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Ma. Arlene D. Briones

3COA-1

Written
Report

QUEUING THEORY
A body of knowledge about waiting lines. Waiting lines are a common situation, for
example, forms of cars waiting for repairs at a car wash station.

Characteristic of Waiting Line System

1. Arrivals input source that generates arrivals or customers for a service
system has three major characteristics:
a. Size of the arrival- population considered either unlimited or limited.
Unlimited, when the number of customers or arrivals on hand at any
given moment is just a small portion of all potential arrivals, for example,
cars arriving at a big-city car wash.
Limited, when there are only a limited number of potential users of the
service.
b. Behavior of arrivals- most queuing models assume that an arriving
customer is a patient customer. Patient customers are people or machines
that wait in the queue until they are served and do not switch between lines.
c. Pattern of arrivals (statistical distribution) customers arrive at a
service facility either according to some known schedule or else they arrive
randomly. Arrivals are random when they are independent of one another and
their occurrence cannot be predicted exactly.
In queuing problems number of arrivals per unit of time can be estimated by
a probability distribution known as Poisson Distribution.

P ( x )=

e x
x!

P( x)

Where

For x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4

= probability of x arrivals

= number of arrivals per unit

= average arrival rate

= 2.7183 (which is based of the natural

logarithms)

Example: 2 customers per hour

X=0

P ( x )=

e2 20
0!

= 13%

2 1

X=1

P ( x )=

e 2
1!

X=2

P ( x )=

e 2
2!

X=3

P ( x )=

e 2
3!

= 27%

2 2

= 27%

2 3

= 18%

The probability of 0 customers arriving in any random hour is about

13%, the probability of 1 customer will arrive is about 27%, the
probability of 2 customer will arrive is about 27% and 3 customers about
18% the probability of 9 10 customer will arrive is nil.
Graphical Presentation
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0

10

2. Queue discipline or the waiting line itself- second component of

queuing system. Length of a line can be either limited or unlimited. Limited when
it cannot either by law or because of physical restrictions, increase to an infinite
length for example a small barbershop who have only a limited number of
waiting chairs. A queue is unlimited when its size is unrestricted, as in the case
of the toll booth serving arriving automobiles.
Queue discipline refers to the rule by which customers in the line are to receive
service. Most system use first-in, first-out (FIFO) rule.
3. Service - third part of any queuing system are the service characteristics.
Two basic properties are important:
(1) Design of the service system and (2) The distribution of service times.

Basic Queuing System Designs

Single-channel queuing system- one line and one server.

Multiple-channel queuing system- one waiting line but with several

servers.
Single-phase system- customer receive service from only one station
and then exits the system.
Multiphase system- customer receive services from several stations
before exiting the system.

Example

Queue
Arrivals

Departures after service

Service facility

Single channel, single-phase system

Queue
Arrivals

Phase 1 Service facility

Departures after service

Service facility

Single-channel, multiphase system

Service facility Channel 1

Queue
Departures after service

Service facility Channel 2

Arrivals

Service facility Channel 3

Multichannel, single-phase system

Queue

Phase 1 ServicePhase
facility2 Channel
Service facility
1
Channel 1

Departures after service

Arrivals

Phase 1 ServicePhase
facility2 Channel
Service facility
2
Channel 2

Multichannel, multiphase system

Service Time Distribution- service patterns are like arrival patterns in that
they may be either constant or random. If service time is constant it takes the
same amount of time to take care of each customer. More often, service
times are randomly distributed. In many cases we can assume that random
service times are described by the negative exponential probability
distribution.

The Variety of Queuing Models

Model A: Single-Channel Queuing Model with Poisson
Arrivals and Exponential Service Times

= mean number of arrivals per time period

= mean number of people or items served per time period

Average number of units in the system.

Ls =

Average time a unit spends in the system

W s=

Average number of units waiting in the queue

Lq =

2
()

Average time a unit spends waiting in the queue

W q=

= q
( )

Utilization factor for the system

Probability of 0 units in the system (that is, the service unit is idle)

P0=1

Probability of more than

units in the system, where

is the number of

units in the system

Pn> k

()

k+1

Example:
Tom Jones, the mechanic at Golden Muffler Shop is able to install new mufflers at an
average rate of 3 per hour. Customers seeking this service at the shop on the
average of 2 per hour, following a Poisson distribution. They are served on a first-in,
first-out basis and come from a very large population of possible buyers.

=2 per hour

Average number of units in the system.

Ls =

=3 per hour

2
=2 carsthe system
32

Average time a unit spends in the system

W s=

1
=1 hour averagetimethe system
32

Average number of units waiting in the queue

2

Lq =

2
=1.33 cars waitingline
3 ( 32 )

Average time a unit spends waiting in the queue

W q=

2
=40 minute average waiting ttime per car
3 (32)

Utilization factor for the system

Probability of 0 units in the system (that is, the service unit is idle)

Probability of more than

2
= =66.6 of timemechanic isbusy
3
2
P0=1 =.33 probability that there are 0units the system
3

units in the system

units in the system, where

is the number of

Pn> k
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

2
3

k(1,2,3, 4,5,6)+1

()

.667
.44
.296
.198
.132
.088
.059
.039

*The probability that there is 2 units in the system is 29.6% and the probability that there are 7
units in the system is nil.

Economic Analysis:
Golden Muffler Shop estimates that the cost of customer waiting time, in terms of
customer dissatisfaction and lost good will is 10 per hour spent in waiting line. Jones
the mechanic is paid 7 per hour.
Cost of customer waiting time = 10 per hour
Payoff of Jones

= 7 per hour

Required:

Average daily customer waiting time

Daily salary for Jones
Total Expected Cost

Solution:

Average daily customer waiting time

2
W q = per hour
3

=2 cars arriving per hour

8 working hours per day

2
2
( 16 )=10 hour
3
3

( 23 )=106.67 per day

customer waiting time cost=10 10

Daily salary for Jones

8 ( 7 )=56 per day

Total Expected Cost

total cost =customer waiting cost + service cost

TC=106.67+56=162.67 per day

Model B: Multiple-Channel Queuing Model

M

= number of channels open

= average arrival rate

= average service rate at each channel

The probability that there are zero people or units in the system is:

P0=

M1

n=0

( )]

1
n!

1
M!

()

M
M

Average number of people or units in the system

M
( )

Ls =
P+
2 0

( M 1 ) !( M)

Average time a unit spends in the waiting line and being serviced

M
( )

1 L
W s=
P+ = s
2 0

( M 1 ) ! (M)

Average number of people or units in line waiting for service

Lq=L s

Average time a person or unit spends in the queue waiting for service

1 L
W q =W s = q

Example:
The Golden Muffler Shop has decided to open a second garage bay and hire a
second mechanic to handle installations. Customers who arrive at the rate of about
2 per hour will wait in a single line until 1 of the 2 mechanics is free. Each mechanic
installs mufflers at the rate of about 3 per hour.

The company wants to find out how this system compares with the old single
channel waiting line system.

=2 per hour

The probability that there are zero people or units in the system is:

P0=

=3 per hour

[( ) ( ) ]

2 0 2 1
3
3
1 2 2 2(3)
+
+
0!
1!
2 ! 3 2(3)2

1
= .5 probability that ther are 0 cars the system
2

()

Average number of people or units in the system

2 2
2(3)( )
3
2
Ls =
.5+ =.75 average number of carsthe system
2
3
( 21 ) !(2(3)2)

Average time a unit spends in the waiting line and being serviced

W s=

.75 3
= 22.5 minutes average time a car spendsthe system
2 8

Average number of people or units in line waiting for service

Average time a person or unit spends in the queue waiting for service

2
Lq=.75 =.083 averagenumber of carsthe queuee
3

W q=

.083
=.04152.5 minutes average time a car spends the queue
2

P0

Single Channel
.33

Two Channel
.5

Ls

2 cars

.75 car

Ws

60 minutes

22.5 minutes

Lq

1,33 cars

.083 car

Wq

40 minutes

2.5 minutes

Model C: Constant-Service-Time Model

Average length of queue

Lq =

Average waiting time in queue

W q=

2 ( )

Average number of customers in the system

Ls=Lq +

2
2 ()

Average time in system

W s =W q +

Example:
Inman Recycling, Inc. collects and compacts aluminum cans and glass bottles in
Reston, Louisiana. Its trucks drivers currently wart an average of 15 minutes before
emptying their loads for recycling. The cost of driver and truck time while they are
in queues is valued at 60 per hour. A new automated compactor can be purchased
to process truckloads at a constant rate of 12 hours per hour. Tucks arrive according
to a Poisson distribution at an average rate of 8 per hour. If the new compactor is
put the cost will be amortized at a rate of 3 per truck unloaded.
Evaluate the cost vs benefit of the purchase

=8

=12

Average waiting time = 15 minutes

Cost of waiting time = 60 per hour
Solution:
Current waiting cost =

15 1
= 60=15 per trip
60 4

Average waiting time in queue

W q=

8
1
= hour
12
2(12)(128)

Waiting cost per trip with new compactor = 5 per trip

Savings with new equipment = 15 (current system) 5 (new system) = 10 per trip
Cost of new equipment amortized
Net savings

= (3 per trip)
7 per trip