534 Chopter 'l I Woiring Line

Models

or performance measures for

the system being studied. The
presented include the following: operating

1. Probability that no units are in the system

3. Average number of units i,
,h. ;;;;;i;r"
i Average number of units i,
rh; ,yr;;;
'
4.Average time a unit spends i"
tr,J *uiiing rir"
-i.
Average time a unit siends
ir rh. ,yr;;;
6' probability thar arriving unirs ;x;;;;
wait for service
we also showed how an economic
anarysis of the waiting line
developing a total cosr moder could be .-::,:r*
that incrud;;; J.t urro"iut"d
and the cost required with units waru:-. - _
,.*i.J".lirv.
r.o
As many of the examples.in this
operare ,r,.

ffi".',rto*, the most obvious atr: -rr:

1,ffi#:l"l:,,i:_,*1yt
;v.iltr checkout
grocery
il;i;ily:tomers arrive ror senice ._::r
counter, bank, or.r,"r.rrr.
line models can be appried ,r"*"r"i,;T;""'ii,tJ?.'.r"l.-- ;
ing
lng lor
for connections. J## Ii:^"j,::,
,o ,urr-oili.;;; situations' such as telephon<::ri,
connections, .nuil
mail ora..,
orrt."o rrr^i+i-- *i,r**i*'rr"#ir?
r^,-
#:ffi:r:.lTH:: -,: S
ilffi#jill
rhe Managemenr science
+;iJ Jl
::: ini"^t":,
describes an apprication in
Action,
which a w;;;;; ^iil;;+r,l,lJ
wai ting," o" loil:, -
*;::,':gi.,Tor.v ilTil:J:,:"r'ff,:,-: m
,'lm
voters experience on Election
Day.
moder herped decrease the ,.; , - .,rililrd

The complexity and diversityLf

waiting line
analvsr from finding an existinswuiti;g];" y:t"-rr* found in pracrice oir- ' -, 1r,r
;;d'el that fiffi#jil;app.-. - .,,*:nilnni
.r&

ilrtil;i,1fflml,'l;j;:::*:r;i*.:1*ri,ti#::ilt,fi.hr. _., il* &

ALLOCATING VOTING MACHINES

TO POLLING LOCATIONSX
Inthe2004 U.S. presidential
election, many
voters machines to polling locations withoi
I,,ffi*iX,Hl ::i,"n:::.^,?_.-u,,',h"t.;;x;,, queueing effeos
ii$xi{ffii"I1x l;v,'ffitjH l;tl} l,##tLT,iojt'1:,*,?::.,::
r0oe elections.as
2006 and 200t ^r-^*:^-^ wen u, i, tr,"
-
iol8 ffil#,.,..,Hfl;.iill l,h,;::H;. _,-:,
E. , .* :

elections in the united Kingdom.

voting boorh can result in
i;* ffi#u l"ip o"t"..in. ti" opti,,,ur arocation .,-,
;;;;;trh"r, -. -, r*,,
casting her/tris ballot' " ""t".
Queuei'g *"o"ii ;; F", #ir;r1""Hrarr.
considerei
voting ma;--_-; .r ir,,:

fi:t,:ii?:l?i|o*ilH[.r"'e ir*' *";; u, ,E*"., in this

can be thoughioiu,.o,,o,oers.
contexr a:,:
eueue:.
_:=
:
Lu*rmr:

,.,urq

, yunv or the probrems occurring

elecfions can be linked to
in the u.S. ff:d::,1.i"rfl.ril:xt.mf*..
_:- :ff,
mprJmenr"r"r
ttre rr *r"*, ,*,*rnr. The use i: -.,,,.*,,,,,,,r,
i;:::J;T::f1,ffi.".,H:1.@nej;";i;.,"ri,1', moders "ro-tJrri
,u, .i"ai,"J with grearrl tri:_.:_
;";;','JEHLi,:B;,1r":X
,1,,,
trr"se system; .;;JJ
J.ilrt;Tiil,'J,J:I*'f
.Ufi,?.:,ffi1fll1f:X i:,.' ;*,
fl1liir;Tfrwith the ,yr,".. :Jj,;[t,,mo,iwasa,a,..".0r,igr,
,T^1*lt?.rrr. also resulted in

i _.",
increased voting rimes *i:1
Mosr elecrion boards
onB.rr.r,t]r"r. y?ffffi; fffli}"J]ffl,fifiJf,
y.r,r, .;

initiairr?rm.i"i";ffi c,r"r*rii,*in
_
""r.flngluniversir).ois.
 535
Problems

Gl,{.}SSr\RY
ArrivalrattlThemeannumberofcustomersorunitsarrivinginagivenperiodoftime.
lines have a
alo-wed or when waiting
$}*{rkeelWhenarrivingunitscannotenterthewaitinglinebecausethesystemisfull.
waiting ffi;;;il
Blocked rnits occuiwhen
"an
to describe the
A probabilitv distribution used
:H:,:H;lpr*hatr**ir3. .-riryit.lr:*
line models'
waiting
service time for some !-- rl^l *-., "oelr service has
units that may seek
p+pulati*m The population of customers or
*:initecallimg
a fixed and flnirc value'
First.*:*qr*,first.s*rve*litrCFS}Thequeuedisciplinethatserveswaitingunitsonafirst-
come, first-served basis' - ---:+^ +Ld+ mo\/ (eek se.

lxrsxiir'*cat}ingp*parlrrti*mThepopulationofcustomersorunitsthatmayseekservrce
has no specifled upper
limit' '
--^ -^-^rlal o."vice facili
&{rrltipt*-ser.:t:r*':liti*g}ilteAwaitinglinewithtwoormoreparallelservicefacilities.
of units in the waiting line'
*p*ratirrgr:}rariae'fcrisli*sTheperformancemeasuresforawaitingline,includingthe
number
in the ;;;;;;;e
probability ,rrul no rri.* are
waiting time' and so on'
the average
Fcissenpr*}:latlititydistrilruiiqrnAprobabilitydistributionusedtodescribethe
waiting line models'
arrival pafie; for some
Qu*ue A waiting line'
dealing with waiting lines'
tirc*ry The body of knowledge
Qre*u*iug
serticer:ateThemeannumberofcustomersorunitsthatcanbeservedbyoneservice
of time'
facilitY in a given Period
one service tu:UtO
A waiting line with only
Singte'seruer waitiug Ein* '
lines are computed
period. rt characteristics If waiting
Ste*d.v-s{x{*r-rper*tili*ttrenormat*operation"'T].:::'lineafterithasgonethrough
a startup or transient " "p"."tirg
for steadY-state conditions'
Tramsi*ntpea.i<*tThestartupperiodforawaitingline,occurringbeforethewaitingline
operation'
reaches a nttmal or steady-state

tlRtlBt.F:}'ES
window that allows customers
operates a drive-up teller
t, willow Brook National Bank
rate of 24 customers
tocompletebankffansact'on'Jitnou'gettingoutoftheircars'Onweekdaymornings'
arrivals to the drive-up ,"u",
*inio* o"Ju. uti'oaom' with an arrival
in a nve-minute
of customers that win arrive
::'I;;:f*JH:H:T$"TJJ,!,,,,0".
period? be used to describe the arrival
probability distribution can l'
h" ffi;t that the Poisson
ial and ton1pu*' tr'"
probabilities that exactly 0'
Drocess. Use the *'i"tl;#;;;art

rii*J;T:fi*,J"i'^HJ:*ru::";rnx"::T11"'o"i"anvnve-minu'[e
thatdelavs will occur?
;;."H ffi;il;otaulitv
53d) Chopter 1 i Woiting Line Models

*' In the wilrow BrookNational Bank waiting line

system (see problem l).
service times for the drive-up te[er folow
as:- : .., lu,,,,

service rate of 36 customers per hour, or

an exponential probability distnb-- ,, r

0.6 cusiom"., p.. *i;";;. use the :, : .rrii,rj

probability distribution to answer the following
questions:
what is the probability thar the service time is one
l"
b" what is the probability that the service time is two minute or less?
minutes o, i"..2
c. what is the probability that the service time is more than two minutes?
3' use the single-server drive-up bank teller operation
referred to in problenr
determine the following operating characteristics
for the system:
-- *

&. The probability that no customers are in the system

t]. The average number of customers waiting
{:. The average number of customers in the system
d. The average time a customer spends rvaiting
e. The average time a customer spends in the system
t-' The probability that arriving customers will have to wait for service
4- Use the single-server drive-up bank teller
operation referred to in probre
SEtF determine the probabilities of 0, r,2, and
i customers in the system. *:.-,
probability rhat more than three customers :*
wilr be in the drive_ufi.I., s\s::_ - -LrLr

same time?
5' The reference desk of a university library receives
requests for assistance. A>>- -,: rr..,.
Poisson probability distribution with an
arrivar rate of r0 requests p". t or. can :r _ .
describe the arrival pattern and that service r i

times follow an exponential probab:.-- _ -,

bution with a service rate of l2requests per
hour.
r-. what is the probability that no ,"qu".t. for assistance are in the system?
!]. What is the average number of requests that
will be waiting fo; #vice:
{:. What is the average waiting time in minutes
U.fo." ,e.ri.Jt"ginst
d" what is the average time at the reference desk in
service time)?
minutes (waiting : . :

e.what is the probability rhat anew arrival has

to wait for service?
*' Movies Tonight is a typicar video and DVD
movie rentar outlet for home-vieu.ins , _
ers. During the weeknight evenings, customers
arrive at Movies r"rigr, *lr., __ :-
rate of 1.25 customers per minute. The checkout
per minute. Assume poisson arrivars
.t..t iru"u ,..ri." .*.
of r : _ ,-
-.,
and exponential service times.
What is the probability that no customers are in
:-,
h. What is the average number of customers waiting
the system?
for service?
{. What is the average time a customer waits for
seivi"e to begin?
s' What is the probability that an arriving customer
will have to wait for sen ic;
$. Do the operating characteristics indicate that
an acceptable level of service?
the one-clerk.t ."tout sysrem :
.-,,

7' Speedy oil provides a single-server automobile

oi1 change and lubrication ..-
customers provide an arrivar rate of 2.5 cars
per hour. The service rate is .:- r ,
hour' Assume that arrivals follow a Poisson probability -s
distribution and that ser\.r. : . -
follow an exponential probability distribution.
ii. What is the average number of cars in the system?
i"l'what is the average time that a car waits for the
oii and lubrication service to ..:
r', What is the average rime a car spends in the
system?
il* what is the probability that an anival has to wait
for service?
S' For the Burger Dome single-server waiting line
in Section 11.2,assume that the .-
rate is increased to 1 customer per minrite -
and that the service rate is increa,.::
 Problems 537

1.25 customers per minute. Compute the following operating characteristics for the new
system: Ps, Lq, L, Wr, W, and P*. Does this system provide better or poorer service com-
pared to the original system? Discuss any differences and the reason for these differences.
9. Marty's Barber Shop has one barber. Customers have an arrival rate of 2.2 customers
per hour, and haircuts are given with a service rate of 5 per hour. Use the Poisson arrivals
and exponential service times model to answer the following questions:
a. What is the probability that no units are in the system?
h, What is the probability that one customer is receiving a haircut and no one is waiting?
c. What is the probability that one customer is receiving a haircut and one customer is
waiting?
d. What is the probability that one customer is receiving a haircut and two customers are
waiting?
e. What is the probability that more than two customers are waiting?
f'. What is the average time a customer waits for service?
1t!. Trosper Tire Company decided to hire a new mechanic to handle all tire changes for
customers ordering a new set of tires. Two mechanics applied for the job. One mechanic
has limited experience, can be hired for $14 per hour, and can service an average of three
customers per hour. The other mechanic has several years of experience, can service an
average of four customers per hour, but must be paid $20 per hour. Assume that customers
arrive at the Trosper garuge at the rate of two customers per hour.
a, What are the waiting line operating characteristics using each mechanic, assuming
Poisson arrivals and exponential service times?
h. If the company assigns a customer waiting cost of $30 per hour, which mechanic
provides the lower operating cost?
11. Agan Interior Design provides home and office decorating assistance to its customers. In
SEtF normal operation, an average of 2.5 customers arrive each hour. One design consultant
is available to answer customer questions and make product recommendations. The
consultant averages 10 minutes with each customer.
q. Compute the operating characteristics of the customer waiting line, assuming Poisson
arrivals and exponential service times.
b" Service goals dictate that an arriving qustomer should not wait for service more than an
average of 5 minutes. Is this goal being met? If not, what action do you recommend?
c. If the consultant can reduce the average time spent per customer to 8 minutes, what is
the mean service rate? Will the service goal be met?
12. Pete's Market is a small local grocery store with only one checkout counter. Assume that
shoppers arrive at the checkout lane according to a Poisson probability distribution, with
an arrival rate of 15 customers per hour. The checkout service times follow an exponential
probability distribution, with a service rate of 20 customers per hour.
a- Compute the operating characteristics for this waiting line.
h" If the manager's service goal is to limit the waiting time prior to beginning the check-
out process to no more than five minutes, what recommendations would you provide
regarding the current checkout system?
13" After reviewing the waiting line analysis of Problem 12, the manager of Pete's Market
wants to consider one of the following alternatives for improving service. What alterna-
tive would you recommend? Justify your recommendation.
a. Hire a second person to bag the groceries while the cash register operator is entering
the cost data and collecting money from the customer. With this improved single-
server operation, the service rate could be increased to 30 customers per hour.
I), Hire a second person to operate a second checkout counter. The two-server operation
would have a service rate of 20 customers per hour for each server,
3Jti Chopter
'l
I Woiting Line Models

14. Ocala Software Systems operates a technical support center for its software --. *rr:
If customers have installation or use problems with Ocala software products. :. :rLril
telephone the technical support center and obtain free consultation. Currently. 0-:: rrmrl
ates its support center with one consultant. If the consultant is busy when a re \r : - , 11111"
call arrives, the customer hears a recorded message stating that all consultanr. -:
rently busy with other customers. The customer is then asked to hold and is rc
consultant will provide assistance as soon as possible. The customer calls follou
"
probability distribution, with an arrival rate of flve calls per hour. On average.
7,5 minutes for a consultant to answer a customer's questions. The service time
an exponential probability distribution.
a" What is the service rate in terms of customers per hour?
b. What is the probability that no customers are in the system and the cc:.,- Liillu
is idle?
What is the average number of customers waiting for a consultant?
d. What is the average time a customer waits for a consultant?
e" What is the probability that a customer will have to wait for a consultant?
f. Ocala's customer service department recently received several lette:, *.,:r
customers complaining about the difflculty in obtaining technical suF:, - :
Ocala's customer service guidelines state that no more ihan 35Vo of all cus: :::'
should have to wait for technical support and that the average waiting time ,:, .--
be two minutes or less, does your waiting line analysis indicate that Oca-. .r
is not meeting its customer service guidelines? What action, if any, wo;-: il
recommend?
15. To improve customer service, Ocala Software Systems (see Problem 14) u,-:
investigate the effect of using a second consultant at its technical support center *':..1 H
H
effect would the additional consultant have on customer service? Would two tet'-- -*
consultants enable Ocala to meet its service guidelines (no more than357o of all cusr::,r
having to wait for technical support and an average customer waiting time of two rn- i*
or less)? Discuss.
16. The new Fore and Aft Marina is to be located on the Ohio River near Madison. lni,nr-
Assume that Fore and Aft decides to build a docking facility where one boat at a rinc -r
stop fo( gas and servicing. Assume that arrivals follow a Poisson probability distrib::, -.
with an arrival rate of 5 boats per hour, and that service times follow &r €Xpon--i*
probability distribution, with a service rate of 10 boats per hour. Answer the folli;..:*
questions:
a. What'is the probability that no boats are in the system?
b. What is the average number of boats that will be waiting for service?
r. What is the average time a boat will spend waiting for service?
d. What is the average time a boat will spend at the dock?
*, If you were the manager of Fore and Aft Marina, would you be satisfied u'iti :s
service level your system will be providing? Why or why not?
17. The manager of the Fore and Aft Marina in Problem 16 wants to investigate the pr-:,,
bility of enlarging the docking facility so that two boats can stop for gas and senic:I
simultaneously. Assume that the arrival rate is 5 boats per hour and that the service rare :
"
each server is 10 boats per hour.
a. What is the probability that the boat dock will be idle?
h. What is the average number of boats that will be waiting for service?
t. What is the average time a boat will spend waiting for service?
d" What is the average time a boat will spend at the dock?
e. If you were the manager of Fore and Aft Marina, would you be satisfied with ::=
service level your system will be providing? Why or why not?

E
 f
I
Problems

ts" AllairplanepassengersattheLakeCityRegionalAirportmustpassthroughasecurity I
3ELFffi screening area before proceeding to the boarding arca.
stations available, and the facility manager must decide
The airport has three screening
how ma:ry to have open at any
!

each screening station is

particular time. The service rate for processing passengers at
i

is 5.4 passengers per minute'

purr"ng"., per minute. On Monday morning the arrival rate
'3

follow an exponential distribution

e.iro-" iirut processing times at each screening station
and that arrivals follow a Poisson distribution'
a. Suppose two of the three screening stations are open on Monday morning' Compute
the operating characteristics for the screening facility'
is to limit the average
h. Because of space considerations, the facility manager,s goal
number of passengers waiting in line to l0 or fewer.
will the two-screening-station
system be able to meet the manager's goal?
security screening?
C" What is the average time required for a passenger to paSS through
in Problem 18' When the security
t$ Refer again to the Lake city Regional Airport described
passengers is reduced to 2 passen-
level is raised to high, tir" ,"rui." rate for processing
Suppot" the security level is raised to high on
gers per minute at each screening station.
is 5'4 passengers per minute'
iutonOuy moming. The arrival rate
of passengers waiting in
*. The facility manager's goal is to limit the average number be open in order to satisfy the
line to 10 or fewer. Ho#many screening stations must
manager's goal?
security screening?
t]. what is the average time required for a passenger to pass through
during the winter months'
aII A Florida coastal community experiences a population increase
Canada' Staffing at a local post
with seasonal residents *niringi.o* northern states and
to the relatively low volume of customers in the
offlce is often in a state of cha'nge due
high volume of customers in the winter months' The
summer months and the relativJy
The post offlce counter has a
service rate of a postal clerk is 0.75 customers per minute.
a customer waits in the system
maximum of three workstations. The target maximum time
is flve minutes.
&. For a particular Monday morning in November, the anticipated arrival rate is 1'2
customers per minute. what is the recommended staffing
for this Monday morning?
Show the operating characteristics of the waiting line'
h.AnewpopulationgrowthStudySuggeststhatoverthenexttwoyearsthearrivalrate
can be expected to be 2' 1 customers
at the postal offlce iuring the busy winter months
analysis to make a recommendation to the
post offlce
per minute. Use a waitiig line
manager.
1. Agan,s management would like
?i. Refer to the Agan Interior Design situation in Problem
1

to evaluate two alternatives:

SELF .l]seoneconsultantwithanaverageservicetimeof8minutespercustomer.
.Expandtotwoconsultants,eachof*ho*hasanaverageservicetimeofl0minutes
Per customer.
are paid $16 per hour and the customer waiting
time is valued at $25 per
If the consultants
to the two-consultant system?
hour for waiting timJfrior to service, should Agan expand

-r. Tilliod franchise is considering operating a drive-up window

food-service operation.
probability distribution' with an arrival
Assume that customer arrivals folfuw a Poisson
times follow an exponential probability distribu-
rate of z4cars per hour, and that service
orders at an intercom station at the back of the parking 1ot
tion. Arriving customers place
receive their orders' The following
and then drive to the service window to pay for and
three service alternatives are being considered:
takes the money
" A single-server operation in wirictr one employee fills the order and
is 2 minutes'
from the customer. The average service time for this alternative
sd* Chopter I 1 Woiting Line Models

* A single-server operation in which one employee fills the order whil: . ., ,uu.
.

employee takes the money from the customer. Thei average

service lir:; :t r

alternative is 1.25 minutes.

n A two-server operation with two service windows and two employees. The :
stationed at each window fills the order and takes the money
: y*l
for customers r-:- :-. ,tri
the window. The average service time for this alternative is
2 minutes for ea:: ..-- ,*:
Answer the forlowing questions and recommend one of the design
options.
.r" What is the probability that no cars are in the system?
b" What is the average number of cars waiting foi service?
e. What is the average number of cars in the system?
d. What is the average time a car waits for service?
{." What is the average time in the system?
s. what is the probability that an arriving car wilr have to wait for service?
:3' The following cost information is available for the fast-food
franchise in probler. - -
*
Customer waiting time is valued at $25 per hour to reflect
the fact that waitinq -- ::,,
costly to the fasGfood business.
*
The cost ofeach employee is $6.50 per hour.
*
To account for equ:pment and space, an additional cost of g20
per hour is a[r:: _ _ :r

to each server.
What is the lowest-cost design for the fast_food business?
:j$'
sEtFffi A study of the multiple-server food-service operation at the Red
that the average time between the arrival of a customer
Birds baseball park .:, :
at the food-service counter :--,: ::
"

or her departure with a f,lled order is 10 minutes. During

the game, customers amr.e .- :"r
rate of four per minute' The food-service operation ."qui...L
customer order.
average of 2 minu::, :s k
i3" what is the service rate per server in terms of customers per niinute?
Er" what is the average waiting time in the line prior to pracing
an order?
{. On average, how many customers are in the iood_service
s}stem?
:5. To understand how a.multipre-server waiting rine system
with a shared queue compa---l
a multiple-server waiting line system with a dedicated queue
for each server, reco.:.:*.
the Burger Dome example. Suppose Burger Dome establishes
two seryers but arranse. -jr
restaurant layout so that an arriving customer must decide
which server', qr"u. rlo ., --
Assume that this system equally splits the customer arrivals
so that each server sees .", 1
of the customers. How do,es this system compare with the two-seryer
waiting line sr.=.::
with a shared queue from Section I r.3? compare the average
number of customers \\.tu:: n
average number of customers in the system, average waiting
time, and ur..ug. ,i,r.- .
the system.
?s. Manning Autos operates an automotive service. To complete
their repair work, Mau-
mechanics often need to retrieve parts from the company,s parts
Mechanics arrive at the parts counter at a rate offour pe. iroo..
a.p*-.ri .ou.rl
rir" pu.ts coordinator spe- :.
an average of six minutes with each mechanic, discussing
the parts the mechanic needs
retrieving the parts from inventory. -,:
;t' Currently, Manning has one parts coordinator. On average,
each mechanic waits fc,_-
minutes before the parts coordinator is available to answ-er questions
or retrieve pa--:r
from inventory. Find Lo, w, and,L for this single-server parts
,I3, A trial period with a second parts coordinator showed that,
operation.
on ,r".ug", each mechai: -
waited only one minute before a parts coordinator was
available. Find tn, w, and. L i.:
this two-server parts operation.
f' Ifthe cost of each mechanic is $20 per hour and the cost
of each parts coordinator -,
$12 per hour, is the one-server or the two-server system more economical?
 Problems
5.4i

re-
37 Gubser Welding, Inc., operates a welding service for construction and automotive
by
sEtFmffi pair jobs. Assume that the anival of jobs at the company's
u poi.ro' probability distribution with an arrival rate of two
office
jobs
can
per
be described
8-hour day. The

time required to complete the jobs follows a normal probability distribution, with
a mean

time of 3.2 hours and a standard deviation of 2 hours. Answer the following questions,

assuming that Gubser uses one welder to complete all

jobs:
sl. What is the mean arrival rate in jobs per hour?
i]. What is the mean service rate in jobs per hour?
t, What is the average number of jobs waiting for service?
il. What is the average time a job waits before the welder can begin working on it? it is
*. What is the average number of hours between when a job is received and when
completed?
f. What percentage of the time is Gubser's welder busy?
rate is
;s. Jobs arrive randomly at a particular assembly plant; assume that the arrival
five jobs per hour. Servicelimes (in minutes per job) do not follow the exponential
protauihry distribution. Two proposed designs for the plant's assembly operation are
shown.

Iiervi*e lffurt*
Ilesig* Mean Standard Deviation
A 6.A 3,0
B 6.25 0.6

ii. What is the service rate in jobs per hour for each design?
b. For the service rates in part (a), what design appeals to provide the best or fastest
service rate?
{:. What are the standard deviations of the service times in hours?
d. Use the MlGll modelto compute the operating characteristics for each design'
e, Which design provides the best operating characteristics? Why?
where emer-
The Robotics Manufacturing Company operates an equipment repair business
gency jobs arrive randomly at the rate of three jobs per S-hour day' The company's repair
iacitity is a single-server system operated by a repair technician. The service time varies'
with a mean repair time of 2 hours and a.standard deviation of 1.5 hours. The company's
line
cost of the repair operation is $28 per hour. In the economic analysis of the waiting
repair process'
system, Roboiics uses $35 per hour cost for customers waiting during the
i3. What are the arrival rate and service rate in jobs per hour?
i.$. Show the operating characteristics, including the total cost per hour.
{:" The company is considering purchasing a computer-based equipment repair system
that would enable a constant repair time of 2 hours. For practical purposes' the
stan-
of the computer-based system, the company's cost of the
. dard deviation is 0. Because
would be $32 per hour. The firm's director of operations rejected the
new operation
,"qu"ri for the new system because the hourly cost is $4 higher and the mean repair
time is the same. Do you agree? What effect will the new system have on the waiting
line characteristics of the repair service?
{$. Does paying for the computer-based system to reduce the variation in service time
make economic sense? How much will the new system save the company during a
40-hour workweek?
A large insurance company maintains a central computing system that contains a variety

sE.,m -c{i'
of information about customer
lines to access the customer
accounts. Insurance agents in a six-state area use telephone
information database. Currently, the company's central

r ri ritltliiilililiilillll
ina
-J4+ f Chopter 1 1 Woiting Line Models

computer system allows three users to access the central computer simultanec'*' -*r1rllttfldlt
who attempt to use the system when it is full are denied access; no waiting - * u,,rou SE
Management realizes that with its expanding business, more requests will :c -,".l m

the central information system. Being denied access to the system is inetfl;-. * q,,,{rlllr

as annoying for agents. Access requests follow a Poisson probability distribu-- :, " ::lll

mean of 42 calls per hour. The service rate per line is 20 calls per hour.
it. What is the probability that 0, 1, 2, and3 access lines will be in use?
i]. what is the probability that an agent will be denied access to the systeml
*" What is the average number of access lines in use?
{i. In planning for the future, management wants to be able to handle ,[ : 5---.:- .' ]l|nr

hour; in addition, the probability that an agent will be denied access to rflfl

should be no greater than the value computed in part (b). How many a;-:'
should this system have?

-1X. Mid-West Publishing Company publishes college textbooks. The companl' orE:.j' rutr,l

800 telephone number whereby potential adopters can ask questions about for:" '::-:ltE
texts, request examination copies of texts, and place orders. Currently, two exten.-,i ::rui
are used, with two representatives handling the telephone inquiries. Calls occurn:. ,,:u*r
both extension lines are being used receive a busy signal; no waiting is allowed. E-: -ri
resentative can accommodate an average of 12 calls per hour. The arrival rate is I - . ;r
per hour.
g. How many extension lines should be used if the company wants to handle 90i . i:*
-

calls immediately?
t?, What is the average number of extension lines that will be busy if your recoll:rra"u
tion in part (a) is used?
",
e. What percentage of calls receive a busy signal for the current telephone syster ::
two extension lines?
33, City Cab, Inc., uses two dispatchers to handle requests for service and to dispatch the :,.i::"
The telephone calls that are made to City Cab use a common telephone number. 'v,-:':r
both dispatchers are busy, the caller hears a busy signal; no waiting is allowed. C' ::-
who receive a busy signal can call back later or call another cab service. Assume Ih:' :r
arrival of calls follows a Poisson probability distribution, with a mean of 40 calls per : -,r
and that each dispatcher can handle a mean of 30 calls per hour.
$. What percentage of time are both-dispatchers idle?
b. What percentage of time are both dispatchers busy?
*. What is the probability that callers will receive a busy signal if two, three, or :,,-:
dispatchers are used?
d. If management wants no more than l2%o of the callers to receive a busy signal. h - ;
many dispatchers should be used?
adding i;:
-q.3. Kolkmeyer Manufacturing Company (see Section 11.9) is considering
machines to its manufacturing operation. This addition will bring the number ::
machines to eight. The president of Kolkmeyer asked for a study of the need to adc .
second employee to the repair operation. The arrival rate is 0.05 machines per hour f-.
each machine, and the service rate for each individual assigned to the repair operation ::
0.50 machines per hour.
i!" Compute the operating characteristics if the company retains the
repair operation.
h. Compute the operating characteristics if a second employee is added to the machin;
repair operation.
{:, Each employee is paid $20 per hour. Machine downtime is valued at $80 per hour.
From an economic point of view, should one or two employees handle the machine
repair operation? Explain.
 543
Cose Problem I Regionol Airlines

an anivat rate.of v+o

-34.Fiveadministrativeassistantsuseanoffice-copier'Theaveragetimebetweenarrivalsfor
: 0'025 arriv-
each assistant i. 40 ;;;;;r, which is
"qoirur'"ni,o * tt'" copier is 5 minutes' which is
sELFmm als per minute' Th; ;;;;;ime each
^'i"*;;;;;1"
-MlMll
model with a finite
or V' : 0'20 p";i;;;;' ut"
tt'e
equivalent to u tu*
'"t'i""
population to determine the following:
"Jfirg
-. f"n" piobability that the copier is idle
-^,^+^-^i-in the waiting li
rhc waitins line
t]. The average 'il;;; iillnito*iut assistants copier
assistants at the
e. The average;;;; oi uo*initoutive waiting fo1 the copier
tl' The average '*";; u*ti'tunt spends the copier
e. The average tit" u' assistant spends at

t',DuringanS-hourday'howmany^mmutesdoesanassistantspendatthecopier?How
muchofthistimeiswaitingtime? .,,-r second copier? ^^-:--?Ewnl,'
Explain'
g. Should -unur""'l*t ""rrt-f* p*"rtasing a times
The trucks arrive at random
Depart*"i, ,,or" operates a fleeit of 10 trucks. or to have
_15. Schips
ie loaded with new deliveries
,n" uu, ;;il;;".",. truck dockio the truck
throughout
incoming ,t ip*"rj,r?.o* tt ",Lgionur
*rr"h;;;;ioud"d. B*t ,*ck returnsis to 0'25 trucks
rate per truck
per 8-hour auy. irtu., the airival
dock for service two times and exponential
p", ri"* u-irg the Poisson arrivals
per hour. Th" .";;;'.;ir'+i*"0, 10 tro"k'' determine the following
service times moi'e'iwil;
hJ;";nits p;;;;;i
operating characteristics
the^ t-,nlr
truck dock
il. fir" ptoUuUifiiy 'f'ut no trucks areat for
^ock
loading/unloading
b. Th" a'"tugt n';il;;tks waiting
truck dock area
{:. The average number of trucks in the
d. fi," u'"'ug" ti"t" btfo'" loading/unloading begins
"^lti*og
each truck and
the cost is $50 per hour ror
;, ffi"1',"Jffi ffil;'"H"#il:.'J,iii1
server could be-
operarion where rhe. second
; ffiffi:lT',T;'f#"Lti:tck,
operatedf"'';;;i*nutS:on"t;il';;;muctrwoutatheaveragenumberof
truckswaitingforloading/unlouoi,gr,uu"tobereducedtomakethetwo-servertruck
dock economically feasible? ^^-i^r tnr
!r'shouldthecompanyconsiderexpandingtothetwo-Sefvertruckdock?Explain'

Case Problem 1 Ke#l*NAg' Atlt['lNES

agent occul ran-
RegionalAirlinesisestablishinganewtelephoneSystemforhandlingflightreservations.
.u1r3. to the reservation
During m" rooo o.*. io rr'ooi.*' .i*" |".ioa, data show that
avefage of one call i.is".irutes. Historical service time waiting line
domly at an
"u".v
un uu"rur"'oi
g;i.rr"t with each customer' The for
a reservation agent spends times appear reasonable
service
arrivals
model assumptions of Poisson "ri*p"t*tial
,n"';]"?l:T odeves that offering an efncient
terephone reserva-
r,Til::}"l;Il!1T,".,
relations'
tionsystemisanimportantpartofdstablishinganimageasa,service.orientedairline.Ifthe
wi"ll establish good customer
R"cl';;;irli*t
syst"* i, proplrry'r"*pir*.ir"a, if the telephone reservation system
in the long run will increase b"ri;;. H"wever'
which
have difficulty contacting an
ag:nl' a negative
ouzrtoaa"a and cortomers
is frequently The cost of a tick6t reservation
un
customer reaction may lead,o "u"n*uii"t. "rL*i"ess'
to provide good service' but
it does not
agent is g20 per hour. Thus, *unug"*l*^*-" by using more
of or".rturnng^ti," teteptrone-res"*utio, operation
want to ln.or'ii" cost
agents than necessary'
544 Chopter I I Woiting Line Models

At a planning meeting, Regional's management team agreed that an accepL:. ::dir"

tomer service goal is t0 answer at least 85Vo of the incoming calls immediatell'
I'll:--q;
out that :E rruoel
the planning mieting, Regional's vice president of administration pointed
show that the average service rate for an agent is faster than the average arrival ra- :r nuu
telephone calls. The vice president's conclusion was that personnel costs could bt 'rttt'
mizeO Uy using one agent and that the single agent should be able to handle the tel-n:uimu

reservations una tU[ have some idle time. The vice president of marketing resti:; [@i
importance of customer service and expressed support for at least two reservation €flu'
The current telephone reservation system design does not allow callers to wait- Ci'*:
who attempt to reach a reservation agent when all agents are occupied receive a busl tryur"
and are blocked from the system. A representative from the telephone company sug;'1i85{l
that Regional Airlines consider an expanded system that accommodates waiting' -: mu
expanded System, when a customer calls and all agents are busy, a recorded messas:
i,*'tltl

the customer that the call is being held in the order received and that an agent *- tt
can stay on the line and listen to backgroun6l mu5ic *:r"Mi
available shortly. The customer
waiting for an agent. Regional's management will need more information before s'*.l-j:'mq
to the expanded sYstem'

Managerial RePort
Prepare a managerial report for Regional Airlines analyzing the telephone resen=rrm
,yri"-. Evaluate both the system that does not allow waiting and the expanded systerL :iri&
allows waiting. Include the following information in your report:
L A detailed analysis of the operating characteristics of the reservation system ;"m
one agent as proposed by the vice president of administration. What is your re-':u-
mendation concerning a single-agent system?
?. A detailed analysis of the operating characteristips of the reservation rtr r
tem based on your recommendation regarding the number of agents Regic:,L
' should use'
3. A detailed analysis of the advantages or disadvantages of the expanded s)'ster:"
Discuss the number of waiting callers the expanded system would need ::
accommodate.
4. This report represents a pilot study of the reservation system for the 10:00 'r.-tr"
to 11:00 A.M. time period during which an average of one call arrives esc-'
3.75 minutes; however, the arrival rate of incoming calls is expected to change frc':
hour to hour. Describe how your waiting line analysis could be used to devei'-
a ticket agent staffing plan that would enable the company to provide differe=
levels of ,iuffing for the ticket reservation system at different times during the da-'
Indicate the information that you would need to develop this staffing plan.

Case Problem 2 {]trrF'e{"]}i lIQti{Fe{frNT' INC.

Office Equipment, Inc. (OEI), leases automatic mailing machines to business customet:
in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company built its success on a reputation of providing timeli
maintenance and repair service. Each OEI service contract states that a service techniciar
will arrive at a customer's business site within an average of three hours from the time tha:
the customer notifies OEI of an equipment problem.
 545
Cose Problem 2 Office Equipment, lnc'

Currently'oElhasl0customerswithservicecontracts.oneservicetechnicianisre.
service records
sponsible for handling ai .erric" calls. A statistical analysis of historical
indicatesthatacustom".r"oo"rtraservicecallatanaveragerateofonecallper50hours
when a customer calls for service, it
of operation. r tire serviceLhnician is -available
takesthetechniciananaverageoflhouroftraveltimetoreachthecustomer'sofficeand
if the service techni-
of i.5 hours [lio*pt"t" the repair service. However,
an average
cianisbusywithanothercustomerwhenanewcustomercallsforservice,thetechnician
completesthecurrent,".,i."callandanyotherwaitingservicecallsbeforeresponding
tothenewservicecalt.Insuchcases,oncethetechnicianisfreefromallexistingservice
commitments,thetechniciantakesanaverageoflhouroftraveltimetoreachthenew The cost of
1.5 hours to complete the repair service.
ctrstorner,s office and an average cf and service time) for
The downtime cost (wait time
the service technician is $80 per hour'
customers is $100 Per hour'
its busirress. within one vear, oEr projects that it will
ffit:Jli#,lr"j"**"u :+ .,,ill have
hq\/c 30
nuu""i6 :"'ffiil:;';ili; ;;;;'' -t^^.^
oEI projects tu^+ it.will
that- clrsfomefs.
?O customers'
-;^- ^^- L^-zna tho 1o evistins customers.
ffi ffi ,dt""rJ"uinuio'"'o'i".t""t'1i'iun;1lT*",:::::il:':T,.i:"-T:,i::
#iffi ffi ;J"":H#;;;;;;i;';:':':;i:::'iT:'::::f T:'1".1:1?:;#ff;
rn a recent pranning
ilff:::IH:H ffi;##h";il"ffi "*,",,".
base expands.
:: ^ ^^^^*,1 oo*.rina technician
HlHf,.i:T;i#; made ;",ager 1P'on'1r 9 *:": ::::* ::i::*Tll':i1
technician when oEI reaches
Tillihillffiffi:.ffi:?;;il;;iu i,i,o service
*"*ng a final decision, management would like
r-^ ^- ^-^lrroic nf
an analvsis of
#:Xrffi::J:'i'J# interesteo in meeting the average tl"raa-hnttf
three-hour
lliHl#l;r"ffi"rlosiir-p*ticularry
possible total cost'
rvaiting time guarantee at the lowest

t\,{axt*gerial RePcrt
Develop a managerial report summ anzing.v"li111ll::"::::",.:,:::t:T::;Ti::}j'r?
ilr:lH:"H#;ffi;,i"!ii,,,eir,",.,*ulrortechnicians:",1"":::l^:i:i:Ti"::*:
rnclude a discussion of the following
ffffrl::trffii1i", o", ,"u.h", 30 customers.
issues in Your report:
per hour?
L What is the arrival rate for each customer
1 Whatistheservicerateintermsofthenumberofct}stomersperhour?Notethatthe
averagetraveltimeorrt,oo,u""omespartoftheservicetimebecausethetimethat
theservicetechniciani'u,'vt,",orirrgaservicecallincludesthetraveltimeplus
the time required to complete the repair' . :-- - customers
^..^+^ff are rn
arriving
*Jring line models lenerally assxme that the the oEI situation in light of the
the same location as the"service facility.
Discuss
a service technician travels an average
of t hour to reach each customer'
fact that
Howshouldthetraveltimeandthewaitingtimepredictedby.thewaitingline
time?
customer waiting
model be combined to determine the total
oElissatisfiedthatoneservicetechniciancanhandlethel0existingcustomers.
the following information:
usela waiting line model to determine
. Probability that no customers are in the system
- Ar".ug" number of customers in the waiting line
* Average number of customers in the system
service technician arrives
* Average time a customer waits until the
machine is back in operation
* Average time a customer waits until the
546 Chopter I I Woiting Line Models

, Probability that a customer will have to wait more than one hour for the <:- ull
technician to arive
* The total cost per hour for the service operation
Do you agree with OEI management that one technician can meet the avera5. --r:Y
hour service call guarantee? Explain.
5. What is your recommendation for the number of service technicians to h=:
-n:ruml

OEI expands to 20 customers? Use the information that you developed in ::: "-r.
to justify your answer. Itn
ij. What is your recornmendation for the number of senrice technicians to hire *:sm
OEI expands to 30 customers? Lrse the information that you developed in l= -
to justify your answer.
?. What are the annual savings of your recommendation in part (6) comp.=:; I
the planning committee's proposal that 30 customers will require three ..'- ;u
technicians? Assume 250 days of operation per year.