r:,::l:t r iri ir ,:,r i' ,r1rit.
::,i
r::i,!
&Vm{€€sag Limm tu€*d*Bs
CONTENTS
1I.1 STRUCTURE OFA WAITING
LINE SYSTEM
Single-Server Waiting Line
Distribution of Arrivals
Distribution of Service Times
Queue Discipline
Steady-State Operation
I1.2 SINGLE.SERVER WAITING
LINEMODELWITH
POISSON ARRIVALS AND
EXPONENTIAL SERVICE
TIMES
Operati ng Characteri stics
Operating Characteristics for the
Burger Dome Problem
Managers' Use of Waiting Line
Models
Improving the Waiting Line
Operation
Excel Solution of Waiting Line
Model
11.:1 MULTIPLE-SERVER
WAITING LINE MODEL WITH
POISSON ARRIVALS AND
EXPONENTIAL SERVICE TIMES
Operati ng Characteristics
Operating Characteristics for the
Burger Dome Problem
11.4 SOME GENERAL
RELATIONSHIPS FOR \\ : -'
LINE MODELS
11.5 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS t:
WAITINGLINES
11.6 OTHER WAITING LINE
MODELS
11.7 SINGLE-SERVETI WAITD" -
LINE MODEL WITH POIS'
ARRIVALS AND ARBITR] i
SERVICE TIMES
Operating Characteristics i. : -".'
M/GIIModel
Constant Service Times
11.8 MULTIPLE-SERVER IICI] :.-
WITH POISSON ARRN 1-:
ARBITRARY SERVICE T.]. :
AND NO WAITING LI\E
Operating Characteristic' : - .'
M/G/k Model with Bio; r.. :
Customers Cleared
11.9 WAITING LINE MODELS
WITH FINITE CALLING
POPULATIONS
Operating Characieristic. : -
M/Mll Model with a Fir,::.
Calling Population
 l*r-j

Woiting Line Models

T::l'i"'l:Hil:::..}1:1""*:'J,""T1["":",i:,'Hfrf,J#il;:"$1il*:ff
:*ffi
"l;':il*ir#i*Id'*,"'s*fi
,ffi ::':,-:
L.li.*:;l'::,i$is:::,ffi
to determine wavs
t9 kSen -11#H;rriuno uno make better
decisions
;l;;r;;r;;ed developed to help
mana-
Models have been
'-ttdlry#:::f*rum*"dlii:i
concerningtr,"op"'utio''i;;;"fi

H*i*it}I;;1l.T':*,;:r;fi {ifffi t*.',ffi

^'"d'sti}i::'ilf;
xi}":;"J$r:;
c at i o n s in a
;";;;;;J, { i:queu:3;,?'Jff;ilt ffi ,T$l lffi;;; i c at ed' w it h ap p Ii

calls. Since then'

liie situations' and relationships
that tu:
'b'
wide variety of waitins
*'"'r;;;; rical formulas
or'math-emattc::1;##;;;'*"u""'iror a waiting
tin" *oalt' consist inear
tn" In"'"Ut* *"11t1::*tcs (performance
used to determine these:
of"interest include
[ne. operating "t'*u"'JiJcs the sysrcm is idle)
system (i'e''
that no'*' i'" t:
in the waiting line
1' The probability :"
waiting line
2. The average "l*il"' "r "its in the system (the number ot un its in the
l. The average ffi;; units"i '"i"
being serv'ed)
plus the
"iti"f the waiting line
plus the service time)
4. The average ffi;;;u *enJs.in
5- rhe u"'u"ii*" ' ""ii**g"'i: untt il'-t:IJ:Tt:l'i:H':'I'
o it " ptu"uility that an arriving
Managerswhohavesuchinformati"l1:betterab'le':-*"decisionsthatbalance
*::::t:tJiiltt^[1][
desirabre service
*"l, "'"t'" describes'how
i1"']1"";t Citibank'
Science in Actton"n
The Management
X"""Ti:
,#;;',*;*JiT".,,"i;e,+ffi
citv banking
i.1;;tl*I*:lffil;Sf
;";;;;;
'".t
New York """'*;i;';;iJm'm fir't-''New
a chief tiT o' tt"i:;nighbott'ooo york City. In ad-
""'"t* ntrru of line and c
or
op
Foods Market in
the nt de v e I

It*Nii"t "'*hole mode rrey*:ixl,t*"Jt'#T:;::;*::::*me

w aitin g lin"*-@*H:iili.i;r.
r,ne r
tion, a waiting
dition,
di *"ai.al emergencies'
uno
resP
policies to imProve

AT CITIBANK*
ATMWAITING TIMES
U S^'^:itibankinC
as averase nu 1be1 :t :,-T:"J:;':;:":1' #tlTtl
franchise :l line. average.ti.Tt .? lTi
The New York City Each .urtom., hut
*o': :;";'";io-u*rtine"""n-s' probabilitv ,n"t ^.iirrr!
operates teller and the il;;;;todetermine, the
t""t"t'pto"J"""ln"-o' ryt:-1y'T*tc to wait wou[ fe]1 ::ffir;il';t eact' banking
of performing a variety to rec'
"
.,.'*rd terrti'it"p^tle number of AIMs
machines
et t"111' a waiting
':-i is of banking t'"t#i"' "f1 customers who
center. -rusv Midtown Manhattan
t: )n iin" is to'm"Jil' t*i"J' "*"ing For examPle' "l:,Ti'.#';f" 172 .ur,o*.,.
' J ATY'
" f,k
of the center had
seek service at one number T.i:l:
,.;;; o..or.'"totwaiting line
rn oto"t tJ'*itt"
- a""i'ion" r.|er hour. A multlpte-sErYi'"'^.' tn
tt'ra
'o1-th" center
banking showed that 88%
of AIMs ,"'i"'" " selectedinformation about lllo.i'** 'x ervrt
locations' t;;;;;;t nee-ded
ser- .l1l: ::- :l; .:i'l T'it::
H;;;;;; -"'ldbetwee
ootential *#;; ilt and general-customer
characteristics such
age Yaittime
waiti'i'j'i:lt';';;;;;i (continuefi
'ic''
5*S Choprer I 'l Woiring Line Models

This level of service was judged unacceptable.

making incremental AIM decisions at e.
Expansion to seven AIMs wasiecommended
for ing center location.
this location based on the waiting line modelis
projection of acceptable waiting times. Use
of *Based on information
provided by Stace.
the waiting line model provided guidelines for
Citibank.

11"1 3*T&^Lril'SilRH {:}F: A BVAI?AH# LAF{H Sy$iTg&g

of
waiting line model, we consicter the waiting
a
tr,: 5
I::llX':*""0.":1.^1*y"s B urgei Dome
vYaLurE L-f
*.
s hambr.s*;,
*:^"":"?:::-f:, }:*::r:rant. "w"u
; l;;;;;;?;.";,r".,"i,i1,. _,
1eu
""r"br.g... _'
iil 1T Burger Dome would; ttk"
f :::::ll ^11*, Alrhough shakes,as "h

;;r";;;;;;;#;;;;--
*XY:::ions. ,;
Thus, customers wait in line to place and receive
their orders.
Burger Dome is concerned that the methods currently
used to serve custor:- i:
resulting in excessive waiting times and a possibre
loss oi sales. Managemenr-.,._-
conduct a waiting rine stuoy to help determine
the best approach to ."0u.. wairi:: _ - n
and improve service.

S*xegE*- $$*rv#F" &&rei$ier g tixa*

In the current Burger Dome operation, an ernployee
takes a customer,s wtuEr,
order, dere=:.::.
utrLi__
rhe order, r3ceivls paym"r,i.o.,, the customer,
*::::i.""-:lof and then fills the ..

s,
,h: Burger Dome resrauraniis served U! a sugre order_fili
:H,T::,"^l,1lig placement,
l3l.l1l1,:l "'*er u,r payment, il ;";;"dd.'ffiJ;"ffi:"l;,,-;
:fl:: :Y.l:"n be served ;@;r).^*, ffi ;,*tl,ri!lir?; #T#?:: ili'i. ;
Iinp i" .1'^,-,-
line is shown :- Di ^----- i i r
in Figure
;iil ;;.d ;;;ffi ;":,'*JJl" - *
I 1. I .

S}istri E:wti*i? {}f ,Arriv*fi s

Defining the arrival process for a.waiting line
involves determining the prob - -
distribution for the number of arrivals in a-given -.
period of time. For many waitin,:

FI#I'}Rfr I I - I THE BURGER DOME SINGLE-SERVER WAITING

LINE

System

If*ffir
I
:
I

Customer *+
i
tf\,
,'-\ /*\
lLl
i:{ \--,'}{ \*-/}f LJ
^ r--, ll -*ffi
\r
Arrivals

I
i
I
Waiting Line
}

I ll
oraernttins
i i Customer
I
it;
:
Leaves
I
! after 0rder
t
Is Filled
 !!

qfiQ
I
'l
.l Structure of o Woiiing Line System

we cannot
situations, the arrivals occvr randomly and independently of other arrivals, and
predict when an arrival will occur. In such cases, analysts have found that the Poisson
probability distribution provides a good description of the arrival pattern.
time
The poisson probabiliiy function provides the probability of x arrivals in a specific
period. the probability function is as follows:l

-# for ,r'+'0, l,?, -.

,t,l L l)
Pk) ,

where
x : the number of arrivals in the time period
), : the mean ntmber of arrivals per time period
e :2;71828

The mean number of arrivals per time period, tr, is called the arrival rate. Values of
e-^
can be found using a calculator or by using Appendix C'
that
Suppose that Burger Dome analyzed data on customer arrivals and concluded
period, the arrival rate would
the arrival rate is 45 customers per hour. For a one-minute
be .tr : 45 customers + 60 minutes : 0.75 customers per minute. Thus, we
can use the
following Poisson probability function to compute the probability of r customer arrivals
during a one-minute Period:
TirT-!:^il:r-:T-:Fa:-:i:::::':-:ll-:T:t ::;-1---li:: ::T'::---TT1T iT,,iXTIrTT::-:- ::i:e--:*:^ :f-:: ::*l

. : ,\'e-l : g.7 5xr-o'15

{1,1.?}
P(x)
_l ,1

Thus, the probabilities of 0, 1, and 2 customer arrivals during a one-minute

period are

zs
p(0) : ::lfti-:e'0.75:0.4124
16.75;ou-o

-o.zs
P(l) :
16.751r"
: o"7se-0'15 : 0'1s(0l724) : 0'3543
?
1s (o.s62s)(0.4124)
t0.7 512 e-o
P(2): :0.1329
"
The probability of nO customers in a one-minute period is 0.4724, the probability of one
customer in a one-minute period is 0.3543, and the probability of two customers
in a one-
minute period is O.I32g. Table 11.1 shows the Poisson probabilities for customer arrivals
during a one-minute Period.
The waiting line models that will be presented in Sections 11.2 and 11 .3 use the Poisson
probability distribution to describe the customer arrivals at Burger Dome' In practice, you
should record the actual number of arrivals per time period for several days or weeks
Poisson
and compare the frequency distribution of the observed number of arrivals to the
probabilily distribution to determine whether lhe Poisson probability distribution provides
a reasonable approximation of the arrival distribution'

rThe term xl, xfactorial, is defined os x! : x(x- 1)(x - 2) . . . {2)(1). For exomple, 4l : (4)(3)(2)(l) = 24. For the

speciol cose of x = 0, 0l : I by definition.

 .l1.2Single-serverWoitingLineModelwithPoissonArrivolsondExponeniio|servicelrr.res

l')!
ol the qetrii'i' trrlrc\
Inpractice.youshouldcollectdataonactualservicetimcs.todecl,ej]nine\\llcl1.}t|thu
ir r r.u'onubi"'"pp'"*'*''ion
exponenrial probability disirilu,ion
your aPPlication'

Qaa*ea* E-3&*ceitsliEee which dre waiting

a wairins line svstem' Y'
*"L3;'#;iff"ri::::i1,,,'*"*"' f':r nr11
rn describing
for.slervice' For the Pu:i::,in* ior service are ai-rangetl c'n * first-r'uitte'
il;;;;'arrirged lines' the units walttitg l! !'\ L'!ir.'
."rr"*.r-rn.rited wairine , tCrt queue rlisciplirle i'r 'r'i 'ti
firsr-served basis:
""
thrs ipproact''t "*T:.'tD],;.-';;r;ilnple. vhrrr P\'()plc
irffercnt qucue dtsctp'tir,n. ttran,r aiilirlc:
call for to dcplanc sincc
-*rr- ,i,"ri,"ns on rrre
;;;;". the lastpassenff':#i::''i,ililfi;,'i.;;;* ^r" rhe prane board hrrt (ilhcr
"f to Llperirte unLlcr
have the Passengers ror,r,urpi uj'."*t'g"*ty 'onn,,
orher hand. ir oo., nojr..;;;;;";,ii
o *r'
::r,,j fi':**:#i
1' l*i it';r ll 3.1,, l'"ll riH TI : iil
qtreu\' ris( rl)rrrl('
I
:
i
"i:',n.,.
oriorities to the
wattrng
i::::;; Jnrr,-t"*t' first-servcd
""tt:-i:j11"^l
o'iY wai ting lines based
il;ffi ;'';n'ia"
$t***-v-s€at'* {}p*retti*xa .--:-- n^.rrcfomefs are in the resraulillrt'
l'?ff
*m:':rx:J,T,:"J;HJffi v' "" i'
l#u.['J"'"::i,1:'":.#laln'fitfli+
o"
ffi ;;; "; ;' * "'isciiJ*ii
o
i

referred to "' " ilJ:.tl" T"iff f n.5*:

as the-transre l'S:,* : l: I

,i*tp p"tlod Jt
Waiting un'operation'
",
svstem reaches ,n"'l'"'*' of a waiting line'
"tuav't'ut"
sieady-state op"'utiuJ"nJ'u"ioit'i"t
j { i:5 ' :'' =

Hil;E,F -cs E€1,a:Eq \v ha"tEh*;.i {Y-i?-*Tltfu E'\1Jf-i,

E i:r+ql
rl.2 ErqE' hY'Eqb EE-
i*-&u-*:ut"s 'tru* Eli*{}i*{uN"E
"qiE

H*ilTfflx.TH:f:J#:?'.;!iLir',iHtf,"#l$,*.ffi;Iffi
;;u",'; ;;1""1, 0.':l"1ol','ir::T""t:H;,lJf,'.ooi, ,o nuyluseti i. c'-'tct'nt'tL
rn';r:iing tri rc
trr.e
can be
nrobabilitY distribufior Jt.i *.. ,1"-* [lin'tn*urus
,"'rlo,"" manageme0t rvith holpitrl
nroblem inlroduced
characteristic, uni
.io, provide
: .-,te models are R,,,n", Dome,s operating titarrti-
' ::.il on assumPtiotls
?oisson arrit'als
;JJ:;,";*; *f:::ff:[loo,o*-';*used to-derive the rormula" l"]-'n' orrc'i.rtrrls
05 - qi
The mathematlcal
nential sen'ice
s f w aiti g ;:::'::t"J'L li l":I[:] ],I : l:
',;1en

-
\pphing
:ne model, dota
anY teri st i c o
" "
orovide the rheoretrcal
"'"*' n
:H:
developmen' :l:11.:i:i;i.r*"it""'"orut operating 'h'tl1rcter:stir
can provros il;;;;;;;' (,[ rhc lr)r ilrula'
"

been developed
: -. collected on the il;;;;;"ihave deveroprnenr

i:J':T' ri[ Jil 5

\tefi tu ensure ;" * "' " o "' h' " ^' i

. -: jsltmptions of the
-.e reasonable'
:# ffittn,$:. x,:x:"'::
1Jig*er*tBxeg LlEa:tgactu:r-?sti*s erating crr*Lacrerislii:s
|:'nU'\. \\h-."

*"J:.,1"#::.1""H]ilf;*:;l"fJ:,::fi'#J[;ff:1'1x'..^fi';.,i.:
per time period 1the"
a'rival rarej
of arrivals
I : the mean number
per tirne period
(the service rale)
p: the mean numbe'
of *it"'

rtiilillfr
 ;rl*
T&*tS
A property of the exponen-
t i al p rob ab il ity di s tributi on
is that there is a 0.63.21
probability that the random
variable takes on a value
less than its mean. In wait-
ing line applications, the
exp one ntial p ro b ab ility
distribution indic ate s that
approximately 63Vo of the
service times are less than
the mean sentice time and
approximately 379o of the
service times are greater
than the mean sen)ice time.
:
Chopter I I Woiiing Line Models
Tx. X POISSON PROBABILITIES FoR THE NUMBER oF CUSTOMER ARRI\ 1., ,:
ATA BURGER DOME RESTAURANT DURINGA ONE-MINUTE PERIOT
( : 0.75)
Number of Arrivals Probability
0 0.4724
1 0.3543
2 0.{329
:, 0.4n2
4 0.0062
5 or more 0.0010
$*istriE:usi$ffi #f Serviee 'fimes
The service time is the time a customer spends at the service facility once the sen,
--: :-jj
started. At Burger Dome, the service time starts when a customer begins to place th: ,*-:r.
with the employee and continues until the customer receives the order. Service rir:=,
-:.,
rarely constant. At Burger Dome, the number of items ordered and the mix of items .,rrl-.
vary considerably from one customer to the next. Small orders can be handled in a :--::r
of seconds, but large orders may require more than two minutes.
If the probability distribution for the service time can be assumed to follow ar ermr*
nential probability distribution, formulas are available for providing useful infor:=-: ,: '--Ii
about the operation of the waiting line. Using an exponential probability distribuu,,
probability that the service time will be less than or equal to a time of length r is
- :,:r .:f
where
p. : the mean number of units that can be served per time period
e :2.71828
' The mean number
of units that can be served per time period, p, is called the seryice p&u
Suppose that Burger Dome studied the order-filling process and found that a i -: I
employee can process an average of 60 customer orders per hour. on a one-minute :,:
the service rate would be p : 60 customers + 60 minutes : I customer per r.: "
-',
For example, with p, : 1, we can use equation (11.3) to compute probabilities S:-r r
the probability that an order can be processed in 1/2 minute or less, 1 minute or le..
-:-.
2 minutes or less. These computations are
P(servicetime < 0.5 min.) : 1- e-1(0s) : 1 - 0.6065 : 0.393_<
P(servicetime < l.0min.) - 1- r*t(1.0) : I - 03679: 0.6321
P(servicetime < 2.0min.) - 1- e-1(2.0) : 1 - 0.1353 : 0.g6+-
Thus, we would conclude that there is a 0.3935 probability that an order can be prG-;,
in 1/2 minute or less, ao.632l probability trat it can be processed in I minute or 1ess. ,-,:",,-_
0.864'l probability that it can be processed in 2 minutes or less.
In several waiting line models presented in this chapter, we assume that the :, -
ability distribution for the service time follows an exponential probability distribr-: r
5r? Chopter 'l 1 Woiting Line Models

Equatians (1 1.4) through l. The probability that no units are in the system:
( 1 1.10) do not provide

formulas for optimal

conditions. Rathet these
e quation s p rov i de info rma-

tion about the steady-state

op e ratin g c haracte ri s tic s of
awaiting line.
l. The average number oT units in the waiting line:

3. The average number of units in the system:

,3
4. The average time a unit spends in the waiting line: rI

5. The average time a unit spends in the system:

S. The probability that an arriving unit has to wait for service:

7. The probability of n units in the system:

 1l'2Single-serverWoitingLineModelwithPoissonArrivolsondExponentiolserviceTimesSi3

Thevaluesofthearrivalratelandtheserviceratepareclearlyimportantcomponents
(11.9) shows.that the ratio of the
in determining the operating characteristics. Equation unit has to wait
probability that an
arrival rate to the ,**i*.uti ,\/p, provides the lnving
to as the utilization factor fot
because the service f""iii, i; ;';;. Hence, ,\/p is referred
the service facilitY.
(11.4) through (11'10) are
The operating characteristics presented in equations
applicableonlywhentheserviceratep"iss.reallrthanthearrivalratetr-inotherwords,
the waiting line will continue to grow with-
when tr/p < 1. If this condition does not eiist,
not have sufficient capacity to handle the arriving
out limit because the service facility does
(11'10)' we must have p)
units. Thus, in using equations (t 1'+) through
'1"

*p*ra{ing ilEr*rrac*eristics f*r the Burg*r ff*me Fr*hlem

Recall that for the Burger Dome problem we
had an arrival rate of i :
0'75 customers
: I
per minute' Thus' with p > tr'
per minute and a seriice rate oi LL customer
for the
to provide operating characteristics
equations (11.4) througn irr.rol can be used
nurger Dome single-server waiting line:
I
Po: 1 - t": , -Y: o-25

, L' 0'752 :z.25customers

"o - --
*1p - tr) l(l - 0.75)

' rrls )ol.l lo L: Lq+

t: 2'25 +
T: 3 customers
' .. oPerat-
.: :,ristics for d Lq
.-.rxaititgline l7o: l
2.25
: 3 mlnutes
0.75

w:wc,+f;:z+ ! : 1
4 minutes

rw
r 0.75 : O.75
p 1

Equation(11.10)canbeusedtodeterminetheprobabilityofanynumberofcustomers
inthesystem.ApplyingthisequationprovidestheprobabilityinformationinTablell'2.

.EA*E.*t:.STHEPRoBABILITYoFnCUSToMERSINTHESYSTEMFoRTHEBURGER"
DOME WAITING LINE PROBLEM

Number of Customers ProbabiliW

0 0.2500
1
o.1875
2 0.1406
a
J 0.1055
4 0.0791
5 0.0593
6 0.0445
7 or more 0.1335

,,i ririlltlilililllill
5i4 Chopter I I Woiring Line Models

&'tara*g*rsu tj*le *fl &ye€*Eng

E-.!m* ,&.:,E*r}*Es
Theresultsofthesingle-serverwaitinglineforBurgerf)omeshowseveralr::,-*
r#".. r, p*ticurar, cusromers
#:l"H""ri::l*
minutes berore :: :1",:ii,r,g
be ginnin g plac J an il; il;#;,;J#:#Iff",,
wair an n .: :.
to.

;; il;;;the il ; .

in rine is 2.25 l3lil

,H:i:l;X ll:rll*,,
andthatT'vo.of tt";;;;il;il;, average number or cus: _,,
#:i:l"HH:j.::.. __

;iiil:T::Ttr'::.:Yl1-':9:n"to;-p.oi.,r,"",ui,ing1irreoperation.Tabil
0.1335 probability rhar seven or more
.urro,o"rJi. ,;t"'i"fi:"5:1.:.

;;";J;;,t# :;;H;#,::i. ,,
r,ier,'p'"i"ulity
some Ii:::TYX_,::[i:",',
.:,*: long {-o,,
waiting lines if it continu",
that Burger Dome
'' ,

If the operating characteristics are

unsatisfactory in terms of mee"
standards for service, Bur,gl -
Dome,s .*ug.,n.r, should
plans for improving rhe waiting consider a'ern": r *
fin" op"ruiiJn."

-frmpr*vir:g $]r* \Brai€ixrg E irx* {}p*y*$i*c]

&'
t service rate bv making a creative
H:fi:rl: design change or b.,
- :-
Add one or more servers so that
more customers can be served
simulr--,

E${B*E } }.$ OPERAIING CHARACTERISTICS

FoR THE BURGER DOME SYS
THE SERVICE RATE INCREAsED
To;:.;25 I:. ,, .*
CUsToMERs PER \1 , ..a

P.robability of no customers
in the system
Average number of cusromers 0.400
initJ ,"uiilrg rir.
Average number of customers 0.900
..'-
in the syste#
urslvul
Average fime in rhe waiting 1.500
Average time in the svstem
f;- 1.200 minr:::",
Probability that an arriving customer has to 2.000 mini,:=.
Probability that seven or more wait 0.600
custorners are in the system
0.02s
 service Times 5I 5
1 I .2 Singleserver woiting Line Model with Poisson Arrivols ond Exponentiol

have im-
The information in Table 11.3 indicates that all operating characteristics
time a customer
proved because of the increased service rate. In particular, the
average
and the average time a
ip"no, in the waiting line has been reduced from 3 to 1.2 minutes,
4 to 2 minutes. Are any other alter-
customer spends in the system has been reduced from
service rate? If so' and if the
natives available that Burger Dome can use to increase the
equations (11'4) through (11' 10)
mean service rate p caflbe identified for each alternative,
the revised operating characteristics and any improvements
in
;;ru;r;d;;#;t" be compared to the
change can
the waiting line system. The added cosi of any proposed
the proposed
service improvements to help the manager determine whether
: .s \ou "o11"rponiirg
service improvements are worthwhile'
. available is to add one
lether a As mentioned previously in Alternative 2, another option often
,,. .€n'ice rate simultaneously' The
,. or more servers so that orders for multiple customers can be filled
model to the multiple-server waiting line model
:,mpany's
,:i .for its extension of the single-server waiting lini
is the topic of the next section.

Ex**E Scl*rti*tr *f W&&ti$g Li*e &lEci*cE

waiting line models are easily implemented with the aid of spreadsheets'
The Excel
waiting line is shown in Figure 11'2' The
worksheet for the Burger Dorne single-server
left and the worksheet view showing the
worksheet view showing the formulas is on the

WAITING LINE
: WORKSHEET FOR THE BURGER DOME SINGLE-SERVER

riiiiXiiiiriirii
Sinsle-Server Waiting Line Model

Assumptions
Poisson ArriYals
iH,l,,{ n**ti"i service Times

AriYal Rate ).75

senice Rate I

ODeratins Characteristics

Pr"b"btttt)'tlr"t *t*ers ile in the system, P0

*re Avffige numbmacustomers in the waiting tine' Lo

number of customets in the sYstem, L
Amg.ilrffi*to*tipends in the waiting line, Wq

*.i Ayerage time a austomer sPends in the sYstem, W

ffi e-Uutitity mniuing customer has to wait, Pw

ffi
I
::i* Chopter 1 1 Woiting Line Models

values is on the right. The arrival rate and the service rate are entered in cej-, :
The formulas for the waiting line's operating characteristics are placed in celr. _
The worksheet computes the same values for the operating characteristics rh.: , :
earlier. Modiflcations in the waiting line design can be evaluated by enre::: ,

arrival rates and/or service rates into cells 87 and 88. The new operating ; .

of the waiting line will be shown immediately. The Excel worksheet in Fr;--:
template that can be used with any single-server waiting line model with pc:, -
and exponential service times.

The assumption that arrivals follow a pois- the system should be able to r.-' ,

son probability distribution is equivalent to all arrivals without any custor.-:: _ nr

the assumption that the time between arrivals service. This would be true if t_he '-:-,.
has an exponential probability distribution. customer arrivals waS conStilll :-i ur
For example, if the arrivals for a waiting line time was constant. However. :. ::,
follow a Poisson probability distribution with a Dome example shows, the variab:--
mean of 20 arrivals per hour, the time between times and service times mav resu.: : :

arrivals will follow an exponential probability ing times even when the sen'rce ::-:
distribution, with a mean time between arrivals the arrival rate. A contribution c,: ;,
of 1/2e or 0.05 hour.
) Many individuals believe
that whenever the
models is that they can point o.: _:
waiting line operating chara;:.- :
k
service rate trr, is greater than the arrival rate ),, when the g, > ,[ condition appe-: ] -.

11"3 &.Ei:i.3"{E}E"E-S&TRVF.EE }&I+{l'E.Ei*q-: E,ENF. .\.9{}E}H[, ]&'EEEi p{ i1. - ",r,,,

.qRHH\..eLS .qSE} illHEs{}iHHN g.E._q.E. $EE*VEC& TgRtF,S

A multiple-server waiting line consists of two or more seryers that are i>:*r;:
identical in terms of service capability. For multiple-server systems, there j:: -,
cal queueing possibilities: (l) arriving customers wait in a single waiting L:r
"pooled" or "shared" queue) and then move to the first available server foi
--
or (2) each server has a "dedicated" queue and an arriving customer selecls c.:,.
lines to join (and typically is not allowed to switch lines). In this chapter, ri e ::,_
-
system design with a single shared waiting line for all servers. operating ci:-- :
for a multiple-server system are typically better when a single shared queue. .-:,-"::
multiple dedicated waiting lines, is used. The single-server Burger Dome oper.:- r ".:

expanded to a two-server system by gpening a second server. Figure 1 1.3 sho,^ , . r

of the Burger Dome two-server waiting line.
In this section we present formulas that can be used to determine the .--: :
operating characteristics for a multiple-server waiting line. These formulas ai. j-i
iI the following conditions exist:
t. The arrivals follow a Poisson probabiiity distribution.
2-. The service time for each server follows an exponential probability dis:-: -.:
l. The service rate pr, is the same for each server.
"1. The arrivals wait in a single waiting line and then move to the flrst opti r:-
service.

iilllilil
 1I '3 Multipl+serverWoiting Line Modelwith Poisson Arrivols ond Exponentiolservice Times j II
FISURE T }"S THE BURGER DOME TWO-SERVER WAITING LINE

System
!r

Customer

ffi,iffi ffi
Waiting Line
Leaves
After Order
Is Filled

-**

fiperatimg Cft aracteristics

The following formulas can be used to compute the steady-state
operating characteristics
for multiple-server waiting lines, where

i=fi:3H,::,ff.H*7::H,
l. The probability that no units are in the system:

Po= :{}.t,ti}
p,W;94{(,H
l. The average number of units in the waiting line:

(i/p)kip
to:1t:ffil4',ro
r _
{'i1.,1}i

3. The average number of units in the system:

{:tr.t:t 3i
 Chopter
'l Woiting Line Models
:iH 1

4. The average time a unit spends in the waiting line:

Lo
Wn:
i
5. The average time a unit spends in the system:

':': :', t' ,1,

W'= l%,+,,E

6. The probability that an arriving unit has to wait for service:

,-:*(i)(#h),.
?. The probability of n units in the system:

r,; $1$i'
nt.
,u f-bf ,t s'&
i-
n.
.Y
{ti
i,t ::irltl,rll.lli'r::
: i:1:r! r'::lrr:r,

Alu\'
P*: toi+:>r[
T)FTPo

rate for the multrE-:-"s-um

Because p is the service rate for each server, /<p is the service
system. As was true for the single-server waiting line model, the formtrlas fs1 tl'; :n:E.ffl!'
.'
ing characteristics of multiple-server waiting lines can be applied only in *i1o31ig;-r :u'm
thi service rate for the system exceeds the arrival rate for the system; in other :.-r *mr
u
formulas are applicable only if ftp, is greater than '['
Some expiessions for the operating characteristics of multiple-server
waiting --r
(11.11 ::i-
more complex than their single-server counterparts. However, equations
provided by the single-server model. To h;-:
(11.18) provide the same information as
values of Po for - :::tu'
plify ,t . ,r. of the multiple-server equations, Table 1 1.4 contains
to cases where ':-
values of ,[/p and k. The values provided in the table correspond
and hence the service rate is sufficient to process all arrivals'

#peratixrg cfu*raet*e.isti*s f*r tk* EBatrger $)slt?E* Prchlex}t

To illustrate the multiple-server waiting line model, we return to the Burger-'\ l': 'nu
wants to e
fast-food restaurant waiting line problem. Suppose that management
!rir'

two customer: ;:'::

the desirability of opening a second order-processing station so that
'rt
in line r:'- ::{
served
to the
simultaneously. Assume a single waiting line with the first customer
first available server. Let us evaluate the operating characteristics for this
t'*.o--:'- i ffi
system. I
 l1'3 MultipleserverWoitingLineModelwithPoissonArrivolsondExponentiol ServiceTimes Sl?

TABTE I I
, "4 VALUES OF PO FOR MULIIPLE.SERVER wAITING LINES wITH PoISSoN
ARRIVALS AND EXPONENTIAL SERVICE TIMES

iBurnber *f Servers {*:}

Ruti+l,11,u, 2 3 4 5
0.15 0.8605 0.860? 0.8607 0.8607
0.20 0.8182 0.8187 0.8187 0.8I87
0.25 0.7?78 0.7788 0,7788 0.7788
0.30 0.7391 a.7407 0.7408 0.7408
0.35 a.7azr 0;1046 0.7M7 a.7047
0.40 0.6661 0.6701 a.67A3 0.6703
0.45 a.$27 a.$73 0.63?6 a.$76
0.50 0.6000 0.6061 0.5065 0.606s
0.55 0.5686 0.5763 0.5769 a.5769
0.60 0.5385 0.5479 0,5487 0.5488
0.65 0.5094 0.5209 a.52t9 0.5220
0.70 0.4815 0.4952 4.4965 a.4966
0.75 0.4545 a.47A6 a.4722 0,47M
0.80 4.4286 0.4472 0.4491 a.4493
0.85 0.4035 0.4248 4.4271 0.4274
0.90 0,3793 0.4035 0.40,62 0.4065
0.95 0.3559 0.3831 0.3863 0.3867
1.00 afi33 0.3636 0.3673 0.3678
1.20 0.2500 0.294t 0.3002 0.3011
1.40 0.1765 0.2360 0.2449 0.2463
1.60 0.1111 a.$72 0.1993 0.2at4
1.80 0.0526 0.1460 0.16r6 a.rc46
2.ffi 0.1111 0.1304 0.1343
2.2{) 0.0815 0.1046 0.1094
2.40 0.0562 0.0831 0.0889
2.6A 0.034s 0.0651 a.0721
2.80 0.0150 0.0521 0.0ss1
3.00 0.0377 0.0466
3.2A 4.0273 0.0372
3.4A 0.0186 0.fr293
3.60 0.0113 a.0228
3.80 0.0051 0.0174
4.00
0.0130
4.24
0.0093
4.4A
0.0063
4.60
0.0038
4.80
0.0017

:
we use equations (l 1.1 1) through ( I r. 1g) for the k 2-sewer system. For an
arrival
:
rate of .tr 0.75 customers per minute and a service rate of p,:
1 customer per minute for
each server, we obtain the operating characteristics:

Po: 0.4545 (from Table 11.4 with t/p" : 0.75)

"[file
-:
Lo
(0.7s /1)r(0.7s\fi\
:
A_ l)1t2,) _ 0,75f (0.4545) 0.1227 cusromer
5?* Chopter 1 1 Woiting Line Models

L: Lr+
i: 0.tz2i. :g.1'tzjcusromer
T
wq:
L,: 0.1227
: 0.1636 minute
T 0.75
I
w: wq* v: 0.1636 +
1

I
1.1636 minures

P*: t(*i[o*=](o+s+s) :0.204s

Try Problem lSfor practice using equations (11.17) and (l1.lg), we can compute the probabiiities
in determining the operat- of r: :_;,;
the system. The results from these computations are summarized
ing characteristics for a in Table l tr :
ttvo - s erv er w aiting line.
we can now compare the steady-state operating characteristics of the :..
system to the operating characteristics of the original single-server system i..5..;
Sectron \\ 2.
i. The average time a customer spends in the system (waiting time plus s-
-
is reduced from I4z : 4 minutes to I4l : 1.1636 minutes.
2. The average number of customers in the waiting line is reduced from I =
customers to In :
0.1227 customers.
3. The ayeruge time a customer spends in the waiting line is
Wq: 3 minutes to Wr: 0.1636 minutes.
4. The probability that a customer has to wait for service is reduced
to P* : 0.2045.
clearly the two-server system will substantially improve the operating chri.:y:,*
tics of the waiting line' The waiting line study provides ihe ope.atin! characteris::
mM1
can be anticipated under three configurations: the originat single-server system.
i ,,r*1r,t
server system with the design change involving direct submission of paper order :.-:
ur

kitchen, and a two-server system composed of two order-filling employees. After ; _ r. .*rrr
ing these results, what action would you recommend? In thisiase, Burger Dome , - -nuryi
the following policy statement: For periods when customer arrivals are expected
ic : :::jluun,
45 customers per hour, Burger Dome wil open two order-processing servers ;,..: rilmil,
employee assigned to each.
By changing the arrival rate I to reflect arrival rates at different times of the
then computing the operating characteristics, Burger Dome's management can

TABT$ I I 'S THE PROBABILITY OF n CUSToMERS IN THE SYSTEM FOR THE

DOME TWO-SERVER WAITING LINE

Numtrer of Customers Probability

0 0.454-5
1 0.340q
2 a.l278
a
J 0.0479
4 0.0180
5 or more 0.0109

rrilril