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Technical Note 6
Waiting Line Management

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OBJECTIVES

Waiting Line Characteristics Suggestions for Managing Queues Examples (Models 1, 2, 3, and 4)

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Components of the Queuing System

Servicing System Servers Queue or Customer Arrivals Waiting Line Exit

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Customer Service Population Sources

Population Source

Finite
Example: Number of machines needing repair when a company only has three machines.

Infinite
Example: The number of people who could wait in a line for gasoline.

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Service Pattern
Service Pattern

Constant
Example: Items coming down an automated assembly line.

Variable
Example: People spending time shopping.

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The Queuing System

Length

Queue Discipline

Queuing System

Number of Lines & Line Structures

Service Time Distribution

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Examples of Line Structures

Single Phase One-person Single Channel barber shop Multichannel Bank tellers windows Multiphase

Car wash Hospital admissions

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Degree of Patience
No Way! No Way!

BALK

RENEG

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Suggestions for Managing Queues

1. Determine an acceptable waiting time for your customers 2. Try to divert your customers attention when waiting 3. Inform your customers of what to expect 4. Keep employees not serving the customers out of sight 5. Segment customers
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Suggestions for Managing Queues (Continued)

6. Train your servers to be friendly 7. Encourage customers to come during the slack periods 8. Take a long-term perspective toward getting rid of the queues

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Waiting Line Models

Model Layout 1 Single channel 2 3 4 Single channel Multichannel Single or Multi Source Population Infinite Infinite Infinite Finite Service Pattern Exponential Constant Exponential Exponential

These four models share the following characteristics: y Single phase y Poisson arrival y FCFS y Unlimited queue length
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Notation: Infinite Queuing: Models 1-3 P = Arrival rate Q = Service rate 1 ! Average service time Q 1 ! Average time between arrivals P P V = = Ratio of total arrival rate to sevice rate Q for a single server Lg ! Average number wai ting in line
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Infinite Queuing Models 1-3 (Continued)

Ls verage number in system (including those being served) Wg verage time aiting in line Ws ! verage total time in system (including time to be served) n ! Number o units in the system S Number o identical service channels aiting in line Pn ! Probability o exactly n units in system Pw ! Probability o

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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: A) What is the average utilization of the employee? B) What is the average number of customers in line? C) What is the average number of customers in the system? D) What is the average waiting time in line? E) What is the average waiting time in the system? F) What is the probability that exactly two cars will be in the system?
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Example: Model 1
A) What is the average utilization of the employee?

P = 25 cust / hr 1 customer Q = = 30 cust / hr 2 mins (1hr / 60 mins) P 25 cust / hr V = = = .8333 Q 30 cust / hr

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Example: Model 1
B) What is the average number of customers in line?

P (25) = 4.167 Lg = = Q ( Q - P ) 30(30 - 25)

C) What is the average number of customers in the system?

P 25 Ls = = =5 Q - P (30 - 25)
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Example: Model 1
D) What is the average waiting time in line?

Wg

Lg P
Ls P

.1667 hrs 10 mins

E) What is the average waiting time in the system?

Ws

.2 hrs

12 mins
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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)?

pn

P P n (1 - )( ) Q Q

25 25 2 p 2 = (1- )( ) = .1157 30 30
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Example: Model 2
An automated pizza vending machine heats and dispenses a slice of pizza in 4 minutes. Customers arrive at a rate of one every 6 minutes with the arrival rate exhibiting a Poisson distribution. Determine: A) The average number of customers in line. B) The average total waiting time in the system.

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Example: Model 2
A) The average number of customers in line.

Lg

P 2Q (Q - P )

(10) (2)(15)(15 - 10)

.6667

B) The average total waiting time in the system.

P 10 Wg = = = .06667 hrs = 4 mi s 2Q (Q - P ) 2(15)(15 -10)

1 1 Ws = Wg + = .06667hrs + = .1333hrs = 8 mi s Q 15/hr

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Example: Model 3
Recall the Model 1 example: 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. If an identical window (and an identically trained server) were added, what would the effects be on the average number of cars in the system and the total time customers wait before being served?
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Example: Model 3
Average number of cars in the system Lg = 0.176

(Exhibit T 6.10 - -using linear interpolation)

25 P Ls = Lg + = .176 + = 1.009 30 Q
Total time customers wait before being served
Lg .176 customers Wg = = = .007 mi s ( No Wait! ) P 25 customers/min
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Notation: Finite Queuing: Model 4

D F! Probability that an arrival must ait in line iciency actor, a measure o the e ect o having to ait in line H ! verage number o units being served J Population source less those in queuing system ( - n) L ! verage number o units in line S ! Number o service channels
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Finite Queuing: Model 4 (Continued)

n = Average number of units in queuing system (including the one being served) N! umber of units in population source n ! robability of exactly n units in queuing system T = Average time to perform the service U ! Average time between customer service requirements W ! Average waiting time in line X ! Service factor, or proportion of service time required

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Example: Model 4
The copy center of an electronics firm has four copy machines that are all serviced by a single technician. Every two hours, on average, the machines require adjustment. The technician spends an average of 10 minutes per machine when adjustment is required. Assuming Poisson arrivals and exponential service, how many machines are down (on average)?

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Example: Model 4
N, the number of machines in the population = 4 M, the number of repair people = 1 T, the time required to service a machine = 10 minutes U, the average time between service = 2 hours
X = T T 1 0 m in ! = .0 7 7 U 1 0 m in 1 2 0 m in

From Table TN6.11, F = .980 (Interpolation) L, the number of machines waiting to be serviced = N(1-F) = 4(1-.980) = .08 machines H, the number of machines being serviced = FNX = .980(4)(.077) = .302 machines

Number o machines do n = L

H = .382 machines
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Queuing Approximation
This approximation is quick way to analyze a queuing situation. Now, both interarrival time and service time distributions are allowed to be general. In general, average performance measures (waiting time in queue, number in queue, etc) can be very well approximated by mean and variance of the distribution (distribution shape not very important). This is very good news for managers: all you need is mean and standard deviation, to compute average waiting time

Define: Standard deviation of X Mean of X Variance 2 2 C x ! squared coefficient of variation (scv) = C x ! mean2 C x ! coefficient of variation for r.v. X =

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Queue Approximation
2 Inputs: , P, Q, Ca ,Cs2

(Alternatively: S, P, Q, variances of interarrival and service time distributions)

P Comput V ! SQ
2 2 V 2(S 1) Ca  Cs Lq ! 1 V 2

as before, Wq !

, and Ws !

 V
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Approximation Example
Consider a manu acturing process ( or example making plastic parts) consisting o a single stage ith ive machines. Processing times have a mean o 5.4 days and standard deviation o 4 days. The irm operates make-toorder. Management has collected date on customer orders, and veri ied that the time bet een orders has a mean o 1.2 days and variance o 0.72 days. What is the average time that an order aits be ore being orked on? Using our Waiting Line pproximation spreadsheet e get:
Lq = 3.154 xpected number o orders aiting to be completed. Wq = 3.78 xpected number o days order aits. = 0.9 xpected machine utilization.
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nd o Technical Note 6

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