Planning and Analysis of Construction Operations by Daniel W. Halpin, Leland S.

Riggs

QUEUEING SYSTEMS

1.1. General Concepts

Units such as floor sections are processed by work processes (e.g. erect forms). The sections
may be considered to be discrete units arriving at work stations represented by the construction
process involved. This can be thought of as a queueing situation in which the units to be
processed are calling units and the construction process constitutes the server or processor.

Queueing or waiting-line situations are common to all industrial processes. The arrival of trucks
at a loader to be loaded with earth is a classical example of a queueing situation in
construction. In this case, the processor (the loader) maintains its position and the trucks or
haulers cycle in and out of the system. Another similar example is the use of dozers to push
load scrapers. More common examples are ready-mix concrete trucks servicing hoppers,
buggies, crane buckets, or wheelbarrows and the servicing function performed by material and
man hoists on building sites.

Many questions that are of interest to the manager arise in connection with queueing problems:

a. How long will units be delayed in the queue?
b. How long will be the queue?
c. How many units can be processed by the processor, considering delays caused by
queueing?
d. How can lack of service to arriving units be related to the idleness and in-efficient use of
processors?
e. How many processors should be provided?

These are typical of some of the problems and the types of information that the manager can
utilize in designing service facilities and determining the production and the resource utilization
associated with such systems.

Queueing systems were first considered in a mathematical format by the Danish mathematician
A. K. Erlang. In the course of studying the processing of telephone calls in Copenhagen early in
this century, he was able to develop certain relationships that provide mathematically correct
answers to the questions posed above. His studies provide the basis for what is now referred to
as queueing theory. Extensions of Erlangs work have been applied to many industrial
situations; more recently, certain applications to construction processes have been attempted.

Simple queueing systems can be represented schematically, as shown in Figure 1. They consist
essentially of a processor station through which system flow units must pass. Implicit to this
station is a processor unit that does the processing. This unit cycles as required back and forth
from idle to a busy state.


Input output


Buffer or queue Server

Figure 1: M/M/1 Queue


Planning and Analysis of Construction Operations by Daniel W. Halpin, Leland S. Riggs

A typical processor unit in a construction situation is a front loader, which cycles continuously
from an idle state awaiting trucks to a busy state loading trucks. Obviously, if a processor (e.g.,
a loader) is busy with one unit, other units must wait. Therefore, a queueing model also consists
of a queue or waiting line. The units that have arrived for processing, but that cannot be
processed immediately, take up a waiting position in this location. This is analogous in a loader
system to the track backup or queue. Finally, the system has a border or boundary that defines
when units have entered and when they have departed. On completion of processing, units are
considered to have exited the system. Arrivals in the system can pass directly through the
waiting position and begin processing immediately if the processor is not busy. If the processor
is busy, they enter the system and are held in the queue, pending availability of the processor.
The boundary of the system for incoming units is marked as the point at which they enter the
queue and are either delayed or pass on directly to processing.

Units processing the system (e.g., trucks) are often referred to as calling units. The processor
units (e.g., the loaders) are referred to as servers. The number of servers indicates the number
of channels or routes by means of which the calling units can be processed passing from the
queue through a processing station and out of the system. If there is, for instance, only one
loader, the system is called a single-server system. If there several loaders, then the system
becomes a multichannel or multi-server system. Units entering the system are said to enter
from populations that can be either infinite or finite. In the case of a telephone system, the
calls enter form a very large population and an infinite population is assumed. In an earth-
loading situation, the number of trucks on the haul is finite. The number of trucks that can enter
the system at any given time is known, since it is simply the number of trucks hauling minus the
number in the system. For instance, in an earth-hauling project, six trucks, say, may be used in
the system.

As shown in Figure 2, three trucks (indicated as T) are within the system boundaries. One truck
is being loaded (i.e., processed) and two trucks are delayed in the queue. The other three trucks
are outside of the system on the back cycle. They are not within the system boundaries as
defined. Therefore, the number of units that could arrive at any point in time, t, is simply the
number hauling (fleet size = 6) minus the number in the system (3), or three trucks. Situations
with both infinite and finite populations can be identified in construction processes.

The response of a queue model is tied to the assumptions made regarding the rates of unit
arrival, the processor rate, the type of population, and the discipline of units as they pass
through the queue.

T T T






T
T

T


Fig. 2: A Finite System

Planning and Analysis of Construction Operations by Daniel W. Halpin, Leland S. Riggs

1.2. System States

The system variables that are used to define or describe a system state (or status) at any time
are called state variables. A particular system state is then identified by a set of instantaneous
values of the state variables. If the value of one or more of the state variables is changed so that
a new configuration can be recognized, then a new state exists. Queueing theory problems can
be readily described in terms of states defined as the number of units delayed in the queue,
whether the processor is active or idle, and so forth. On the basis of the assumption made
regarding the queueing problem model, a set of equations can be written to describe the
queueing system under investigation. The concept of states is used in writing equations to
describe a queueing system, and these equations are called equations of state. A system
changes its state as time passes. In a queueing model, the configuration of the system at any
point in time can be described in terms of the number of units within the system. For instance,
the finite queueing model shown in Figure 2 can be said to be in state S
3
, since the number of
units within the system boundaries is three. In this example, since the truck fleet size is six
trucks, seven possible system states can be identified (i.e., when 0,1, 2,..,6 trucks are in the
system). The system can move between seven states as shown:



S
0
S
1
S
2
S
3
S
4
S
5
S
6

In general, the number of states in which a finite system can find itself is M +1 where M is the
number of calling units. For the model of Figure 2, the system states are S
i
(i = 0, 1, 2, ., 6).
The number of states characteristic of a system is a function of the number of parameters used
to define the system and the range of values associated with each parameter. In this example,
one parameter (trucks in the system) was used with a range encompassing the integer value
from zero to six. Had two parameters been used, the state would be given as S
ij
. The number of
states would be N
i
M
j
where N is the number of values i can assume and M is the number of
values j can assume.

The queueing formulation of certain processes has been extended to include the concept of a
storage or hopper in the system. This extension allows the server (i.e., loader in an earth
moving system) to store up productive effort in a buffer or storage during periods when units are
not available for processing. In the context of the shovel-truck production system, this allows the
loader to load into a storage hopper during periods when no trucks are available to be serviced
directly.

Two parameters can be used to define hopper or storage-type systems. The i parameter, for
example, could indicate the number of trucks in the system, and the j parameter could indicate
the number of loads in the hopper or storage device. Therefore, if i =1, 2, or 3 and j =1 or 2, the
system has six stages, as follows:

i

j S
11
S
21
S
31



S
12
S
22
S
32



Planning and Analysis of Construction Operations by Daniel W. Halpin, Leland S. Riggs

The utilization of states to define a queueing model greatly simplifies the writing of the equations
that describe a particular situation.

Given a particular set of states, there is a probability P
i
of being in one of those states S
i
at time
t and a set of probabilities T
ij
of transiting out of one state S
i
to another state S
j
. Therefore a set
of transition probabilities T
ij
exists describing the chance of moving from S
i
to S
j
. The graphical
equivalent of this is shown in Figure 3. This shows the seven states of the finite system in
Figure 2 with the states shown as circles and the transition probabilities as links. Only those
transition probabilities from state S
n
S
n+1
or S
n
S
n-1
are considered. In other words, for
example, consider only transitions moving from S
3
S
4
or S
3
S
2
for state S
3
. In context of the
earth-hauling situation, this means that the system can only move from containing three trucks
(S
3
) to containing four trucks (S
4
, if a truck arrives) or two trucks (S
2
, if a truck departs). In fact, it
might be possible to move from S
3
to S
0
, if three trucks leave the system simultaneously.

T
01
T
12
T
23
T
34
T
45
T
56





S
0
S
1
S
2
S
3
S
4
S
5
S
6




P
0
P
1
P
2
P
3
P
4
P
5
P
6

T
10
T
21
T
32
T
43
T
54
T
65



Figure 3: State diagram with state (P
i
) and transition T
ij
probabilities

The arrival time T
av
, in this situation is equal to the average back-cycle time of a single truck.
This is the average time a unit stays outside of the system. A Markovian model of the six-truck
system shown in Figure 3 is shown in Figure 4. Again the state probabilities, P
i
, have been
associated with the state circles and the arcs represent the transition probabilities between
states. The arrival rates have been modified to indicate the effect of units outside the system of
any state. Therefore, the probability of a unit arrival within t when the system is in S
0
is 6. The
comparable probability of a unit arrival when in S
5
is ( is the unit arrival rate). The transit
probability from S
n+1
S
n
remains equal to ( is the processor rate, e.g., loads per hour).
Using the method of equating inflows and outflows at each state node, M +1 (e.g., seven)
equations may be written. The equations written at each node in the model are as follows:


Table 1:Outflow/Inflow Equations

Node Outflow = Inflow
0 (S
0
) 6P0 = P1
1 (S
1
) (5 + )P1 = 6P0 + P2
2 (S
2
) (4 + )P2 = 5P1 + P3
3 (S
3
) (3 + )P3 = 4P2 + P4
4 (S
4
) (2 + )P4 = 3P3 + P5
5 (S
5
) ( + )P5 = 2P4 + P6
6 (S
6
) P6 = P5

Planning and Analysis of Construction Operations by Daniel W. Halpin, Leland S. Riggs


It is possible to solve for the productivity of a finite queueing model such as the shovel-truck
system by determining the probability that no units are in the system, P
0
. With P
0
determined,
the probability that units are in the system is (1 - P
0
), and this establishes the expected percent
of time the system is busy (i.e., productive). The production of the system is defined as

Prod =L(1 P
0
)C
=L(PI)C

where = the processor rate (e.g., loads per hour)
C = capacity of the unit loaded
L = period of time considered
PI = productivity index (i.e., the percent of the time the system contains units that are
loading)

6 5 4 3 2




P
0
P
1
P
2
P
3
P
4
P
5
P
6

Figure 4: Markov model for finite system ( M =6)

If, for instance, the PI is 0.65, the value is 30 loads per hour, value is 15 loads per hour, the
L value is 1.5 hr, and the hauler capacity, C is 15m
3
, the production value is

Prod = L(PI)C
= (1.5) (0.65) (30) (15)
= 438.75m
3


The value of P
0
can be determined by writing the equations of state for the system and solving
for the values of P
i
(i =0, M). From Table 1,

Table 2: Computation of P
i
values

Node P
i
computations
0 (S0) P1 =

P1 =

1 (S1) P2 =

P2 =7.5

2 (S2) P3 =

P3 =15.0

3 (S3) P4 =

P4 =22.5

4 (S4) P5 =

P5 =22.5

5 (S5) P6 =

P6 =11.25

6 (S6)
P6 =

P6 =11.25

Planning and Analysis of Construction Operations by Daniel W. Halpin, Leland S. Riggs



In addition to these equations, all the state probabilities must sum to 1.0 and, therefore, the
additional equation

=
= 1.0


is available. Thus from Table 2,

+ .

+ 15.0

+22.5

+22.5

+ 11.25

= .
yielding P
0
= 0.0122

Since one of the node equations is redundant, this equation is substituted, providing the seventh
equation required for solution of the

values (i = 0, 1, 2, ,6).

Solving these equations in terms of P
0
, the following values of the state probabilities result:

P
0
= 0.0122
P
1
= 0.0367
P
2
= 0.0917
P
3
= 0.1834
P
4
= 0.2752
P
5
= 0.2752
P
6
= 0.1376

The production of the system can now be calculated. Assuming = 6 and = 12, the production
becomes

Prod =L(1 P
0
)C
=(1.5) (1 0.0121) (12) (15)
=266.73 m
3


The general form of the solution for a finite system consisting of M units with exponentially
distributed arrival and service times is

=
!
!

=
!
!

The verification of the values just calculated (with the node equation) using the general
form equations is left as an exercise for the reader.

The value of

can be reduced to nomograph format so that, given the values of and

, the production index (PI =1 P
0
) can be read directly from the chart. Such a
nomograph for a system containing a single processor (e. g., loader) serving from 3 to
12 (M = 3, 4,,12) arriving units is shown in Figure 3.4 (Page 50). The assumed arrival

Planning and Analysis of Construction Operations by Daniel W. Halpin, Leland S. Riggs

and processing times are exponentially distributed. If = 12 ( is the unit arrival rate or S
rate), = 4 ( is the processor rate, e.g., loads per hour or T rate) and M =4 (M is the
number of calling or transit units), the PI value can be read on the x axis as 0.79 (Figure
3.4, Page 50; Note : Production rate =S rate x PI). These nomographs for some
typical queueing systems are given in Figures 3.4, 3.7 and 3.10 (after Brooks and
Shaffer).

Queueing solutions to production problems involving random arrival and processing
rates are of interest, since they allow evaluation of the productivity loss caused by
bunching of units as they arrive at the processor. Analysis of this effect is nor possible
using deterministic methods, since they consider only the interference between units
because of imbalances in the rate of interacting resources (e.g., truck and loader).

In addition to the production value, it may be of interest to be able to estimate the mean
number of trucks in the system. This ca be easily developed with the calculated state
probabilities, using the formulation

=

=


where N = mean number of units in the system

= the probability of state i

= the number of units in the system state associated with P

i

Based on the information calculated above, the mean number of trucks is

0 P
0
= 0.0122 0.0000
1 P
1
= 0.0367 0.0367
2 P
2
= 0.0917 0.1834
3 P
3
= 0.1834 0.5502
4 P
4
= 0.2752 1.1008
5 P
5
= 0.2752 1.3760
6 P
6
= 0.1376 0.8256
=

=


= .


Similarly, the average queue length can be calculated using the expression

=

=


where = mean number of trucks in the queue.


Planning and Analysis of Construction Operations by Daniel W. Halpin, Leland S. Riggs

This expression reflects that in a single-server system, if one or more units are in the
system at a given time, one of them is being processed. Therefore, the number of units
in the queue is (X
i
-1). Using this formulation, the mean number of trucks in the queue
for the six-truck system is

(X
i
-1)

)
1 P
1
= 0.0367 0 0.0000
2 P
2
= 0.0917 1 0.0917
3 P
3
= 0.1834 2 0.3668
4 P
4
= 0.2752 3 0.8256
5 P
5
= 0.2752 4 1.1008
6 P
6
= 0.1376 5 0.6880
=

=


= .
Information regarding the percent of time that more than n units (N<M) are in the system or
queue can be calculated by summing the appropriate subcomponents of the above expressions.

1.3. Multi-server Finite Population Models

In the finite system just considered, only a single-server channel was defined. If the system of
Figure 3.1 is modified slightly to have two loaders, a multi-server system (number of channels =
2) is defined. A slight modification of the Markov representation allows the writing of the steady-
state equations for this system. The revised model is shown in Figure 3.5.

The modification of the model relates to the transition probabilities associated with shifts from
higher to a lower state (i. e., S
n-1
S
n
). Since two loaders are available, the probability of
transiting down from states containing two or more units (S
n
>S
2
) is 2 instead of . This
indicates that the probability of a service completion in t when two loaders are defined is twice
that when using only one loader. Similarly, if three loaders had been defined, the probability of
downshifts for states containing three or more units would be 3. It should be noted that the
multiplier associated with in specifying downshifts cannot exceed the number of units in the
state.




6 5 4 3 2




P
0
P
1
P
2
P
3
P
4
P
5
P
6






2

2

2

2

2



Figure 3.5: Markov model for finite two server system

Planning and Analysis of Construction Operations by Daniel W. Halpin, Leland S. Riggs



1.4. Shortcomings of the queueing models

Discuss the several difficulties encountered in the utilization of queueing models
as precise methods of forecasting production.
Are the assumption of exponentially distributed arrival and server times obtained
in the field?
Is the assumption of steady-state field operation justifiable? There may be the
need to settle down before reaching the steady-state levels of operation.