Queuing Theory

Intro to Management Science

Introduction
• Places we wait in line...
- Stores
- Hotels
- Post offices
- Banks
- Traffic lights
- Restaurants
- Airports
- Theme parks
- On the phone
• Waiting lines do not always contain people...
- Returned videos
- Subassemblies in a manufacturing plant
- Electronic message on the Internet
Overview
• Significant amount of time spent in waiting lines by people, products, etc.

• Providing quick service is an important aspect of quality customer service.

• The basis of waiting line analysis is the trade-off between the cost of
improving service and the costs associated with making customers wait.

• Queuing analysis is a probabilistic form of analysis.

• The results are referred to as operating characteristics.

Elements of Waiting Line Analysis
• Waiting lines form because people or things arrive at a service faster
than they can be served.

• Most operations have sufficient server capacity to handle customers

in the long run.

• Customers however, do not arrive at a constant rate nor are they

served in an equal amount of time.
Elements of Waiting Line Analysis
• Waiting lines are continually increasing and decreasing in length and
approach an average rate of customer arrivals and an average service
time, in the long run.

• Decisions concerning the management of waiting lines are based on

these averages for customer arrivals and service times.

• They are used in formulas to compute operating characteristics of the

system which in turn form the basis of decision making.
The Purpose of Queuing Models

• Queuing models are used to:

• describe the behavior of queuing systems

• determine the level of service to provide

• evaluate alternate configurations for providing service

Common Queuing System Configurations

𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟
𝐴𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 ... 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠
𝑊𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟

𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟
𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟 1 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠
𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟
𝐴𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 ...
𝑊𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟 2 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠
𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟
𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟 3 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠
Common Queuing System Configurations

𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟
... 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠
𝑊𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟 1

𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟
𝐴𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 ... 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠
𝑊𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟 2

... 𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟
𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠
𝑊𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟 3
Characteristics of Queuing Systems
• The Arrival Process
• Arrival rate - the manner in which customers arrive at the system for
service.
• Arrivals are often described by a Poisson random variable:

𝜆𝑥 𝑒 −𝜆
𝑃 𝑥 = , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 = 0,1,2, …
𝑥!

 where 𝜆 is the arrival rate (e.g., calls arrive at a rate of 5 per hour)
Characteristics of Queuing Systems:

• The Service Process

• Service time - the amount of time a customer spends receiving
service (not including time in the queue)
• Service times are often described by an Exponential random variable:
𝑡2

𝑃 𝑡1 ≤ 𝑇 ≤ 𝑡2 = 𝜇𝑒 −𝜇𝑥 𝑑𝑥 = 𝑒 −𝑢𝑡1 − 𝑒 −𝑢𝑡2 , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡1 ≤ 𝑡2

𝑡1
• where 𝜇 is the service rate (e.g., calls can be serviced at a rate of 𝜇 = 7 per hour)
• The average service time is 1/𝜇 →
Comment

• If arrivals follow a Poisson distribution with mean 𝜆 inter arrival

times follow an exponential distribution with mean 1/𝜆
• Example
• Assume calls arrive according to a Poisson distribution with mean 𝜆 = 5 per hour
• Inter arrivals follow an exponential distribution with mean 1/5 = 0.2 per hour
• On average, calls arrive every 0.2 hours or every 12 minutes

• The exponential distribution exhibits the Markovian (memoryless)

property
Kendall Notation
• Queuing systems are described by 3 parameters: 1/2/3
• 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 1
• 𝑀 = 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 − 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠
• 𝐷 = 𝐷𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 − 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠
• 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 2
• 𝑀 = 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠
• 𝐺 = 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠
• 𝐷 = 𝐷𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠
• 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 3
• 𝐴 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠
• Examples:
• 𝑀/𝑀/1 𝑀/𝐺/2
Topics

• The Single-Server Waiting Line System

• Undefined and Constant Service Times

• Finite Queue Length

• Finite Calling Problem

• The Multiple-Server Waiting Line

Single Server Waiting Line System M/M/1
• Single Server Model
• 𝐴𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠:
• An infinite calling population
• A first-come, first-served queue discipline
• Poisson arrival rate
• Exponential service times
• 𝑆𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑠:
• 𝜆 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑠/𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑)
• 𝜇 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑/𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑)
• Customers must be served faster than they arrive (𝜆 < 𝜇) or an infinitely
large queue will build up.
Single Server Waiting Line System
• Basic Single-Server Queuing Formulas
• 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑜 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚:

• 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚:

• 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚: 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒:

Single Server Waiting Line System
• Basic Single-Server Queuing Formulas
• 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑:

• 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑢𝑒:

• 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑦 (𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟): U  



• 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑑𝑙𝑒: I 1U 1 


Single Server Waiting Line System
• Operating Characteristics for Fast Shop Market
• 𝜆 = 24 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟
• 𝜇 = 30 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡

P0  1 
 


   (1 - 24/30)


 .20 probability of no customers in the system

L    24/(30 - 24)  4 customers on the avg in the system

 
Single Server Waiting Line System
• Operating Characteristics for Fast Shop Market
• 𝜆 = 24 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟
• 𝜇 = 30 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡

Lq    2
     

24 2 /[30 30 − 24 = 3.2

3.2 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒

Single Server Waiting Line System

W  1  L  1/[30 -24]
  
 0.167 hour (10 min) avg time in the system per customer

Wq    24/[30(30 -24)]
     
 0.133 hour (8 min) avg time in the waiting line

U 
  24/30
 .80 probability server busy, 0.20 probability server will be idle
Single Server Waiting Line System
• Effect of Operating Characteristics
• Manager wishes to test several 𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 for reducing customer waiting
time:
• 𝐴𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑢𝑝 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠
• 𝐴𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟.

• 𝐴𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 1:
• Addition of an employee (raises service rate from 𝜇 = 30 𝑡𝑜 𝜇 = 40 customers per
hour).
• Cost $150 per week, avoids loss of $75 per week for each minute of reduced customer
waiting time.
Single Server Waiting Line System
• Effect of Operating Characteristics
• Manager wishes to test several 𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 for reducing customer waiting
time:
• 𝐴𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑢𝑝 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠

• 𝐴𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 1:
• System operating characteristics with new parameters:
• 𝑃0 = 0.40 probability of no customers in the system
• 𝐿 = 1.5 customers on the average in the queuing system
Single Server Waiting Line System
• Effect of Operating Characteristics
• System operating characteristics with new parameters (continued):
• 𝐿𝑞 = 0.90 customer on the average in the waiting line

• 𝑊 = 0.063 hour average time in the system per customer

• 𝑊𝑞 = 0.038 hour average time in the waiting line per customer

• 𝑈 = 0.60 probability that server is busy and customer must wait

• 𝐼 = 0.40 probability that server is available

Average customer waiting time reduced from 8 𝑡𝑜 2.25 minutes worth $431.25 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘.
Single Server Waiting Line System
• Effect of Operating Characteristics
• 𝐴𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 2:
• Addition of a new checkout counter ($6,000 plus $200 per week for additional cashier)
•  = 24/2 = 12 customers per hour per checkout counter
•  = 30 customers per hour at each counter

• 𝑆𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠:

• 𝑃𝑜 = .60 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑜 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚
• 𝐿 = 0.67 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚
• 𝐿𝑞 = 0.27 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒
Single Server Waiting Line System
• Effect of Operating Characteristics
• 𝐴𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 2:
• Addition of a new checkout counter ($6,000 plus $200 per week for additional cashier)
•  = 24/2 = 12 customers per hour per checkout counter
•  = 30 customers per hour at each counter

• 𝑆𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠:

• 𝑊 = 0.055 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚
• 𝑊𝑞 = 0.022 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒
• 𝑈 = 0.40 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡
• 𝐼 = 0.60 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑑𝑙𝑒
Single Server Waiting Line System
• Effect of Operating Characteristics
• 𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ $500 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘 − $200

= $300 𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘

• 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 $6,000 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 2 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒 $300 − 281.25

= $18.75 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘

Single Server Waiting Line System
Single Server Waiting Line System
Single-Server Waiting Line System
Undefined and Constant Service Times
 Constant, rather than exponentially distributed service times, occur

with machinery and automated equipment

 Constant service times are a special case of the single-server model

with undefined service times

Single-Server Waiting Line System
Undefined and Constant Service Times
• 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑠:
P0 1 


Lq
Wq 


2
     /  
2 2  

Lq   
21  /  
Single-Server Waiting Line System
Undefined and Constant Service Times
• 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑠:

W Wq  
1

L  Lq  


U 

Single-Server Waiting Line System
Undefined Service Times Example

• Single fax machine; arrival rate of 20 users per hour,

𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑; 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 with mean

of 2 minutes, standard deviation of 4 minutes

Single-Server Waiting Line System
Undefined Service Times Example
• 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠:

P0 1 
 1 20  0.33 probability that machine not in use
30
2 2 2  2
   /  
2 2   


20
 1/15    20/30 
 
Lq    
     
21  /   21 20/30 
 3.33 employees waiting in line
Single-Server Waiting Line System
Undefined Service Times Example
• 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠:

L  Lq  
  3.33  (20/30)
 4.0 employees in line and using the machine
Single-Server Waiting Line System
Undefined Service Times Example
• 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠

Lq 3.33
Wq    0.1665 hour  10 minutes waiting time
 20
W Wq  
1  0.1665  1  0.1998 hour
30
 12 minutes in the system

U  
 30
20  67% machine utilization
Single-Server Waiting Line System
Constant Service Times Formulas
• In the constant service time model there is no variability in service times; 𝜎 = 0
• Substituting 𝜎 = 0 into equations:

2 2 2
     /    0    /  
2 2   2 2  
  /  
 
2
Lq      
21  /   21  /   21  /   2     

• All remaining formulas are the same as the single-server formulas.

Single-Server Waiting Line System
Constant Service Times Example
• Car wash servicing one car at a time; constant service time of 4.5 minutes; arrival

rate of customers of 10 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 (𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑)

• Determine average length of waiting line and average waiting time

 = 10 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟, 𝜇 = 60/4.5 = 13.3 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

Single-Server Waiting Line System
Constant Service Times Example
• 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠

Lq  2
2 (   )
(10) 2
  1.14 cars waiting
2(13.3)(13.3 10)
Lq 1.14
Wq  
 10
 0.114 hour or 6.84 minutes waiting time
Finite Queue Length
• In a finite queue, the length of the queue is limited.
• Operating characteristics, where 𝑀 is the maximum number in the system:

P0  1  / 
1 ( /  )M 1
n
Pn  (P ) 
 

0 


for n  M
 

 /  ( M 1)( /  ) M 1
L 
1  /  1 ( /  )M 1

Lq  L   (1PM )
Finite Queue Length
• In a finite queue, the length of the queue is limited.
• Operating characteristics, where 𝑀 is the maximum number in the system:

W L
(1 PM )

Wq W  1
Finite Queue Length Example
 Metro Quick Lube single bay service; space for one vehicle in service and three
waiting for service; mean time between arrivals of customers is 3 minutes; mean
service time is 2 minutes; both inter-arrival times and service times are
exponentially distributed; maximum number of vehicles in the system equals 4.

 Operating characteristics for  = 𝟐𝟎, 𝝁 = 𝟑𝟎, 𝑴 = 𝟒:

Finite Queue Length Example
• 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠

P0 1  / 
1 ( /  )M 1
 1 20/30  0.38 probability that system is empty
1 (20/30)5
nM
PM  (P ) 
 

0 

 



 
4
 (.38) 20  0.076 probability that system is full




 30
Finite Queue Length Example
• 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑢𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠:
M 1
L   /   (M 1)( /  )
1  /  1 ( /  )M 1
5
L  20/30  (5)(20/30)  1.24 cars in the system
1 20/30 1 (20/30)5

Lq  L   (1

PM ) 1.24  20(1.076)  0.62 cars waiting
30

W L  1.24  0.067 hours waiting in the system

 (1 PM ) 20(1.076)

Wq W  
1  0.067  1  0.033 hour waiting in line
30
Finite Calling Population
• In a finite calling population there is a limited number of potential customers that
can call on the system.

• Operating characteristics for system with 𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 and

𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠: P0  1
n
N N !   
 ( N  n)!  
n0  

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑁 = 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛 = 1,2, … , 𝑁

n
Pn  N ! 
 
 
  P
( N  n)!  0
Finite Calling Population
• Operating characteristics for system with 𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 and
𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠:

Lq  N  
  
 (1 P )


  0

L  Lq  (1 P0 )
Lq
Wq 
( N  L)
W Wq   1
Finite Calling Population Example
• Wheelco Manufacturing Company has 20 machines, each machine operates at an
average of 200 hours before breaking down; average time to repair is 3.6 hours;
breakdown rate is 𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑, service time is 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑.
The company has one senior repair person and an assistant.

• They repair the machines in the same order in which they break (𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 − 𝑖𝑛, 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 −
𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑢𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒)

• The company would like an analysis of machine idle time due to breakdowns to
determine 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑓𝑓 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡?
Finite Calling Population Example

 = 1/200 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 = .005 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

 = 1/3.6 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 = .2778 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

𝑁 = 20 𝑚𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠
Finite Calling Population Example
• 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠

P0  1
n  0.652
20 20! 
.005 
 (20  n)! .2778 
n0  

Lq  20  .005 .2778 1.652   0.169 machines waiting

.005

L  .169  (1.652)  0.520 machines in the system

Finite Calling Population Example
• 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠

Wq  .169 1.74 hours waiting for repair

(20 .520)(.005)

W 1.74  1  5.33 hours in the system

.2778
Additional Types of Queuing Systems
• Other items contributing to queuing systems:
• Systems in which customers balk from entering system, or leave the line
• Servers who provide service in other than first-come, first-served
manner
• Service times that are not exponentially distributed or are undefined or
constant
• Arrival rates that are not Poisson distributed
• Jockeying (i.e., moving between queues)
Multiple-Server Waiting Line
 Multiple-Server Waiting Line

 In multiple-server models, two or more independent servers in parallel serve a

single waiting line

Multiple-Server Waiting Line Queuing
Formulas
 Assumptions:

− First-come first-served queue discipline

− Poisson arrivals, exponential service times

− Infinite calling population

Multiple-Server Waiting Line Queuing
Formulas
 Parameter definitions:

−  = arrival rate (average number of arrivals per time period)

−  = the service rate (average number served per time period) per
server (channel)

− c = number of servers

− c  = mean effective service rate for the system (must exceed arrival
rate)
Multiple-Server Waiting Line Queuing
Formulas
P0   1  probability no customers in system
 nc1 1    n
    c
 

c
  
 n!     c!    c   

1 

 n0       


n
Pn  1  P for n  c



c!cnc  0 






n
Pn  1n 
 

 P0 for n  c  probability of n customers in system

 
 
 
 

L  ( /  )c
P0     average customers in the system
(c 1)!(c   ) 2 

W  L  average time customer spends in the system


Multiple-Server Waiting Line Queuing
Formulas

Lq  L  
  average number of customers in the queue
Lq
Wq W     average time customer is in the queue
1

c
Pw  1 



 c P  probability customer must wait for service
c!  c   0






Multiple-Server Waiting Line at a
Department Store Example
• Data:

•  = 10,

•  = 4,

•𝑐 = 3
Multiple-Server Waiting Line Biggs
Department Store Example
P0   1

  
0  
1 
2
  
3 3(4)

 1 10   1 10   1 10    1 10
    

 0! 4  1! 4  2! 4   3! 4 3(4) 10















 

 .045 probability of no customers

(10 )(4 )(10 / 4)3

L (.045) 10
(3 1)![3(4) 10]2 4

 6 customers on average in service department

W  6  0.60 hour average customer time in the service department

10
Multiple-Server Waiting Line Biggs
Department Store Example
Lq  6 10
4
 3.5 customers on the average waiting to be served

W q  3 .5
10
 0.35 hour average waiting time in line per customer


3 3(4)

Pw  1 10
 
(.045)
3! 4 3(4) 10







 .703 probability customer must wait for service

Example Problem
 Citizens Northern Savings Bank loan officer interviews customers
 Customer arrival rate of 4 per hour, Poisson distributed; officer interview service
time of 12 minutes per customer

− Determine operating characteristics for this system

− Additional officer creating a multiple-server queuing system with two

channels. Determine operating characteristics for this system

Example Problem Solution
 Solution:
Step 1: Determine Operating Characteristics for the Single-Server System

−  = 4 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒,

−  = 5 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑

− 𝑃𝑜 = (1 −  / ) = ( 1 – 4 / 5) = .20 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑜 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚

− 𝐿 = 𝜆 / (𝜇 − 𝜆) = 4 / (5 − 4) = 4 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚

− 𝐿𝑞 = 2 / ( − ) = 42 / 5(5 − 4) = 3.2 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒

Example Problem Solution

• 𝑊 = 1 / (𝜇 − 𝜆) = 1 / (5 − 4) = 1 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚

• 𝑊𝑞 =  / (𝑢 − 𝜆) = 4 / 5(5 − 4) =

0.80 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 (48 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠) 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒

• 𝑃𝑤 =  /  = 4 / 5 =

.80 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡
Example Problem Solution
Step 2:
Determine the Operating Characteristics for the Multiple Server System

•  = 4 customers per hour arrive

•  = 5 customers per hour served

• c = 2 servers
Example Problem Solution

P0   1
n  c 1  
  n 
 c  c
 




1 
  1 
 n!    c!    c   
 n0

  

   

 .429 probability no customers in system

L  ( /  )c
P0   
(c 1)!(c   )2 

 0.952 average number of customers in the system

Example Problem Solution
Lq  L  

 0.152 average number of customers in the queue
Lq
Wq W   
1

 0.038 hour average time customer is in the queue
c c
Pw  1 
 
 
 Po

c!




c  
 .229 probability customer must wait for service
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