Examples of Waiting Lines

• Assembly lines
• Production lines
• Trucks waiting to unload or load
• Workers waiting for parts
• Customers waiting for products
• Broken equipment waiting to be fixed
• Customers waiting for service
Watch: Disney World Queue Management
Give it a try!

3
 What is Queuing Theory?
• Mathematical analysis of queues and waiting times in stochastic
systems.
– Used extensively to analyze production and service processes exhibiting
random variability in market demand (arrival times) and service times.
• Queues arise when the short term demand for service exceeds the
capacity
– Most often caused by random variation in service times and the times
between customer arrivals.
– If long term demand for service > capacity the queue will explode!
 Why is Queuing Analysis Important?
• Capacity problems are very common in industry and one
of the main drivers of process redesign
– Need to balance the cost of increased capacity against the gains of
increased productivity and service
• Queuing and waiting time analysis is particularly
important in service systems
– Large costs of waiting and of lost sales due to waiting

Prototype Example – ER at County Hospital

• Patients arrive by ambulance or by their own accord
• One doctor is always on duty
• More and more patients seeks help  longer waiting times
 Question: Should another MD position be instated?
Why We Analyze Waiting Lines

Lines cost a business money.

The resources in a line (people and/or
material) are idle and thus unproductive.
The resources needed to process/service a
line (cashiers, dock workers, equipment, etc.)
cost a business money.
There is an ideal length for a line that
minimizes the total cost of the line..
 A Cost/Capacity Tradeoff Model

Total
cost
Cost

Cost of
service

Cost of waiting

Process capacity
A Waiting Line, or Queuing System,
at A Car Wash