PROBLEMS

103. A waiting line meeting the M/M/1 assumptions has an arrival rate of 4 per hour and a
service rate of 12 per hour. What is the probability that the waiting line is empty?

104. A waiting line meeting the M/M/1 assumptions has an arrival rate of 4 per hour and a
service rate of 12 per hour. What is the average time a unit spends in the system and the average
time a unit spends waiting?

105. A waiting line meeting the M/M/1 assumptions has an arrival rate of 10 per hour and a
service rate of 12 per hour. What is the average time a unit spends in the system and the average
time a unit spends waiting?

106. A waiting line meeting the M/M/1 assumptions has an arrival rate of 10 per hour and a
service rate of 12 per hour. What is the probability that the waiting line is empty?

107. A crew of mechanics at the Highway Department garage repair vehicles that break down at
an average of λ = 7.5 vehicles per day (approximately Poisson in nature). The mechanic crew can
service an average of μ = 10 vehicles per day with a repair time distribution that approximates an
exponential distribution.
a. What is the utilization rate for this service system?
b. What is the average time before the facility can return a breakdown to service?
c. How much of that time is spent waiting for service?
d. How many vehicles are likely to be in the system at any one time?

108. A crew of mechanics at the Highway Department garage repair vehicles that break down at
an average of λ = 7 vehicles per day (approximately Poisson in nature). The mechanic crew can
service an average of μ = 11 vehicles per day with a repair time distribution that approximates an
exponential distribution.
a. What is the utilization rate for this service system?
b. What is the average time before the facility can return a breakdown to service?
c. How much of that time is spent waiting for service?
d. How many vehicles are likely to be waiting for service at any one time?

109. A crew of mechanics at the Highway Department garage repair vehicles which break down
at an average of λ = 5 vehicles per day (approximately Poisson in nature). The mechanic crew
can service an average of μ = 10 vehicles per day with a repair time distribution that
approximates an exponential distribution.
a. What is the probability that the system is empty?
b. What is the probability that there is precisely one vehicle in the system?
c. What is the probability that there is more than one vehicle in the system?
d. What is the probability of 5 or more vehicles in the system?

110. A crew of mechanics at the Highway Department garage repair vehicles that break down at
an average of λ = 8 vehicles per day (approximately Poisson in nature). The mechanic crew can
service an average of μ = 11 vehicles per day with a repair time distribution that approximates an
exponential distribution. The crew cost is approximately $300 per day. The cost associated with
lost productivity from the breakdown is estimated at $150 per vehicle per day (or any fraction
thereof). What is the expected cost of this system?

111. A crew of mechanics at the Highway Department garage repair vehicles that break down at
an average of λ = 8 vehicles per day (approximately Poisson in nature). The mechanic crew can
service an average of μ = 10 vehicles per day with a repair time distribution that approximates an
exponential distribution.
a. What is the probability that the system is empty?
b. What is the probability that there is precisely one vehicle in the system?
c. What is the probability that there is more than one vehicle in the system?
d. What is the probability of 5 or more vehicles in the system?

112. A crew of mechanics at the Highway Department garage repair vehicles that break down at
an average of λ = 8 vehicles per day (approximately Poisson in nature). The mechanic crew can
service an average of μ = 11 vehicles per day with a repair time distribution that approximates an
exponential distribution. The crew cost is approximately $300 per day. The cost associated with
lost productivity from the breakdown is estimated at $150 per vehicle per day (or any fraction
thereof). Which is cheaper, the existing system with one service crew, or a revised system with
two service crews?

113. A dental clinic at which only one dentist works is open only two days a week. During those
two days, the traffic is uniformly busy with patients arriving at the rate of three per hour. The
doctor serves patients at the rate of one every 15 minutes.
a. What is the probability that the clinic is empty (except for the dentist)?
b. What percentage of the time is the dentist busy?
c. What is the average number of patients in the waiting room?
d. What is the average time a patient spends in the office (wait plus service)?
e. What is the average time a patient waits for service?

114. A dental clinic at which only one dentist works is open only two days a week. During those
two days, the traffic arrivals follow a Poisson distribution with patients arriving at the rate of
three per hour. The doctor serves patients at the rate of one every 15 minutes.
a. What is the probability that the clinic is empty (except for the dentist)?
b. What is the probability that there are one or more patients in the system?
c. What is the probability that there are four patients in the system?
d. What is the probability that there are four or more patients in the system?
115. At the order fulfillment center of a major mail-order firm, customer orders, already
packaged for shipment, arrive at the sorting machines to be sorted for loading onto the
appropriate truck for the parcel's address. The arrival rate at the sorting machines is at the rate of
100 per hour following a Poisson distribution. The machine sorts at the constant rate of 150 per
hour.
a. What is the utilization rate of the system?
b. What is the average number of packages waiting to be sorted?
c. What is the average number of packages in the sorting system?
d. How long must the average package wait until it gets sorted?
e. What would Lq and Wq be if the service rate were exponential, not constant?

116. At the order fulfillment center of a major mail-order firm, customer orders, already
packaged for shipment, arrive at the sorting machines to be sorted for loading onto the
appropriate truck for the parcel's address. The arrival rate at the sorting machines is at the rate of
140 per hour following a Poisson distribution. The machine sorts at the constant rate of 150 per
hour.
a. What is the utilization rate of the system?
b. What is the average number of packages waiting to be sorted?
c. What is the average number of packages in the sorting system?
d. How long must the average package wait until it gets sorted?

117. A waiting-line system that meets the assumptions of M/M/1 has λ = 1, μ = 4. Calculate Po.
Build a table showing the probability of more than 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 units in the system.
Round to six decimal places in your work

118. Genco, Inc., a small manufacturer of diesel-generator sets has four shearing machines.
Because of the age of these machines, they need minor repairs after 30 hours of use. Analysis of
previous breakdowns indicates that breakdowns follow a Poisson distribution. The facility
employs one repairman specifically to repair these machines. Average repair time is two hours
following an exponential distribution.
a. What is the service factor for this system?
b. What is the average number of these machines in service?
c. What is the impact of adding a second repairman?

119. A finite population waiting line model with a single server has an average service time T of
200 minutes and an average time between service requirements U of 300 minutes. Calculate the
service factor X. If the population consists of 5 elements, what are the average number waiting,
the average number being serviced, and the average number running? Refer to Table D.7.
120. A finite population waiting line model with a single server has an average service time T of
50 minutes and an average time between service requirements U of 350 minutes. Calculate the
service factor X. If the population consists of 5 elements, what are the average number waiting,
the average number being serviced, and the average number running? Refer to Table D.7.