Queue Management Example
Explanation
Explanation of Example 4 (Page 496):
Example 4 involves an emergency clinic managing patient queues and service rates.
Here's a breakdown of the solution:
1. Problem Setup:
The clinic handles 96 patients per 24-hour day. Hence, the arrival rate (λ)
is calculated as:
96 1
λ= = patients/minute.
24 × 60 15
The average service rate (μ) is:
1
μ= patients/minute.
10
2. Queue Size Reduction:
Initially, the average queue size (Lq ) is given as 1 13 patients. The goal is to
reduce it to 12 patient.
Using the formula for the average number of patients in the queue:
λ2
Lq = ,
μ(μ − λ)
it substitutes Lq = 1 13 =
4
3
and calculates the required reduction in μ.
3. Calculating New Service Rate:
To achieve Lq = 12 , substitute the new Lq into the same formula and solve
for μ′ :
1 λ2
= ′ ′ .
2 μ (μ − λ)
After calculation:
2
μ′ = patients/minute.
15
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4. Cost Calculation:
1 2
The increase in service rate from 10 to 15 reduces the average service time
from 10 minutes to 7.5 minutes:
Decrease in service time = 10 − 7.5 = 2.5 minutes.
The cost per minute of service time reduction is \₹10 per patient.
Therefore:
Additional cost per patient = 2.5 × 10 = \₹25.
The new budget per patient is:
\₹100 + \₹25 = \₹125.
Conclusion:
The clinic must increase its budget from \₹100 to \₹125 per patient to achieve the
desired queue reduction.
Explanation of Example 5 (Page 496):
Example 5 calculates two aspects of queuing in a supermarket scenario:
1. Scenario Details:
Arrival rate (λ): The average number of customers arriving is 10 every 30
minutes.
10 1
λ= = customers per minute.
30 3
Service rate (μ): The cashier takes an average of 2.5 minutes to serve one
customer. Hence:
1
μ= = 0.4 customers per minute.
2.5
Traffic intensity (r ): The utilization factor (ratio of arrival rate to service
rate) is:
1
λ
r = = 3 = 0.833.
0.4
μ
This indicates the server is busy approximately 83.3% of the time.
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2. Objective:
(a) Calculate the probability that the queue length exceeds six customers.
(b) Determine the expected time a customer spends in the system.
Solution Breakdown:
(a) Probability of Queue Length Exceeding Six:
The formula for the probability of the queue length exceeding n is:
P (queue length > n) = rn .
For n = 6, substitute r = 0.833:
P (queue length > 6) = (0.833)6 .
Calculate:
(0.833)6 = 0.3348.
Result: The probability that the queue length exceeds six is approximately
33.48%.
(b) Expected Time Spent in the System:
Using Little's formula, the expected time spent in the system (Ws ) is:
1
Ws = .
μ−λ
Substitute μ = 0.4 and λ = 13 :
1 1
Ws = 1
= .
0.4 − 0.0667
3
Calculate:
Ws = 14.96 minutes.
Result: On average, a customer spends approximately 14.96 minutes in the
system.
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Final Results:
(a) The probability that the queue length exceeds six is 33.48%.
(b) The expected time a customer spends in the system is 14.96 minutes.
Explanation of Example 6 (Page 496):
Example 6 involves calculating probabilities and expected queue lengths for a
telephone booth. Here's the breakdown:
Scenario Details:
1. Arrival rate (λ):
The average inter-arrival time of customers is 12 minutes.
Hence, the arrival rate is:
1
λ= customers per minute.
12
2. Service rate (μ):
The average length of a phone call is 4 minutes.
Hence, the service rate is:
1
μ= customers per minute.
4
3. Traffic intensity (r ):
The utilization factor (server's busy fraction) is:
1
λ 12 1
r= = = .
1
3
μ 4
Objectives:
The example asks for the following:
1. (i) Probability that a fresh arrival will not have to wait.
2. (ii) Probability that an arrival will have to wait more than 10 minutes before the
phone is free.
3. (iii) The average length of queues formed from time to time.
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Solution Breakdown:
(i) Probability of No Waiting (P0 ):
The probability that an arriving customer does not have to wait is P0 = 1 − r.
1
Substituting r = 3
:
1 2
P0 = 1 − = .
3 3
Result: P0 = 0.67 or 67% chance that a fresh arrival will not wait.
(ii) Probability of Waiting More Than 10 Minutes:
The probability that the waiting time exceeds t minutes is given by:
P (waiting time > t) = e−(μ−λ)t .
1 1
Here, μ − λ = 4
− 12
= 16 .
For t = 10 minutes:
1
P (waiting time > 10) = e− 6 ⋅10 .
Calculate:
P (waiting time > 10) = e−10/6 = e−1.667 ≈ 0.188.
Result: There is an 18.8% chance that a customer waits more than 10 minutes.
(iii) Average Queue Length (Lq ):
The average queue length when the queue is non-empty is given by:
r2
Lq = .
1−r
Substituting r = 13 :
2
( 13 ) 1
9 1 3 1
Lq = = = × = .
1 − 13 2
9 2 6
3
Result: The average queue length is 0.167 (approximately 1/6).
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Final Results:
1. (i) Probability of no waiting: 67%.
2. (ii) Probability of waiting more than 10 minutes: 18.8%.
3. (iii) Average queue length: 0.167.
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The problem describes a queueing scenario for a telephone booth with the following
characteristics:
1. Arrival Rate (λ): The average inter-arrival time is 10 minutes. Hence:
1
λ= customers per minute.
10
2. Service Rate (μ): The average phone call length is 3 minutes, so:
1
μ= customers per minute.
3
3. Traffic Intensity (r ):
1
λ 10 3
r= = = = 0.3.
1 10
μ 3
Solution to Questions:
(a) Average Number of Customers in the System (Ls ):
Using Little’s formula:
λ
Ls = .
μ−λ
1
Substitute λ = 10
and μ = 13 :
1 1 1
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1 1 1
10 10 10 1 30 3
Ls = = = = × = = 1.5 customers.
1 1 3−1 2
− 10 2 2
3 10 30 30
Result: Ls
= 1.5.
(b) Average Number of Customers in the Queue (Lq ):
The formula is:
λ2
Lq = .
μ(μ − λ)
Substitute values:
1 2 1 1
( 10 ) 100 100 1 90 90
Lq = 1 1 = = = × = = 0.45.
1 1
( − ) ⋅ 2 2 100 2 200
3 3 10 3 30 90
Result: Lq = 0.45.
(c) Expected Waiting Time in the System (Ws ):
Using Little’s formula:
1
Ws = .
μ−λ
Substitute values:
1 1 1 30
Ws = 1 1 = 3−1 = 2 = = 15 minutes.
− 2
3
10
30
30
Result: Ws = 15 minutes.
(d) Expected Waiting Time in the Queue (Wq ):
The formula is:
λ
Wq = .
μ(μ − λ)
Substitute values:
1 1
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1 1
10 10 1 90 90
Wq = = = × = = 4.5 minutes.
1 2 2
⋅ 10 2 20
3 30 90
Result: Wq
= 4.5 minutes.
(e) Probability That a Customer Spends More Than 10 Minutes in the Booth:
For waiting time in the system Ws , the probability that it exceeds t is:
P (Ws > t) = e−(μ−λ)t .
2
Substitute t = 10, μ − λ = 30
:
2 20 2
P (Ws > 10) = e− 30 ⋅10 = e− 30 = e− 3 .
Approximate:
P (Ws > 10) ≈ e−0.667 ≈ 0.513.
Result: P (Ws > 10) ≈ 0.513 or 51.3%.
(f) Probability That a Customer Does Not Have to Wait (P0 ):
The probability of no waiting is:
P0 = 1 − r.
Substitute r = 0.3:
P0 = 1 − 0.3 = 0.7.
Result: P0
= 0.7 or 70%.
(g) Fraction of Time the Booth is Busy:
The booth is busy whenever the server is utilized, which is represented by r :
Fraction busy = r = 0.3.
Result: The booth is busy 30% of the time.
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Final Summary:
1. Ls = 1.5 customers.
2. Lq = 0.45 customers.
3. Ws = 15 minutes.
4. Wq = 4.5 minutes.
5. P (Ws > 10) = 51.3%.
6. P0 = 70%.
7. Fraction busy = 30%.
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