an
average rate of 3 cars per hour.
It's also important to differentiate between time
in the queue and time in the system.

Multi-Channel Model
System in which two or more servers or channels are
available to handle arriving customers.
M = number of channels open
 = average arrival rate
µ = average service rate at each
channel
1 the system
n = number of units in
P0 = M – 1 for M µ > 
n M
1  1  Mµ
∑
n! µ
+
M! µ Mµ - 
n=0 n=0
M
µ(/µ) 
Ls = P +
(M - 1)!(Mµ - )
2 0 µ Table D.4

Multi-Channel Model
M
µ(/µ) 1 Ls
Ws = P + =
(M - 1)!(Mµ - )
2 0 µ 

Lq = Ls –
µ
1 Lq
Wq = W s – =
µ 
Table D.4

Multi-Channel Example
Assume the second channel is added to the same example.
 = 2 µ = 3 M = 2
1 1
P0 = = 2
1 n 2
2(3)
∑ 1
n!
2
3
+
1
2!
2
3 2(3) - 2
n=0
(2)(3(2/3)2 1 2 3
Ls = + =
1! 2(3) - 2 2 2 3 4
2 1 .083
Ws =
3/4
=
3 Lq = 3 – = Wq = = .0415
2 8 4 3 12 2

Multi-Channel Example
Single Channel Two Channels
P0 .33 .5
Ls 2 cars .75 cars
Ws 60 minutes 22.5 minutes
Lq 1.33 cars .083 cars
Wq 40 minutes 2.5 minutes
Note: The increased service has a dramatic effect on
almost all characteristics.
Using waiting lines table will significantly reduce
some of the computational efforts.
Waiting Line Table Example
Assume a manager wanted to determine the
number of
Teller windows in a busy Saturday, where he
expected Utilization factor ρ = /µ = .90 W =
L q
Wq =
 = 18, µ = 20 
From Table
Number
Number of in
service windows M queue(Lq) Time in queue
1 window 1 8.1 .45 hrs, 27 minutes
2 windows 2 .2285 .0127 hrs, ¾ minute
3 windows 3 .03 .0017 hrs, 6 seconds
4 windows
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.
4 .0041 .0003 hrs, 1 second D – 63
Table example cont’d…
Opening one additional window reduces the
average queue length to zero.
The average waiting time in the queue, (Lq
= 8.1/18 = 0.45 hrs= 27 min will be reduced
to Lq = 0.2285/18 = 0.0127 hrs= ¾ mins.

Model C M/D/1):Constant-Service Time
Model
Some service systems have constant, instead of
exponentially distributed, service times.
When customers or equipment are processed according to
a fixed cycle, as in the case of an automatic car wash or an
amusement park ride, constant service times are
appropriate.
Because constant rates are certain, the values for Lq, Wq,
Ls and Ws are always less than they would be in Model A,
which has variable service rates.
As a matter of fact, both the average queue length and the
average waiting time in the queue are halved with Model
C.
Constant-Service Model
Average length Lq =  2
of queue 2µ(µ – )
Average waiting time 

in queue Wq =
2µ(µ – )
Average number of 
L s = Lq +
customers in system µ
Average time 1
in the system Ws = W q +
µ

Constant-Service Example
Trucks currently wait 15 minutes on average for emptying
Truck time and driver cost $60 per hour
A new automated compactor to be purchased has a service rate (µ) =
12 trucks per hour where arrival rate () = 8 per hour
Compactor costs is amortized at a rate of $3 per truck unloaded
Current waiting cost per trip = (1/4 hr)($60) = $15 /trip
8 1
Wq = = hour
2(12)(12 – 8) 12
Waiting cost/trip
with compactor = (1/12 hr wait)($60/hr cost) = $ 5 /trip
Savings with = $15 (current) – $5(new) = $10
new equipment
/trip
Cost of new equipment amortized = $ 3 /trip
Net savings = $ 7 /trip
Cont’d…
Constant service times, usually
attained through automation, help
to control the variability inherent in
service systems.
This can lower average queue
length and average waiting time.

Little’s Law
Practical and useful relationship in queuing for any system
in a steady state is called Little's Law.
A steady state exists when a queuing system is in its
normal operating condition (e.g., after customers waiting
at the door when a business opens in the morning are
taken care of).
Little's Law can be written as either:
L = W (which is the same as W = L/
or:
Lq = Wq (which is the same as Wq = Lq/)
Little’s Law cont’d…
The advantage of these formulas is that once two of the
parameters are known, the other one can easily be found.
This is important because in certain waiting-line
situations, one of these might be easier to determine than
the other,
Little's Law is also important because it makes no
assumptions about the probability distributions for arrivals
and service times, the number of servers, or service
priority rules.
The law applies to all the queuing systems discussed so
far, except the limited-population model, which we
discuss next.
Model D: Limited-Population Model
Used when there is a limited population of potential
customers for a service facility
This model differs from the three earlier queuing models
because there is now a dependent relationship between the
length of the queue and the arrival rate.
Let's illustrate the extreme situation:
If your factory had five machines and all were broken and
awaiting repair, the arrival rate would drop to zero
In general, then, as the waiting line becomes longer in the
limited population model, the arrival rate of customers or
machines drops.

Model D: Limited-Population
Model cont’d…
finite queuing tables have been developed that
determine D and F.
D represents the probability that a machine needing
repair will have to wait in line
F is a waiting time efficiency factor,
D and F are needed to compute most of the other
finite model formulas.
• A small part of the published finite queuing tables
is appended here.

Limited-Population Model
T D = Probability that a unit will have
Service factor: X = T + U to wait in queue
F = Efficiency factor
Average number running:
N = Number of potential customers
J = NF(1 - X) H = Average number of units being
served
Average number waiting: T = Average service time
U = Average time between unit
L = N(1 - F) service requirements
X = Service factor
Average number being
J = Average number of units not in
serviced: H = FNX queue or in service bay( i.e.,
Working currently)
Average waiting time: W =T(1 - F) W = Average time a unit waits in
XF line
Number of population: N = L = Average number of units
waiting for service
J+L+H
M = Number of service channels
Limited-Population Example
E.g. Each of 5 printers requires repair after 20 hours (U) of use.
One technician can service a printer in 2 hours (T)
Printer downtime costs $120/hour
Technician costs $25/hour.
2
Service factor: X = = .091 (close to .090)
2 + 20
For M = 1, D = .350 and F = .960
For M = 2, D = .044 and F = .998
Average number of printers working:
For M = 1, J = (5)(.960)(1 - .091) = 4.36
For M = 2, J = (5)(.998)(1 - .091) = 4.54

Limited-Population Example
Average Average
Numberrequire Cost/Hr
Each of 5 printers for 20 Cost/Hr
repair after hours (for
U) of use
Number
One of Printers
technician can serviceDowntime
a printer in 2Technicians
hours (T) Total
Technicians Down (N - J) (N - J)$120 ($25/hr) Cost/Hr
Printer downtime costs $120/hour
1
Technician .64 $25/hour $76.80
costs $25.00 $101.80
2 .46 X = 2 $55.20 $50.00to .090)

$105.20
Service factor: = .091 (close
2 + 20
For M = 1, D = .350 and F = .960
For M = 2, D = .044 and F = .998
Average number of printers working:
For M = 1, J = (5)(.960)(1 - .091) = 4.36
For M = 2, J = (5)(.998)(1 - .091) = 4.54

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Waiting-Line / Queuing Models

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Waiting-Line / Queuing Models

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Waiting-Line /

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. D–1

It is mathematical approach

Highway toll booth Automobiles Collection of tolls at booth

Doctor’s office Patients Treatment by doctors and nurses

Computer system Programs to be run Computer processes jobs

Machine maintenance Broken machines Repair people fix machines

Harbor Ships and barges Dock workers load and unload

Subtleties in the Answers

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Arrivals to the system In the system Exit the system

Arrival Characteristics Waiting Line Service Characteristics

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where P(x) = probability of x

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Single-channel, single-phase system

Students waiting for their meal in cafeteria

Single-channel, multiphase system

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Multi-channel, single-phase system

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Multi-channel, multiphase system

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µ = Average service rate

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Cost of waiting time

Low level Optimal High level

The four most widely used queuing

 Poisson distribution arrivals

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Number Number Arrival Service

Number Number Arrival Service

Number Number Arrival Service

Number Number Arrival Service

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average waiting time

 p = /µ = 2/3 = 66.6%

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Total expected costs = $106.67 + $56 = $162.67

If customer waiting time is actually $20 per

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