Supplement D

Waiting Line Models

Operations Management
by
R. Dan Reid & Nada R. Sanders
2nd Edition Wiley 2005
PowerPoint Presentation by
Roger B. Grinde, University of New Hampshire

Learning Objectives

Describe the elements of a waiting line

problem.
Use waiting line models to estimate
system performance.
Use waiting line models to make
managerial decisions.

Waiting Line System

Queue is another name for a waiting

line.
A waiting line system consists of two
components:

The customer population (people or objects

to be processed)
The process or service system

Whenever demand exceeds available

capacity, a waiting line or queue forms
There is a tradeoff between cost and
service level.

Customer Population
Characteristics

Finite versus Infinite populations:

Balking

When an arriving customer chooses not to enter a queue

because its already too long.

Reneging

Is the number of potential new customers materially

affected by the number of customers already in queue?

When a customer already in queue gives up and exits

without being serviced.

Jockeying

When a customer switches between alternate queues in

an effort to reduce waiting time.

Service System

The service system is defined by:

The
The
The
The
The

number of waiting lines

number of servers
arrangement of servers
arrival and service patterns
service priority rules

Number of Lines

Waiting lines systems can have

single or multiple queues.

Single queues avoid jockeying behavior

and perceived fairness is usually high.
Multiple queues are often used when
arriving customers have differing
characteristics (e.g. paying with cash,
less than 10 items, etc.) and can be
readily segmented.

Servers

Single servers or multiple, parallel servers

providing multiple channels
Arrangement of servers (phases)

Multiple phase systems require customers to

visit more than one server
Example of a multi-phase, multi-server system:
1

Arrival
s

Phase 1

Phase 2

Depar
t

Example Queuing Systems

Arrival & Service Patterns

Arrival rate:

Service rate:

The average number of customers arriving per time period

Modeled using the Poisson distribution
Service rate usually denoted by lambda ()
Example: =50 customers/hour; 1/=0.02 hours between customer
arrivals (1.2 minutes between customers)
The average number of customers that can be served during the
same period of time
Service times are usually modeled using the exponential distribution
Service rate usually denoted by mu ()
Example: =70 customers/hour; 1/=0.014 hours per customer
(0.857 minutes per customer).

Even if the service rate is larger than the arrival rate, waiting
lines form!

Reason is the variation in specific customer arrival and service times.

Example Priority Rules

First come, first served

Best customers first (reward loyalty)
Highest profit customers first
Quickest service requirements first
Largest service requirements first
Earliest reservation first
Emergencies first
Etc.

Common Performance
Measures

Lq = The average number of customers

waiting in queue
L = The average number of customers
in the system
Wq = The average waiting time in queue
W = The average time in the system
p = The system utilization rate (% of
time servers are busy)

Single-Server Waiting Line

Assumptions

Infinite population
Customers are patient (no balking, reneging, or
jockeying)
Arrivals follow a Poisson distribution with a mean
arrival rate of . This means that the time between
successive customer arrivals follows an exponential
distribution with an average of 1/ .
The service rate is described by a Poisson
distribution with a mean service rate of . This
means that the service time for one customer follows
an exponential distribution with an average of 1/.
The waiting line priority rule is first-come, firstserved.

Formulas: Single-Server Case

lambda mean arrival rate
mu mean service rate

p average system utilization

Note : for system stability. If this is not the case,

an infinitly long line will eventually form.

Formulas: Single-Server Case

(continued)

L
average number of customers in system

Lq pL average number of customers in line
1
W
average time in system including service

Wq pW average time spent waiting
Pn 1 p p n probability of n customers in the system
at a given point in time

Example

A help desk in the computer lab serves

students on a first-come, first served
basis. On average, 15 students need
help every hour. The help desk can serve
an average of 20 students per hour.
Based on this description, we know:

= 20 students/hour (average service time is

3 minutes)
= 15 students/hour (average time between
student arrivals is 4 minutes)

Average Utilization

15
p
0.75 or 75%
20

Average Number of Students

in the System, and in Line

15
L

3 students
20 15
Lq pL 0.75 3 2.25 students

Average Time in the System,

and in Line
1
1
W

0.2 hours
20 15
or 12 minutes
Wq pW 0.75 0.2 0.15 hours
or 9 minutes

Probability of n
Students in the Line
P0 1 p p 1 0.751 0.25
0

P1 1 p p 1 0.75 0.75 0.188

1

2
2

P2 1 p p 1 0.75 0.75 0.141

3
3
P3 1 p p 1 0.75 0.75 0.105
4
4
P4 1 p p 1 0.75 0.75 0.079

Single Server:
Spreadsheet Approach
Key Formulas
B9: =1/B5
B10: =1/B6
B13: =B5/B6
B14: =1-B13
B15: =B5/(B6-B5)
B16: =B13*B15
B17: =1/(B6-B5)
B18: =B13*B17
B22: =(1-B$13)*(B13^B21)

Use Data Table (tracking

B22) to easily compute
the probability of n
customers in the system.

Single Server: Probability

of n Students in the
System

Changing System
Performance

Customer Arrival Rates

Number and type of service facilities

Try to smooth demand through non-peak discounts or

price promotions
Increase or decrease number of servers, or dedicate
specific servers for certain tasks (e.g., express line for
under 10 items)

Change Number of Phases

Can use multi-phase system instead of single phase.

This spreads the workload among more servers and
may result in better flow (e.g., fast food restaurants
having an order phase, pay phase, and pick-up phase
during busy hours)

Changing System
Performance

Server efficiency

Change priority rules

Add resources to each phase (e.g., bagger

helping a checker at the grocery store)
Use technology (e.g. price scanners) to improve
efficiency
Example: implement a reservation protocol

Change the number of lines

Reduce multiple lines to single queue to avoid

jockeying
Dedicate specific servers to specific
transactions

Multiple Server Case

Assumptions

Same as Single-Server, except here

we have multiple, parallel servers.
Single Line
When server finishes with customer,
first person in line goes to the idle
server.

Multiple Server Formulas

lambda mean arrival rate
mu mean service rate for one server
s number of parallel, identical servers

p
average system utilization
s
Note : s for system stability. If this is not the case,
an infinitly long line will eventually form.

Multiple Server Formulas

(continued)

probability of zero
P0
s! 1 p
n 0 n!
customers in the system at a given point in time
s 1

/ n
P0 for n s

n!
Pn
probability of n customers
n
/ P for n s
s!s n s 0
in the system at a given point in time

Multiple Server Formulas

(continued)
P0 / p
Lq
average number of customers in line
2
s!1 p
Wq Lq average time spent waiting in line
s

1
W Wq average time in system including service

L W average number of customers in system

Example: Multiple Server

Computer Lab Help Desk

Now 45 students/hour need help.
3 servers, each with service rate of
18 students/hour
Based on this, we know:

= 18 students/hour
s = 3 servers
= 45 students/hour

Flexible Spreadsheet Approach

Formulas are somewhat complex to set up initially, but

you only need to do it once!

For other multiple-server problems, can just change the

input values.
This approach also makes sensitivity analysis possible.

Key Formulas for

Spreadsheet

F10: =F$5^E10 (copied down)

G10: =E10*G9 (copied down)
H10: =H9+(F10/G10) (copied down)
F5: =B5/B6
F6: =INDEX(G9:G109,B7+1)
B10: =1/B5
B11: =1/B6
B12: =B7*B6
B15: =B5/B12
B16: = (INDEX(H9:H109,B7)+ (((F5^B7)/F6)*((1)/(1-B15))))^(-1)
B17: =B5*B19
B18: =(B16*(F5^B7)*B15)/(INDEX(G9:G109,B7+1)*(1-B15)^2)
B19: =B20+(1/B6)
B20: =B18/B5
B24: =IF(B23<=B7, ((F5^B23)*B16)/INDEX(G9:G109,B23+1),
((F5^B23)*B16)/ (INDEX(G9:G109,B7+1)*(B7^(B23-B7))))

Probability of n students in
the system

Supplement D Highlights

The elements of a waiting line system include the customer

population source, the patience of the customer, the service
system, arrival and service distributions, waiting line priority rules,
and system performance measures. Understanding these elements
is critical when analyzing waiting line systems.
Waiting line models allow us to estimate system performance by
predicting average system utilization, average number of
customers in the service system, average number of customers
waiting in line, average time a customer waits in line, and the
probability of n customers in the service system.
The benefit of calculating operational characteristics is to provide
management with information as to whether system changes are
needed. Management can change the operational performance of
the waiting line system by altering any or all of the following: the
customer arrival rates, the number of service facilities, the number
of phases, server efficiency, the priority rule, and the number of
lines in the system. Based on proposed changes, management can
then evaluate the expected performance of the system.

The End
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