1.

The supervisor at Ace Job Shop wishes to determine the staffing policy that minimizes total
expected operating costs. The average arrival rate at the tool crib, where tools are dispensed
to the workers, is eight machinists per hour. Each machinist's pay is $54 per hour. The
supervisor can staff the crib either with a junior attendant who is paid $15 per hour and can
process an average of 10 machinists per hour or with a senior attendant who is paid $27 per
hour and can process an average of 11.42857 machinists per hour. Which attendant should be
selected, and what would be the total expected hourly cost of the system?

Average input rate (λ) = 8 per hour

Number of servers (M) = 1
Junior
Average service rate of junior att (mu) = 10
Average time in service (1/mu) = 0.1
Average number of machinists in service: (avg input rate) / (avg service rate - avg input rate)
Average number of machinists in service: (8) / (10 - 8) = 4
Average time spent by machinist in service = 1 / (avg service rate - avg input rate)
Average time spent by machinist in service = 1 / (10 - 8) = 0.5
Total expected hourly cost = attendand cost +
(machinist cost per h * avg number of machinist in service * avg time spent in service )
Total expected hourly cost = 15 + (54 * 4 * 0.5) = 123$
Senior
Average service rate of senior att (mu) = 11.42857
Average time in service (1/mu) ~= 0.0875
Average number of machinists in service: (avg input rate) / (avg service rate - avg input rate)
Average number of machinists in service: (8) / (11.42857 - 8) ~= 2.3
Average time spent by machinist in service = 1 / (avg service rate - avg input rate)
Average time spent by machinist in service = 1 / (11.42857 - 8) ~= 0.29
Total expected hourly cost = attendand cost +
(cost of machinist per hour * avg number of machinist in service * avg time spent in service )
Total expected hourly cost = 27 + (54 * 2.3 * 0.29) ~= 63.02$

Answer: Senior attendant should be hired. Hourly cost will be 63.02$

2. During the campus Spring Fling, the bumper car amusement attraction has a problem of cars becoming disabled and in need of repair.
Repair personnel can be hired at the rate of $30 per hour, but they only work as one team. Thus, if one person is hired, she works alone;
if two or three are hired, they work together on the same repair. With one repair person, each repair takes 30 minutes, on average.
With two repair persons, the average time of each repair is 20 minutes; and with three repair persons, the average time of each repair is 15 minutes.
When a car is down, lost income is $120 per hour. Cars tend to break down at an average rate of 2 per hour. How many repair persons should be hired?

Average input rate (lambda) = 2 per hour

if M equals 1
mu = 2
lambda/mu = 1
Lq from table is missing System is unstable
Money spent hourly No need to analyse unstable system
if M equals 2
mu = 3
lambda/mu = 2/3
Lq from table is 0.0768
Wq = (1 / lambda) Lq 0.0384
W = Wq + (1 / mu) 0.3717
L = W * lambda 0.7434
Cost = M*30 + 120*L 2*30+120*0.7434 = 149.208$

if M equals 3
mu = 4
lambda/mu = 1/2
Lq from table is 0.0030
Wq = (1 / lambda) Lq 0.0015
W = Wq + (1 / mu) 0.2515
L = W * lambda 0.503
Cost = M*30 + 120*L 3*30+120*0.503 = 150.36$

Answer: 2 workers

3. The NOL Income Tax Service is analyzing customer service operations during the month prior
to the tax filing deadline. Upon entering NOL’s facility, customers enter a common waiting
area and are served on a first-come-first-served basis by the first available analyst. On the basis
of past data, it is estimated that customers arrive every 15 minutes, on average. The average
time to complete a return for a customer is 60 minutes (the customer is present during this
time).
Analysts are paid $40 an hour; and it is estimated that every minute a given customer spends
waiting in line for service to begin costs NOL $2 due to customer dissatisfaction and loss of
future business.
a) If there were 5 analysts, what is the expected amount of time you should allow for going to
NOL to get your return done?
b) How many analysts should NOL staff?
c) Suppose that an industry-wide survey of customers and competitors revealed that 10
minutes in line is the industry standard for expected waiting time. Assuming that this
industry standard is important to NOL, how many agents should NOL staff?

lambda = 4 per hour

analyst cost = 40$
mu = 1
a) M = 5
lambda / mu 4
Lq from table 2.2165
Wq = (1 / lambda) Lq 0.554125 ~33 minutes
Answer = mu + Wq = 93 minutes

b) Lq Wq Cost of Wq
M=4 system is unstable
M=5 2.2165 0.554125 66.495
M=6 0.5695 0.142375 17.085
M=7 0.1801 0.045025 5.403

In case of M = 5 cost of waiting is higher than cost of 1 additional analyst

Answer: M = 6

c)
From previous table we can see that with M = 6, Wq = 0.142375 ~= 8.5 minutes which is better that industry standard
Answer: M = 6

4. X.L. Retailer uses one customer service representative (CSR) to field questions that come in
through a call center. If the CSR is busy when a new call comes in, the telephone switching
system automatically puts the new caller on hold. For simplicity, assume that any number of
incoming calls can be put on hold, and that nobody hangs up in frustration due to a long wait.
Suppose that, on average, one call comes in every four minutes. The telephone carrier charges
M.M. Sprout $7 per hour of time that the telephone system is actually in use. In addition, it is
estimated that it costs M.M. Sprout $0.35 for each minute that each customer is kept on hold
due to customer dissatisfaction and loss of future business.
M.M. Sprout needs to decide which CSR to hire: one with experience or one with no
experience. If M.M. Sprout hires the CSR with no experience, then the CSR only will be able
to process an average of 20 calls per hour and will earn $21 an hour in wages. If M.M. Sprout
hires the CSR with experience, then the CSR will be able to process 25 calls per hour, on
average, but will earn $42 an hour in wages. Which CSR should M.M. Sprout hire and what
will be the total expected hourly cost of the system?

lambda = 15
On hold cost = 21$ per hour
call cost = 420$ per hour
mu lambda / mu Lq Wq W L
unexp CSR 20 0.75 2.2500 0.15 0.2 3
exp CSR 25 0.6 0.9000 0.06 0.15 2.25
cost of CSR = cost of CSR + Wq*lambda*21 + W*lambda*420
cost of unexperienced CSR = 21 + 0.15*15*21 + 0.2*15*420 = 21 + 47.25 + 1260 = 1,328.25$
cost of experienced CSR = 42 + 18.9 + 945 = 1,005.9$
Answer: experienced CSR should be hired, cost per hour 1.005.9$