Example 1: Impact of Pooling

DCS bank University branch has two tellers. Each teller typically
spends 6 minutes serving a customer, but the service time is variable with a standard deviation of 2 minutes. On average 16 customers arrive every hour. The bank used to have customers form two separate lines with each line served by one dedicated teller. Assume each teller gets half of the customers. How long does a customer expect to wait before getting served?
Ri = 8 per hour Queue Server Ri = 8 per hour Queue Server

DSC 2006, Operations Management, Lucy Chen

Example 1: Impact of Pooling (Contd)

Considering an alternative, DCS is thinking about merging the
two lines into one and have the customers served by any of the two tellers who is available next. Would this change reduce the customer waiting time?
Ri = 16 per hour Queue Server

DSC 2006, Operations Management, Lucy Chen

Example 2: Capacity Planning

For best utilization of its check-in facilities, Global operates a
common check-in system: passengers for all Global flights queue up in a single snake line, and each can be served at any one of several counters as clerks become available. Arrival rate is estimated at an average of 52 passengers per hour. During the check-in process, an agent confirms the reservation, assigns a seat, issues a boarding pass, and weighs, labels and dispatches baggage. The entire process takes an average of 3 minutes. Agents are paid $20 per hour, and Globals customer relations department estimates that for every minute that a customer spends waiting in line, Global loses $1 in missed flights, customer dissatisfaction, and future business. a. How many agents should Global staff at its hub terminal? b. Global has surveyed both its customers and its competition and discovered that 3 minutes is an acceptable average waiting time. If Global wants to meet this industry norm, how many agents should it hire?
DSC 2006, Operations Management, Lucy Chen 3

DSC 2006, Operations Management, Lucy Chen

Example 3 (from NY Times)

To the untrained eye, it seems a mystery. Flights to and from
New York airports have increased less than 5 percent over the past year, but delays have in some cases more than doubled. Consider (very roughly) treating the New York airports as a single queue. Is there any reasonable scenario that would give rise to this type of result?

DSC 2006, Operations Management, Lucy Chen