C

Waiting Lines

PowerPoint Slides
by Jeff Heyl

For Operations Management, 9e by

Krajewski/Ritzman/Malhotra
2010 Pearson Education

C1

Why Waiting Lines Form

Define customers
Waiting lines form

Temporary imbalance between demand and capacity

Can develop even if processing time is constant

No waiting line if both demand and service rates

are constant and service rate > than demand
Affects process design, capacity planning,
process performance, and ultimately, supply
chain performance

C2

Uses of Waiting-Line Theory

Applies to many service or manufacturing
situations

Relating arrival and service-system processing

characteristics to output

Service is the act of processing a customer

Hair cutting in a hair salon

Satisfying customer complaints

Processing production orders

Theatergoers waiting to purchase tickets

Trucks waiting to be unloaded at a warehouse

Patients waiting to be examined by a physician

C3

Structure of Waiting-Line Problems

1. An input, or customer population, that
generates potential customers
2. A waiting line of customers
3. The service facility, consisting of a person
(or crew), a machine (or group of
machines), or both necessary to perform
the service for the customer
4. A priority rule, which selects the next
customer to be served by the service
facility
C4

Structure of Waiting-Line Problems

Customer
population
Service system

Waiting line
Priority
rule

Service
facilities

Served
customers

Figure C.1 Basic Elements of Waiting-Line Models

C5

Customer Population
The source of input
Finite or infinite source

Customers from a finite source reduce the

chance of new arrivals

Customers from an infinite source do not

affect the probability of another arrival

Customers are patient or impatient

Patient customers wait until served

Impatient customer either balk or join the line

and renege

C6

The Service System

Number of lines

A single-line keeps servers uniformly busy and levels

waiting times among customers

A multiple-line arrangement is favored when servers

provide a limited set of services

Arrangement of service facilities

Single-channel, single-phase

Single-channel, multiple-phase

Multiple-channel, single-phase

Multiple-channel, multiple-phase

Mixed arrangement

C7

The Service System

Service facilities

Service facilities

(a) Single line

Figure C.2 Waiting-Line

Arrangements

(b) Multiple lines

C8

The Service System

Service
facility

(a) Single channel, single phase

Service
facility 1

Service
facility 2

(b) Single channel, multiple phase

Figure C.3 Examples of Service

Facility Arrangements
C9

The Service System

Service
facility 1

Service
facility 2

(d) Multiple channel, multiple phase

(c) Multiple channel, single phase

Figure C.3 Examples of Service

Facility Arrangements

Service
facility 1

Service
facility 3

Service
facility 2

Service
facility 4

C 10

The Service System

Routing for
Routing for
Routing for

(e) Mixed arrangement

Service
facility 1

: 124
: 243
: 3214

Service
facility 2

Service
facility 3

Service
facility 4

Figure C.3 Examples of Service

Facility Arrangements
C 11

Priority Rule
First-come, first-served (FCFS)used by
most service systems
Other rules

Earliest due date (EDD)

Shortest processing time (SPT)

Preemptive disciplineallows a higher

priority customer to interrupt the service of
another customer or be served ahead of
another who would have been served first

C 12

Probability Distributions
The sources of variation in waiting-line problems
come from the random arrivals of customers and
the variation of service times
Arrival distribution

Customer arrivals can often be described by the

Poisson distribution with mean = T and variance
also = T

Arrival distribution is the probability of n arrivals in T

time periods

Interarrival times are the average time between

arrivals

C 13

Interarrival Times
( T)n -T
Pn =
e
for n = 0, 1, 2,
n!
where
Pn = Probability of n arrivals in T time
periods
= Average numbers of customer
arrivals per period
e = 2.7183

C 14

Probability of Customer Arrivals

EXAMPLE C.1
Management is redesigning the customer service process in a
large department store. Accommodating four customers is
important. Customers arrive at the desk at the rate of two
customers per hour. What is the probability that four customers
will arrive during any hour?
SOLUTION
In this case customers per hour, T = 1 hour, and n = 4
customers. The probability that four customers will arrive in
any hour is
[2(1)]4
16 2
2(1)
P4 =
=
e = 0.090
4! e
24

C 15

Service Time
Service time distribution can be described by an
exponential distribution with mean = 1/ and
variance = (1/ )2
Service time distribution: The probability that the
service time will be no more than T time periods
can be described by the exponential distribution
P(t T) = 1 e-T
where
=
average number of customers
completing service per period
t=

service time of the customer

T=

target service time

C 16

Service Time Probability

EXAMPLE C.2
The management of the large department store in Example C.1
must determine whether more training is needed for the
customer service clerk. The clerk at the customer service desk
can serve an average of three customers per hour. What is the
probability that a customer will require less than 10 minutes of
service?
SOLUTION
We must have all the data in the same time units. Because
= 3 customers per hour, we convert minutes of time to
hours, or T = 10 minutes = 10/60 hour = 0.167 hour. Then
P(t T) = 1 eT
P(t 0.167 hour) = 1 e3(0.167) = 1 0.61 = 0.39
C 17

Using Waiting-Line Models

Balance costs against benefits
Operating characteristics
Line

length

Number

of customers in system

Waiting

time in line

Total

time in system

Service

facility utilization

C 18

Single-Server Model
Single-server, single line of customers, and
only one phase
Assumptions are
1.

Customer population is infinite and patient

2.

Customers arrive according to a Poisson

distribution, with a mean arrival rate of

3.

Service distribution is exponential with a mean

service rate of

4.

Mean service rate exceeds mean arrival rate

5.

Customers are served FCFS

6.

The length of the waiting line is unlimited

C 19

Single-Server Model

= Average utilization of the system =

= Probability that n customers are in the system

= (1 ) n
L = Average number of customers in the service system
=

Lq
= Average number of customers in the waiting line
= L
W= Average time spent in the system, including service
= 1

Wq
= Average waiting time in line
= W
C 20

Calculating the Operating

Characteristics
EXAMPLE C.3
The manager of a grocery store in the retirement community of
Sunnyville is interested in providing good service to the senior
citizens who shop in her store. Currently, the store has a
separate checkout counter for senior citizens. On average, 30
senior citizens per hour arrive at the counter, according to a
Poisson distribution, and are served at an average rate of 35
customers per hour, with exponential service times. Find the
following operating characteristics:
a. Probability of zero customers in the system
b. Average utilization of the checkout clerk
c. Average number of customers in the system
d. Average number of customers in line
e. Average time spent in the system
f. Average waiting time in line
C 21

Calculating the Operating

Characteristics
SOLUTION
The checkout counter can be modeled as a single-channel,
single-phase system. Figure C.4 shows the results from the
Waiting-Lines Solver from OM Explorer.

Figure C.4 Waiting-Lines Solver for Single-Channel, Single-Phase System

C 22

Calculating the Operating

Characteristics
Both the average waiting time in the system (W) and the
average time spent waiting in line (Wq) are expressed in
hours. To convert the results to minutes, simply multiply
by 60 minutes/ hour. For example, W = 0.20(60) minutes,
and Wq = 0.1714(60) = 10.28 minutes.

C 23

Application C.1
Customers arrive at a checkout counter at an average 20 per
hour, according to a Poisson distribution. They are served at an
average rate of 25 per hour, with exponential service times. Use
the single-server model to estimate the operating
characteristics of this system.

= 20 customer arrival rate per hour

= 25 customer service rate per hour
SOLUTION
1. Average utilization of system

= = 20 = 0.8
25

C 24

Application C.1
2. Average number of customers
in the service system

3. Average number of customers

in the waiting line
4. Average time spent in the
system, including service
5. Average waiting time in line

20
L = =
=4

25 20

Lq ==0.8(4)
L
= 3.2
1
1
W=
=
= 0.2

25 20

Wq = =
W
0.8(0.2) = 0.16

C 25

Analyzing Service Rates

EXAMPLE C.4
The manager of the Sunnyville grocery in Example C.3 wants
answers to the following questions:
a. What service rate would be required so that customers
average only 8 minutes in the system?
b. For that service rate, what is the probability of having more
than four customers in the system?
c. What service rate would be required to have only a 10
percent chance of exceeding four customers in the system?

C 26

Analyzing Service Rates

SOLUTION
The Waiting-Lines Solver from OM Explorer could be used
iteratively to answer the questions. Here we show how to solve
the problem manually.
a. We use the equation for the average time in the system
and solve for
W=

8 minutes = 0.133 hour =

1
30

0.133 0.133(30) = 1

= 37.52 customers/hour
C 27

Analyzing Service Rates

b. The probability of more than four customers in the system
equals 1 minus the probability of four or fewer customers in
the system.
4

P = 1 n
P
=0 n
4

and

n
= 1 n
(1

=0

30
= 0.80
37.52

Then,
P = 1 0.21(1 + 0.8 + 0.82 + 0.83 + 0.84)
= 1 0.672 = 0.328
Therefore, there is a nearly 33 percent chance that more
than four customers will be in the system.
C 28

Analyzing Service Rates

c. We use the same logic as in part (b), except that is now a
decision variable. The easiest way to proceed is to find the
correct average utilization first, and then solve for the
service rate.
P = 1 (1 )(1 + + 2 + 3 + 4)
= 1 (1 )(1 + + 2 + 3 + 4) + (1 + + 2 + 3 + 4)
= 1 1 2 3 4 + + 2 + 3 + 4+ 5 = 5
or

= P1/5
If

P = 0.10

= (0.10)1/5 = 0.63

C 29

Analyzing Service Rates

Therefore, for a utilization rate of 63 percent, the probability of
more than four customers in the system is 10 percent.
For = 30, the mean service rate must be
30
= 0.63

= 47.62 customers/hour

C 30

Application C.2
In the checkout counter example, what service rate is required
to have customers average only 10 minutes in the system?
SOLUTION
W1
= = 0.17 hr (or 10 minutes)

0.17( ) = 1, where = 20 customers arrival rate per hour
1 + 0.17(20)
=
= 25.88 or about 26 customers per hour
0.17

C 31

Multiple-Server Model
Service system has only one phase,
multiple-channels
Assumptions (in addition to single-server
model)

There are s identical servers

The service distribution for each server is

exponential

The mean service time is 1/

s should always exceed

C 32

Multiple-Server Model

= Average utilization of the system =

s
P0 = Probability that zero customers are in the system

s 1

n 0

/ n / s
n!

s!

Pn = Probability that n customers are in the system

/ n
P0 0 n s

n!
=
n

n s
s! s n s P0

C 33

Multiple-Server Model
Lq = Average number of customers in the waiting line
P0 /
=
2
s! 1
s

Wq = Average waiting time of customers in line =

Lq

W = Average time spent in the system, including service

= Wq

L = Average number of customers in the service system

= W
C 34

Estimating Idle Time and Costs

EXAMPLE C.5
The management of the American Parcel Service terminal in
Verona, Wisconsin, is concerned about the amount of time the
companys trucks are idle (not delivering on the road), which
the company defines as waiting to be unloaded and being
unloaded at the terminal. The terminal operates with four
unloading bays. Each bay requires a crew of two employees,
and each crew costs $30 per hour. The estimated cost of an idle
truck is $50 per hour. Trucks arrive at an average rate of three
per hour, according to a Poisson distribution. On average, a
crew can unload a semitrailer rig in one hour, with exponential
service times. What is the total hourly cost of operating the
system?

C 35

Estimating Idle Time and Costs

SOLUTION
The multiple-server model is appropriate. To find the total cost
of labor and idle trucks, we must calculate the average number
of trucks in the system.
Figure C.5 shows the results for the American Parcel Service
problem using the Waiting-Lines Solver from OM Explorer.
Manual calculations using the equations for the multiple-server
model are demonstrated in Solved Problem 2 at the end of this
supplement. The results show that the four-bay design will be
utilized 75 percent of the time and that the average number of
trucks either being serviced or waiting in line is 4.53 trucks.
That is, on average at any point in time, we have 4.53 idle
trucks. We can now calculate the hourly costs of labor and idle
trucks:

C 36

Estimating Idle Time and Costs

Labor cost:

$30(s) = $30(4)

$120.00

Idle truck cost:

$50(L) = $50(4.53)

226.50

Total hourly cost

$346.50

Figure C.5 Waiting-Lines Solver for Multiple-Server Model

C 37

Application C.3
Suppose the manager of the checkout system decides to add
another counter. The arrival rate is still 20 customers per hour,
but now each checkout counter will be designed to service
customers at the rate of 12.5 per hour. What is the waiting time
in line of the new system?
s = 2, = 12.5 customers per hour, = 20 customers per hour
SOLUTION
1. Average utilization of the system

20
=
=
= 0.8
s
2 12.5

C 38

Application C.3

2. Probability that zero

customers are in the
system

1
1

s! 1

P0 =

1 20
12.5

1
20

12.5
2!

= 0.11

1 0.8

C 39

Application C.3
3. Average number of
customers in the
waiting line

P /
Lq = 0
2
s! 1
s

20
0.11
0 .8
12.5
=
= 1.408
2
2! 1 0.8

4. Average waiting time

of customers in line

Lq

1.408
=
= 0.0704 hrs
Wq =
20

(or 4.224 minutes

C 40

Littles Law
Relates the number of customers in a waiting line
system to the waiting time of customers
Using the notation from the single-server and
multiple-server models it is expressed as L = W
or Lq = Wq
Holds for a wide variety of arrival processes,
service time distributions, and numbers of
servers
Only need to know two of the parameters

C 41

Littles Law
Service

Estimate W
L customers
Average time = W =
in the facility
customer/hour
30
=
= 0.75 hours or 45 minutes
40

Manufacturing

Estimate the average work-in-process L

Work-in-process = L = W
= 5 gear cases/hour (3 hours) = 15 gear cases

C 42

Littles Law
Provides basis for measuring the effects of
process improvements
Is not applicable to situations where the
customer population is finite

C 43

Finite-Source Model
Assumptions

Follows the assumption of the single-server,

except that the customer population is finite

Having only N potential customers

If N > 30, then the single-server model with the

assumption of infinite customer population is
adequate

C 44

Finite-Source Model
P0 = Probability that zero customers are in the system

N!

n
!

n 0
N

= Average utilization of the server = 1 P0

Lq = Average number of customers in the waiting line
= N

1 P0

C 45

Finite-Source Model
L = Average number of customers in the service system
= N

1 P0

Wq = Average waiting time in line = Lq N L

W = Average time spent in the system, including service

= L N L

C 46

Application C.4
DBT Bank has 8 copy machines located in various offices
throughout the building. Each machine is used continuously
and has an average time between failures of 50 hours. Once
failed, it takes 4 hours for the service company to send a repair
person to have it fixed. What is the average number of copy
machines in repair or waiting to be repaired?

= 1/50 = 0.02 copiers per hour

= 1/4 = 0.25 copiers per hour

C 47

Application C.4
SOLUTION
1. Probability that zero
customers are in the system
=

N!

n 0 N n !
N

P0 =

1
8!
8!
8!
0
1
8

0
.
08

0
.
08

0
.
08
8!

7!
0!

= 0.44
2. Average utilization of the
server

= 1 P0 = 1 0.44 = 0.56

3. Average number of
customers in the service
system

L= N

1 P0

0.25
1 0.44 = 1
= 8
0.02
C 48

Analyzing Maintenance Costs

EXAMPLE C.6
The Worthington Gear Company installed a bank of 10 robots
about 3 years ago. The robots greatly increased the firms labor
productivity, but recently attention has focused on
maintenance. The firm does no preventive maintenance on the
robots because of the variability in the breakdown distribution.
Each machine has an exponential breakdown (or interarrival)
distribution with an average time between failures of 200 hours.
Each machine hour lost to downtime costs $30, which means
that the firm has to react quickly to machine failure. The firm
employs one maintenance person, who needs 10 hours on
average to fix a robot. Actual maintenance times are
exponentially distributed. The wage rate is $10 per hour for the
maintenance person, who can be put to work productively
elsewhere when not fixing robots. Determine the daily cost of
labor and robot downtime.

C 49

Analyzing Maintenance Costs

SOLUTION
The finite-source model is appropriate for this analysis because
the customer population consists of only 10 machines and the
other assumptions are satisfied. Here, = 1/200, or 0.005 breakdown per hour, and = 1/10 = 0.10 robot per hour. To calculate
the cost of labor and robot downtime, we need to estimate the
average utilization of the maintenance person and L, the
average number of robots in the maintenance system at any
time. Figure C.6 shows the results for the Worthington Gear
Problem using the Waiting-Lines Solver from OM Explorer.

C 50

Analyzing Maintenance Costs

Manual computations using the equations for the finite-source
model are demonstrated in Solved Problem 3 at the end of this
supplement. The results show that the maintenance person is
utilized only 46.2 percent of the time, and the average number
of robots waiting in line or being repaired is 0.76 robot.
However, a failed robot will spend an average of 16.43 hours in
the repair system, of which 6.43 hours of that time is spent
waiting for service. While an individual robot may spend more
than two days with the maintenance person, the maintenance
person has a lot of idle time with a utilization rate of only 42.6
percent. That is why there is only an average of 0.76 robot
being maintained at any point of time.

C 51

Analyzing Maintenance Costs

Figure C.5 Waiting-Lines Solver for Finite-Source Model

The daily cost of labor and robot downtime is

Labor cost:

($19/hour)(8 hours/day)(0.462 utilization)

$36.96

Idle robot cost:

(0.76 robot)($30/robot hour)(8 hours/day)

182.40

Total daily cost

$219.36
C 52

Application C.5
The Hilltop Produce store is staffed by one checkout clerk. The
average checkout time is exponentially distributed around an
average of two minutes per customer. An average of 20
customers arrive per hour.
What is the average utilization rate?
SOLUTION

= = 20 = 0.667
30

C 53

Application C.5
What is the probability that three or more customers will be in
the checkout area?
First calculate 0, 1, and 2 customers will be in the checkout
area:

n = (1 ) 0 = (0.333)(0.667)0 = 0.333
n = (1 ) 1 = (0.333)(0.667)1 = 0.222
n = (1 ) 2 = (0.333)(0.667)2 = 0.111
Then calculate 3 or more customers will be in the checkout area:
1 P0 P1 P2 = 0.333 0.222 0.111 = 0.334

C 54

Application C.5
What is the average number of customers in the waiting line?

20

0.667
Lq = L =
= 1.333
=
30

20

What is the average time customers spend in the store?

W=

1
1
=
= 0.1 hr 60 min/hr = 6 minutes
30 20

C 55

Decision Areas for Management

1. Arrival rates
2. Number of service facilities
3. Number of phases
4. Number of servers per facility
5. Server efficiency
6. Priority rule
7. Line arrangement

C 56

Solved Problem 1
A photographer takes passport pictures at an average rate of 20
pictures per hour. The photographer must wait until the
customer smiles, so the time to take a picture is exponentially
distributed. Customers arrive at a Poisson-distributed average
rate of 19 customers per hour.
a. What is the utilization of the photographer?
b. How much time will the average customer spend with the
photographer?
SOLUTION
a. The assumptions in the problem statement are consistent
with a single-server model. Utilization is

= = 19 = 0.95
20
C 57

Solved Problem 1
b. The average customer time spent with the photographer is
1
W= 1 =
= 1 hour

20 19

C 58

Solved Problem 2
The Mega Multiplex Movie Theater has three concession clerks
serving customers on a first come, first-served basis. The
service time per customer is exponentially distributed with an
average of 2 minutes per customer. Concession customers wait
in a single line in a large lobby, and arrivals are Poisson
distributed with an average of 81 customers per hour. Previews
run for 10 minutes before the start of each show. If the average
time in the concession area exceeds 10 minutes, customers
become dissatisfied.
a. What is the average utilization of the concession clerks?
b. What is the average time spent in the concession area?

C 59

Solved Problem 2
SOLUTION
a. The problem statement is consistent with the multiple-server
model, and the average utilization rate is

=
=
s

81 customers/hour
= 0.90
60 minutes/se rver hour

3 servers

2
minutes/cu
stomer

The concession clerks are busy 90 percent of the time.

C 60

Solved Problem 2
1
b. The average time spent in the system, W, is W = Wq

Here,

Wq =

P0 /
and P0 =
Lq =
2
s! 1

Lq

s 1

n0

n!

/ 1

s! 1
s

We must solve for P0, Lq, and Wq, in that order, before we can
solve for W:

P0 =

s 1

n0

n!

s!
1

=
1
=

/ n / s

81/ 30 2.7 2 2.7 3

1

1 0.9

1
1
=
= 0.0249
1 2.7 3.645 32.805
40.15
C 61

Solved Problem 2
3
s
0.4411
0.0249 81 / 30 0.9
P0 /
=
=
= 7.352 customers
Lq =
2
2
6 0.01
3! 1 0.9
s! 1

Wq =

Lq

W = Wq

7.352 customers
= 0.0908 hour
81 customers/ hour

1
1
60 minutes
= 0.0908 hours +
hour = 0.1241 hour

30
hour

= 7.45 minutes

With three concession clerks, customers will spend an

average of 7.45 minutes in the concession area.

C 62

Solved Problem 3
The Severance Coal Mine serves six trains having exponentially
distributed interarrival times averaging 30 hours. The time
required to fill a train with coal varies with the number of cars,
weather-related delays, and equipment breakdowns. The time
to fill a train can be approximated by an exponential
distribution with a mean of 6 hours 40 minutes. The railroad
requires the coal mine to pay large demurrage charges in the
event that a train spends more than 24 hours at the mine. What
is the average time a train will spend at the mine?
SOLUTION
The problem statement describes a finite-source model, with
N = 6. The average time spent at the mine is W = L[(N L) ]
1, with 1/ = 30 hours/train, = 0.8 train/day, and = 3.6
trains/day. In this case,

C 63

Solved Problem 3

N!

n
!

n 0
N

P0 =

1
6

6! 0.8

n
!
3
.
6

n0

=
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
6! 0.8 6! 0.8 6! 0.8 6! 0.8 6! 0.8 6! 0.8 6! 0.8








6
!
3
.
6
5
!
3
.
6
4
!
3
.
6
3
!
3
.
6
2
!
3
.
6
1
!
3
.
6
0
!
3
.
6

1
1
=
= 0.1541
1 1.33 1.48 1.32 0.88 0.39 0.09
6.49
L= N

3 .6

1 0.1541
1 P0 = 6
0 .8

W = L N L

= 2.193 trains

2.193
3.807 0.8 = 0.72 day

Arriving trains will

spend an average of
0.72 day at the coal
mine.
C 64

C 65