Dr R K SINGH

Professor
M D I Gurgaon

Introduction
Waiting for service is part of our daily life
Waiting cannot be eliminated completely without

incurring inordinate expenses, and the goal is to

reduce its adverse impact to tolerable levels
Queuing theory is the study of waiting lines
It is one of the oldest and most widely used
analytical techniques
The objective of queuing analysis is to offer a
reasonably satisfactory service to waiting
customers
It is not an optimization technique
2

Introduction
Analytical models of waiting lines can help

managers evaluate the cost and

effectiveness of service systems
It determines the measures of performance
of waiting lines such as the queue length,
average waiting time in queue and the
productivity of the service facility (or facility
utilization), which can then be used to
design the service installation
3

Waiting Line Costs

Most waiting line problems are focused on finding

the ideal level of service a firm should provide

In most cases, this service level is something
management can control
When an organization does have control, they
often try to find the balance between two
extremes
A large staff and many service facilities generally
results in high levels of service but have high
costs
4

Waiting Line Costs

Having the minimum number of service facilities keeps

service cost down but may result in dissatisfied

customers

There is generally a trade-off between cost of providing

service and cost of waiting time

Service facilities are evaluated on their total expected

cost which is the sum of service costs and waiting

costs

Organizations typically want to find the service level

that minimizes the total expected cost

5

Traditional Cost Relationships

As service improves, cost increases

1-6

Elements of a Queuing
Model
Arrivals (from a source) (Customers are also known

as calling population)
Interarrival time: The arrival of customers is
represented by interarrival time between
successive customers
Service facilities
Service: is described by service time per customer
The actual waiting line

Elements of Waiting Line

Analysis

Channels
number of

parallel
servers for
servicing
customers

Phases
number of

servers in
sequence a
customer
must go
through

Characteristics of a Queuing
System
Arrival has three major characteristics,

size,
size pattern,
pattern and behavior
Size of the calling population

Can be either unlimited (essentially infinite)

infinite or
limited (finite)
finite

Pattern of arrivals

Can arrive according to a known pattern or can

arrive randomly
Random arrivals generally follow a Poisson
distribution

10

Characteristics of a Queuing
System
Behavior of arrivals
Most queuing models assume customers are

patient and will wait in the queue until they are

served and do not switch lines
Customer may switch from one Q to another in the
hope of reducing waiting time. It is known as jockey
Balking refers to customers who refuse to join the

queue

Reneging customers enter the queue but become

impatient and leave without receiving their service

11

Q Discipline
First come first serve (FCFS) First in first out

(FIFO)
Last come first served (LCFS)
Service in random order (SIRO)
Priority

12

Characteristics of a Queuing
System
Waiting Line Characteristics
Waiting lines can be either limited or unlimited
Queue discipline refers to the rule by which

customers in the line receive service

The most common rule is first-in, first-out
(FIFO)
Other rules are possible and may be based on
other important characteristics
Other rules can be applied to select which
customers enter which queue, but may apply
FIFO once they are in the queue
13

Characteristics of a Queuing
System
Service Facility Characteristics
Basic queuing system configurations

Service systems are classified in terms of the

number of channels, or servers, and the number of
phases, or service stops
A single-channel system with one server is quite
common
Multichannel systems exist when multiple servers
are fed by one common waiting line
In a single-phase system the customer receives
service from just one server
If a customer has to go through more than one
server, it is a multiphase system
14

Characteristics of a Queuing
System
Four basic queuing system configurations
Queue
Service
Facility

Arrivals

Departures
after Service

Single-Channel, Single-Phase System

Queue
Arrivals

Type 1
Service
Facility

Type 2
Service
Facility

Departures
after
Service

Single-Channel, Multiphase System

15

Characteristics of a Queuing
System
Four basic queuing system configurations

Queue

Arrivals

Service
Facility
1

Departures

Service
Facility
2

after

Service
Facility
3

Service

Multichannel, Single-Phase System

16

Characteristics of a Queuing
System
Four basic queuing system configurations

Queue

Type 1
Service
Facility
1

Type 2
Service
Facility
1

Type 1
Service
Facility
2

Type 2
Service
Facility
2

Arrivals

Departures
after
Service

Multichannel, Multiphase System

17

Characteristics of a Queuing
System
Service time distribution
Service patterns can be either constant or random
Constant service times are often machine

controlled
More often, service times are randomly distributed
according to a exponential probability distribution
(also known as negative exponential probability
distribution)
Models are based on the assumption of particular
probability distributions
Analysts should take to ensure observations fit the
assumed distributions when applying these
models
18

The Role of the Exponential

Distribution
The operating characteristics of queuing

systems are determined largely by

The probability distribution of interarrival
times
The probability distribution of service times
For real queuing systems these distributions
can take any form
To formulate a queuing theory model as a
representation of the real system, it is
necessary to specify the assumed form of
each of these distributions
19

Identifying Models Using Kendall

Notation
D. G. Kendall developed a notation for queuing

models that specifies the pattern of arrival

(number of arrivals or interarrival time
distribution), the service time distribution, and
the number of channels. It is of the form

a/b/c:d/e/f
a=Arrival
distribution

b=Service time c=Number of service

distribution
channels open

d=Q discipline e=Max no allowed f=size of the calling

in the system
source
20

Q Discipline Notations
The Q discipline notations (symbol d) includes
FCFS = First come first serve or FIFO = First in

first out
LCFS = Last come first served
SIRO = Service in random order
GD = General discipline (i.e., any type of
discipline)

21

Identifying Models Using

Kendall Notation
So a single channel model with Poisson arrivals and

exponential service times would be represented by

M/M/1
If a second channel is added we would have
M/M/2
A three channel system with Poisson arrivals and
constant service time would be
M/D/3
A four channel system with Poisson arrivals and
normally distributed service times would be
M/G/4
22

Single-Channel Model, Poisson

Arrivals, Exponential Service
Times
(M/M/1)

Assumptions of the model

Arrivals are served on a FIFO basis

No balking or reneging
Arrivals are independent of each other but rate

is constant over time

Arrivals follow a Poisson distribution
Service times are variable and independent
but the average is known
Service times follow an exponential
distribution
Average service rate is greater than the
average arrival rate
23

Single-Channel Model, Poisson

Arrivals, Exponential Service
Times
(M/M/1)
When a service outlet opens initially there may
be less activity, this period is known as
transient period
The transient period ends when the system
reaches the normal or steady-state operation
Queuing models describe the steady-state
operating characteristics of a waiting line
When these assumptions are met, we can
develop a series of equations that define the
queues operating characteristics
The arrival rate and the service rate must be
for the same time period
24

Single-Channel Model, Poisson Arrivals,

Exponential Service Times (M/M/1)

Assumptions
Poisson arrival rate
exponential service
times
first-come, firstserved queue
discipline
infinite queue length
infinite calling
population

Computations
= mean arrival
rate
= mean service
rate
n = number of
customers in line

25

Basic Single-Server Model

probability that no

average number of

customers are in queuing

system
P00 =

customers in queuing
system

( )
1

L=

probability of n customers

Pn =

( ) ( )( )

P0 =

average number of

in queuing system

customers in waiting line

Lq =

2
( )

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Basic Single-Server Model

average time customer

spends in queuing system

W=

spends waiting in line

Wq =

( )

busy and a customer has to

wait (utilization factor)

average time customer

probability that server is

probability that server is

idle and customer can be

served
I=1
=1

= P0

27

Basic Single-Server Model

Example = 24
= 30

28

Basic Single-Server Model

Example

29

Ex-Western National bank is considering opening a

drive through window for customer service.
Management estimates that customers will arrive
at the rate of 15 per hour. The teller who will staff
the window can service customers at the rate of
one every three minutes. Assuming Poisson
arrivals and exponential service. Find
Utilisation of teller
Average no in waiting line
Average no in the system
Average waiting time in line
Average waiting time in the system including
service.
Ans-0.75, 2.25, 3, 0.15 hr, 0.2hr

An Airport has a single runway and one air traffic

controller to land planes. It takes a single runway and

one traffic controller to land planes. It takes an
airplane 8 minutes to land and clear the runway
(Exponentially distributed). Planes arrive at the
airport at the rate of 5 per hour (Poisson distribution).
Determine the average no of planes that will stack up
waiting to land.
Find the average time a plane must wait in line
before it can land.
Calculate the average time it takes a plane to clear
the runway once it has notified the airport and wants
to lo land.
IF ATC can land planes maximum of 45 minutes out
of every hour with 15 minutes idle time, will this
airport need extra ATC.
31

Solution 5 per hour

60
7.5 per hour
8

5
2
Lq

1.33
7.5 2.5
2

Wq

5c

0.26 hr 16 min
7.5 2.5
W

1
1

.4 hr 24 min
7.5 5

45 ,
60

45 minutes per hour is a

cannot exceed 0.75

0.67 at present
7.5

Therefore, a new air traffic controller is not needed.

32

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