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, 2006
1
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Technical Note 7
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2
Waiting Line Characteristics
Suggestions for Managing Queues
Examples (Models 1, 2, 3, and 4)
OBJECTIVES
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Components of the Queuing System
Customer
Arrivals
Servers
Waiting Line
Servicing System
Exit
Queue or
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Customer Service Population Sources
Population Source
Finite Infinite
Example: Number
of machines
needing repair
when a company
only has three
machines.
Example: The
number of people
who could wait in
a line for
gasoline.
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Service Pattern
Service
Pattern
Constant Variable
Example: Items
coming down an
automated
assembly line.
Example: People
spending time
shopping.
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The Queuing System
Queue Discipline
Length
Number of Lines &
Line Structures
Service Time
Distribution
Queuing
System
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Examples of Line Structures
Single Channel
Multichannel
Single
Phase
Multiphase
One-person
barber shop
Car wash
Hospital
admissions
Bank tellers
windows
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Degree of Patience
No Way!
BALK
No Way!
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
Source
Population Service Pattern
1 Single channel Infinite Exponential
2 Single channel Infinite Constant
3 Multichannel Infinite Exponential
4 Single or Multi Finite Exponential
These four models share the following characteristics:
- Single phase
- Poisson arrival
- FCFS
- Unlimited queue length
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Notation: Infinite Queuing: Models
1-3
line in ting number wai Average
server single a for
rate sevice to rate arrival total of Ratio = =
arrivals between time Average
time service Average
rate Service =
rate Arrival =
1
1
=
=
=
Lq

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Infinite Queuing Models 1-3
(Continued)
line in waiting of y Probabilit
system in units exactly of y Probabilit
channels service identical of Number =
system in the units of Number
served) be to time (including
system in time total Average
line in waiting time Average =
served) being those (including
system in number Average = s
=
=
=
=
Pw
n Pn
S
n
Ws
Wq
L
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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?
Example: Model 1
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= 25 cust / hr
=
1 customer
2 mins (1hr / 60 mins)
= 30 cust / hr
= =
25 cust / hr
30 cust / hr
= .8333
Example: Model 1
A) What is the average utilization of the
employee?
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Example: Model 1
B) What is the average number of customers in
line?

4.167 =
25) - 30(30
(25)
=
) - (
=
2 2


Lq
C) What is the average number of customers in the
system?
5 =
25) - (30
25
=
-
=

Ls
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Example: Model 1
D) What is the average waiting time in line?
mins 10 = hrs .1667 =

=

Lq
Wq
E) What is the average waiting time in the system?
mins 12 = hrs .2 = =

Ls
Ws
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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)?
p = (1 -
n
n

)( )
p = (1- =
2
2 25
30
25
30
)( ) .1157
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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.
.6667 =
10) - (2)(15)(15
(10)
=
) - ( 2
=
2 2


Lq
B) The average total waiting time in the system.
mins 4 = hrs .06667 =
10
6667 .
=

=

Lq
Wq
mins 8 = hrs .1333 =
15/hr
1
+ hrs .06667 =

1
+ =

Wq Ws
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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
ion) interpolat linear -using - TN7.11 (Exhibit
176 0 = . Lq
1.009 =
30
25
+ .176 = + =

Lq Ls
Total time customers wait before being served
) ( =
min customers/ 25
customers .176
= = Wait! No
Lq
Wq mins .007

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Notation: Finite Queuing: Model 4
channels service of Number
line in units of number Average
) ( system
queuing in those less source Population =
served being units of number Average
line in wait to having
of effect the of measure a factor, Efficiency
line in must wait arrival an y that Probabilit =
=
=
=
=
S
L
n - N
J
H
F
D
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Finite Queuing: Model 4
(Continued)
required time service of proportion or factor, Service
line in time waiting Average
ts requiremen service customer between time Average
service the perform to time Average =
system queuing in units exactly of y Probabilit
source population in units of Number
served) being one the (including
system queuing in units of number Average =
=
=
=
=
=
X
W
U
T
n Pn
N
n
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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 + U
10 min
10 min + 120 min
= .077 =
From Table TN7.11, 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 of machines down = L + H = .382 machines
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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
( )
=
= =
2
2
2
Define:
Standard deviation of X
coefficient of variation for r.v. X =
Mean of X
Variance
squared coefficient of variation (scv) =
mean
x
x x
C
C C
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2( 1) 2 2
1 2
S
a s
q
C C
L

+
+
=

= +
s q
L L S
Compute
S

=
2 2
,
a s
C C
Inputs: S, , ,
(Alternatively: S, , , variances of interarrival and service time distributions)
as before, , and
q
s
q s
L
L
W W

= =
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Consider a manufacturing process (for example making
plastic parts) consisting of a single stage with five
machines. Processing times have a mean of 5.4 days
and standard deviation of 4 days. The firm operates
make-to-order. Management has collected date on
customer orders, and verified that the time between
orders has a mean of 1.2 days and variance of 0.72
days. What is the average time that an order waits
before being worked on?

Using our Waiting Line Approximation spreadsheet we
get:
L
q
= 3.154 Expected number of orders waiting to be
completed.
Wq = 3.78 Expected number of days order waits.
= 0.9 Expected machine utilization.


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End of Technical
Note 7