Queuing Analysis

Learning Objectives
1 Elements of Waiting Line Analysis
2 The Single-Server Waiting Line System
3 Undefined and Constant Service Times
4 Finite Queue Length
5 Finite Calling Population
6 The Multiple-Server Waiting Line
7 Additional Types of Queuing Systems
Overview
• A significant amount of time is 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.
• Results are used by managers of queuing operations to make
decisions.
Learning Objective 1
• Elements of Waiting Line Analysis
Elements of Waiting Line Analysis (1 of 2)
• 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 (2 of 2)
• 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.
• Averages are used in formulas to compute operating
characteristics of the system which in turn form the basis
of decision making.
Learning Objective 2
• The Single-Server Waiting Line System
The Single-Server Waiting Line
System (1 of 2)
• Components of a waiting line system include arrivals
(customers), servers, (cash register/operator), customers
in line form a waiting line.
• Factors to consider in analysis:
– The queue discipline.
– The nature of the calling population
– The arrival rate
– The service rate.
The Single-Server Waiting Line
System (2 of 2)
Figure 1 The Fast Shop Market waiting line system
Component Definitions
• Queue Discipline: The order in which waiting customers
are served.
• Calling Population: The source of customers (infinite or
finite).
• Arrival Rate: The frequency at which customers arrive at
a waiting line according to a probability distribution
(frequently described by a Poisson distribution).
• Service Rate: The average number of customers that
can be served during a time period (often described by
the negative exponential distribution).
Single-Server Model
• Assumptions of the basic single-server model:
– An infinite calling population

– A first-come, first-served queue discipline

– Poisson arrival rate

– Exponential service times

• Symbols:
 = the arrival rate (average number of arrivals/time period)
 = the service rate (average number served/time period)
• Customers must be served faster than they arrive ( < ) or an
infinitely large queue will build up.
Basic Single-Server Queuing Formulas (1 of 2)
Probability that no customers are in the queuing system:

Probability that n customers are in the system:

Average number of customers in system:

Average number of customer in the waiting line:

Basic Single-Server Queuing Formulas (2 of 2)
Average time customer spends waiting and being served:

Average time customer spends waiting in the queue:

Probability that server is busy (utilization factor):

Probability that server is idle:

Operating Characteristics: Fast Shop
Market (1 of 2)
 = 24 customers per hour arrive at checkout counter
 = 30 customers per hour can be checked out
Operating Characteristics: Fast Shop
Market (2 of 2)
Steady-State Operating Characteristics
Because of the steady-state nature of operating
characteristics:
• Utilization factor, U, must be less than one:

• The ratio of the arrival rate to the service rate must be

less than one. In other words, the service rate must be
greater than the arrival rate.
• The server must be able to serve customers faster than
the arrival rate in the long run, or waiting line will grow to
infinite size.
Effect of Operating Characteristics (1 of 8)
A manager wishes to test several alternatives for reducing
customer waiting time:

1. Addition of another employee to pack up purchases

2. Addition of another checkout counter.

Alternative 1: Addition of an employee

(raises service rate from  = 30 to  = 40 customers per
hour).
Effect of Operating Characteristics (2 of 8)
• Cost $150 per week, avoids loss of $75 per week for
each minute of reduced customer waiting time.
• System operating characteristics with new parameters:

P0 = .40 probability of no customers in the system

L = 1.5 customers on average in the queuing system
Effect of Operating Characteristics (3 of 8)
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 = .60 probability that server is busy and customer
must wait
I = .40 probability that server is available
Average customer waiting time reduced from 8 to 2.25
minutes worth $431.25 per week.
Effect of Operating Characteristics (4 of 8)
Alternative 2: Addition of a new checkout counter ($6,000
plus $200 per week for additional cashier).

• customers per hour per checkout counter

•  = 30 customers per hour at each counter

• System operating characteristics with new parameters:
Effect of Operating Characteristics (5 of 8)
P0 = .60 probability of no customers in the system
L = 0.67 customer in the queuing system
Lq = 0.27 customer in the waiting line
W = 0.055 hour per customer in the system
Wq = 0.022 hour per customer in the waiting line
U = .40 probability that a customer must wait
I = .60 probability that server is idle
Effect of Operating Characteristics (6 of 8)

Savings from the reduced waiting time worth:

$500 per week – $200 = $300 net savings per week.
After $6,000 is recovered, alternative 2 would provide:
$300 – 281.25 = $18.75 more savings per week.
Effect of Operating Characteristics (7 of 8)
Table 1 Operating characteristics for each alternative system

Operating
Characteristics Present System Alternative I Alternative II
L 4.00 customers 1.50 customers 0.67 customer
Lq 3.20 customers 0.90 customer 0.27 customer
W 10.00 min. 3.75 min. 3.33 min.
Wq 8.00 min. 2.25 min. 1.33 min.
U .80 .60 .40
Effect of Operating Characteristics (8 of 8)
Figure 2 Cost trade-off for service levels
Undefined and Constant Service
Times (1 of 2)
• 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.
• Queuing formulas for the undefined service time model:
Undefined and Constant Service
Times (2 of 2)
Undefined Service Times Example (1 of 2)
• Data: 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.
• Operating characteristics:
Undefined Service Times Example (2 of 2)
Constant Service Times Formulas
• In the constant service time model there is no variability
in service times;  = 0.
• Substituting  = 0 into equations:

• All of the remaining formulas are the same as the single-

server formulas.
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.
Learning Objective 3
• Undefined and Constant Service Times
Solution with Excel 1
Learning Objective 4
• Finite Queue Length
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:
Finite Queue Length Example (1 of 3)
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,  = 30, M = 4:
Finite Queue Length Example (2 of 3)
Average queue lengths and waiting times:
Finite Queue Length Example (3 of 3)
Solution with Excel 2
Learning Objective 5
• Finite Calling Population
Finite Calling Population (1 of 2)
• In a finite calling population there is a limited number of
potential customers that can call on the system.
• Operating characteristics for a system with Poisson
arrival and exponential service times:

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

Finite Calling Population (2 of 2)
Finite Calling Population Example (1 of 2)
Wheelco Manufacturing Company; 20 machines; each
machine operates 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.
Is repair staff sufficient?
Finite Calling Population Example (2 of 2)
Learning Objective 6
• The Multiple-Server Waiting Line
Multiple-Server Waiting Line (1 of 2)
Figure 3 A multiple-server waiting line
Multiple-Server Waiting Line (2 of 2)
• In multiple-server models, two or more independent
servers in parallel serve a single waiting line.
• Biggs Department Store service department; first-come,
first-served basis.
Queuing Formulas (1 of 3)
• Assumptions:
– First-come first-served queue discipline
– Poisson arrivals, exponential service times
– Infinite calling population.
• 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)
Queuing Formulas (2 of 3)
Queuing Formulas (3 of 3)
Biggs Department Store Example (1 of 2)
 = 10,  = 4, c = 3
Biggs Department Store Example (2 of 2)
Solution with Excel 3
Learning Objective 7
• Additional Types of Queuing Systems
Characteristics of a Queuing System (1 of 10)
• There are three parts to a queuing system
1. Arrivals or inputs to the system (sometimes referred
to as the calling population)
2. The queue or waiting line itself
3. The service facility
• These components have certain characteristics that must
be examined before mathematical queuing models can
be developed
Characteristics of a Queuing System (2 of 10)
• Arrival Characteristics have three major characteristics
– Size of the calling population
▪ Unlimited (essentially infinite) or limited (finite)
– Pattern of arrivals
▪ Arrive according to a known pattern or can arrive
randomly
▪ Random arrivals generally follow a Poisson
distribution
Characteristics of a Queuing System (3 of 10)
• Arrival Characteristics have three major characteristics
– Behavior of arrivals
▪ Most queuing models assume customers are
patient and will wait in the queue until they are
served and do not switch lines
▪ Balking refers to customers who refuse to join the
queue
▪ Reneging customers enter the queue but become
impatient and leave without receiving their service
Characteristics of a Queuing System (4 of 10)
• Waiting Line Characteristics
– Can be either limited or unlimited
– Queue discipline refers to the rule by which
customers in the line receive service
– Most common rule is first-in, first-out (FIFO)
– Other rules can be applied to select which customers
enter which queue, but may apply FIFO once they are
in the queue
Characteristics of a Queuing System (5 of 10)
• Service Facility Characteristics
1. Configuration of the queuing system
▪ Single-channel system
–One server
▪ Multichannel systems
–Multiple servers fed by one common waiting
line
Characteristics of a Queuing System (6 of 10)
• Service Facility Characteristics
2. Pattern of service times
▪ Single-phase system
–Customer receives service form just one server
▪ Multiphase system
–Customer goes through more than one server
Characteristics of a Queuing System (7 of 10)
Four Basic Queuing System Configurations
Characteristics of a Queuing System (8 of 10)
Four Basic Queuing System Configurations
Characteristics of a Queuing System (9 of 10)
Four Basic Queuing System Configurations
Characteristics of a Queuing System (10 of 10)

• Service Time Distribution

– Service patterns can be either constant or random
– Constant service times are often machine controlled
– Generally service times are randomly distributed
according to a negative exponential probability
distribution
– Analysts should observe, collect, and plot service time
data to ensure that the observations fit the assumed
distributions when applying these models
Identifying Models Using Kendall Notation
(1 of 2)

• A notation for queuing models that specifies the pattern of

arrival, the service time distribution, and the number of
channels
• Basic three-symbol Kendall notation has the form
Arrival Service time Number of service
distribution distribution channels open

• Specific letters used to represent probability distributions

M = Poisson distribution for number of occurrences

D = constant (deterministic) rate
G = general distribution with mean and variance known
Identifying Models Using Kendall Notation
(2 of 2)

• A single-channel model with Poisson arrivals and

exponential service times would be represented by
M/M/1
• When a second channel is added
M/M/2
• A three-channel system with Poisson arrivals and
constant service time would be
M/D/3
• A four-channel system with Poisson arrivals and normally
distributed service times would be
M/G/4
Example Problem Solution (1 of 7)
Problem Statement: Citizens Northern Savings Bank loan
officer customer interviews.
Customer arrival rate of four per hour, Poisson distributed;
officer interview service time of 12 minutes per customer.

1. Determine operating characteristics for this system.

2. Add an additional officer creating a multiple-server
queuing system with two channels. Determine operating
characteristics for this system.
Example Problem Solution (2 of 7)
Solution:
Step 1: Determine Operating Characteristics for the Single-
Server System
 = 4 customers per hour arrive,  = 5 customers per
hour are served
Example Problem Solution (3 of 7)
Example Problem Solution (4 of 7)
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 (5 of 7)
Example Problem Solution (6 of 7)
Example Problem Solution (7 of 7)