Waiting Line Model Arrival Characteristics

1. Size of arrival population

Queuing Theory - Unlimited (finite)/ limited (finite)
- study of waiting lines 2. Pattern of arrivals
- “useful” manufacturing & service areas - Scheduled or random, often a Poisson distribution
3. Behavior of arrivals
- Wait in the queue & do not switch lines
- No balking or reneging

4 CHARACTERISTICS OF QUEUING SYSTEM:

1. manner w/c customer arrive Willow Bank operates a drive-up teller window that allows customers to complete bank transactions w/o
2. time required for service getting out of their cars. On weekday mornings, arrivals to drive-up teller window occur at random, w/ an
3. determining order of service arrival rate of 24 customers per hour or 0.4 customer per minute
4. # and configuration of servers in system
a. What is mean or expected # customers tat will arrive in 5 minute period?
3 CHARACTERISTICS OF WAITING LINE SYSTEM: b. Assume Poisson probability distribution can be used to describe arrival process. Use arrival
1. Arrivals or inputs to system 5rate in part (a) & compute probabilities that exactly 0,1,2, &, 3 customers will arrive during a 5
- Population size, behavior, statistical distribution minute period.
2. Queue discipline, or waiting line itself c. Delays are expected if more than 3 customers arrive during any 5 minute period. What is
- Limited/ unlimited in length, disciple of people or items in it probability that delays will occur?
3. Service Facility
- Design, statistical distribution of service times Waiting- Line Characteristics
1. Limited/ unlimited queue length
2. Queue discipline- first-in, first out (FIFO) is most common
3. Other priority rules may used in special circumstances

Service Characteristics
1. Queuing system designs
- Single-server system, multiple-server system
- Single-phase system, multiphase system
2. Service time distribution
- Constant service time
- Random service times, usually negative exponential distribution
 .

Exponential Probability Distribution

o In Willow Bank waiting line system, assume the service times for the drive-up teller follow an
exponential probability distribution w/ a service rate of 36 customers per hour, or 0.6 customers per
minute. Use exponential probability distribution to answer the ff questions:

a. What probability that service time is 1 minute or less?

b. What probability that service time is 2 minute or less?
c. What probability that service time is more than 2 minutes?

Measuring Queue Performance

1. Ave. time that each customer/ obj spends in queue
2. Ave. queue length
3. Ave. time each customer spends in system
4. Ave. # of customers in system
5. Probability that service facility will be idle
6. Utilization factor for the system
Queuing Systems 7. Probability of a specific # of customers in system
 3 part code of the form A/B/k – describe various queuing system
 A identifies “arrival distribution”, B – “service (departure) distribution”, & k – “# servers for the
system”
 Symbols used for arrival & service processes are: M- Markov distribution (Poisson/ exponential), D-
Deterministic (constant) and G- General distribution (w/ a known mean & variance)
 Eg. M/M/k- system w/c arrivals occur according to a Poisson distribution, service times follow an
exponential distribution & there are k servers working at identical service rates.

Steady- State Operation

 When businesses (eg. restaurant) opens in morning, no customers are.
 Gradually, activity builds up “normal or steady state”
 Transient period- beginning or start-up period
 Normal or steady state operation- transient period ends when system reaches normal
 Waiting line models describe steady state operating characteristics of a waiting line
Queuing Models Analytical Formulas
 When queue discipline is FCFS, analytical formulas derived for different queuing models:
The 4 queuing models here all assume: - M/M/1
1. Poisson distribution arrivals - M/M/k
2. FIFO discipline - M/G/1
3. A single-service phase - M/G/k w/ blocked customers cleared
- M/M/1 w/ finite calling population
 Analytical formulas NOT AVAILABLE for all possible queuing system
- Insights may gain through simulation of the system

Model A- Single Server

1. Arrivals are served FIFO basis & every arrival waits to be served regardless of length of the
queue
2. Arrivals are independent of preceding arrivals but average number of arrivals does not
change over time
3. Arrivals describe by Poisson probability distribution, & come from infinite population
4. Service times vary from 1 customer to the next & are independent of one another, but their
average rate is known
5. Service times occur according to negative exponential distribution
6. Service rate is faster than arrival rate
o The reference desk of library receives requests for assistance. Assume that a Poisson probability
distribution w/ an arrival rate of 10 requests per hour can be used to describe the arrival pattern &
that service times follow an exponential probability distribution w/ a service rate of 12 requests per
hour.

a. What probability that no request for assistance are in system?

b. What average # of request that will be waiting for service?
c. What average waiting time in minutes before service begins?
d. What average time at the reference desk in minutes (waiting + service time)?
e. What probability that new arrival has to wait for service?

Improving the waiting line operation

 Waiting line models
- indicate when improvements in operating characteristics are desirable
 To make improvements in waiting line operation, analysts focus on ways to improve service rate by:
- increase service rate by making creative design change or by using new technology
- adding 1 or more servers so customers can serve simultaneously
o All airline passengers at Lake Airport must pass through security screening area before proceeding
to boarding area. The airport has 3 station available, & facility manager must decide how many to
have open at any particular time. The service rate for processing passengers at each screening
station is 3 passengers per minute. On Monday, arrival rate is 5.4 passengers per minute. Assume
that processing times at each screening station follow exponential distribution & that arrivals follow
a Poisson distribution.

a) Suppose 2 of the 3 screening station are open on Monday. Compute operating characteristics
for screening daily.
b) Bec. of space considerations, the facility manager’s goal is to limit the average number of
passengers waiting in line to 10 or fewer. Will the two-screening station system be able to meet
manager’s goal?
c) What is the average time required for a passenger to pass through security screening?
 service rate of a postal clerk is 0.75 customers per minute. The post office counter has maximum
o Refer again to Lake Airport. When security level is raised to high, service rate for processing time a customer waits in the system is 5 minutes.
passengers is reduced to 2 passengers per minute at each screening station. Suppose security a) For particular Monday in Nov., anticipated arrival rate is 1.2 customers per minute. What is
level is raised to high on Monday. The arrival rate is 5.4 passengers per minute. recommended staffing for this Monday? Show operating characteristics of waiting line.
b) A new population growth study suggests that over next 2 years the arrival rate at postal office
a) The facility manager’s goal is to limit average # of passengers waiting in line to 10 or fewer. during busy winter months can be expected to be 2.1 customers per minute. Use waiting line
How many screenings station must open in order to satisfy goal? analysis to make a recommendation to post office manager.
b) What is average time required for a passenger to pass through security screening?

o Coastal community experiences population increase during winter months, w/ seasonal residents
arriving from northern states & Canada. Staffing at a local post office is often in a state of change
due to relatively low volume of customers in summer months & relatively high in winter months. The