Lab 04

Title
Advancement in Queuing Theory using Excel QM.

Objectives
The objective of this lab is to solve Queuing Theory problems using Excel QM and get the
results. We perform multiple server problem.

Apparatus
MS Excel QM

Background
Queuing theory is an area of mathematics that analyses and models the act of queueing. It is
essentially the study of how people act when they have to wait in line to make a purchase or
receive a service, as well as what sorts of queue structure move people through lines the most
efficiently, and how many people can a specific queuing arrangement process through the line
in a particular time frame.

The queuing models have two aspects at its core.

• The customer, job, or request are all terms used to describe someone or something who
demands a service.

• The server refers to the person or thing that completes or provides the services.

How Queuing Theory Works?

Queuing theory in operations research contributes to designing an efficient queuing system for
a business. The theory guides the professionals to systematically explore the finest method and
arrange the setup. It gives primary importance to balancing efficient service and the system’s
economic viability. An efficient queuing system in place enhances customer service
and competitive advantage.
The queuing system requires incessant improvisations to keep pace with technological
advancement and innovative business practices. Over the years, while designing a queuing
system, the following basic factors are integral.

Arrival: The process starts with the arrival of a single individual or a group of individuals.
They may come in different intervals, and it may influence the operations. Check on the
formation of the queue and note down any variation in the arrival. Track every aspect of the
process at this stage.

Movement: This part mainly focuses on the movement of the queue and the individual’s
behavior. It’s like monitoring their activities and looking at whether the customer is impatient
or is habituated with the situation. Take feedback and see how they react to it. Please note down
where they want any changes. Many times, it is observed huge gatherings in a small place tend
to develop negative attributes towards a business. In such a case, the customer might choose a
different option. Adapt necessary arrangements or alternative procedures to keep the customer
and increase efficiency.

Service: It is one of the vital parts of the process. If more time is taken to solve the query, it
will increase the line. In addition, it may cause boredom and frustration in customers. A better
understanding and application of the theory is important in reducing the negative impacts of
the long waiting line and long response time.

Expression: It is the final step of the process. It is important to note that the person leaving
the queue makes an impression on the people standing next to him. An individual’s negative
feedback is bound to affect the business. Therefore, preference should be given to every person
and worked with full diligence. An ideal expression speaks a lot of the services offered to him.

Benefits of Queuing Theory

Queuing theory is powerful because the ubiquity of queue situations means there are countless
and diverse applications of queuing theory.

Queuing theory has been applied, just to name a few, to:

• Telecommunications
• Transportation
 • Logistics
• Finance
• Emergency services
• Computing
• Industrial Engineering
• Project Management

Problem 1
Midtown Bank always has two tellers on duty. Customers arrive to receive service from a teller
at a mean rate of 40 per hour. A teller requires an average of 2 minutes to serve a customer.
When both tellers are busy, an arriving customer joins a single line to wait for service.
Experience has shown that customers wait in line an average of 1 minute before service begins.

(a) Describe why this is a queueing system.

(b) Determine the basic measures of performance—Wq, W, Lq, and L—for this queueing
system. (Hint: We don’t know the probability distributions of interarrival times and service
times for this queueing system, so you will need to use the relationships between these
measures of performance to help answer the question.)

Results and Discussion

(a) This is a queueing system because customers arrive at a mean rate of 40 per hour and teller
an average of 2 minutes to serve a customer and when both tellers are busy, they join a single
line to wait for service.

(b) To determine the basic measures of performance, we can use the following relationships
between the measures:

• Wq (average waiting time in queue) = Lq (average number of customers in queue) / λ

(arrival rate)

• W (average waiting time) = Wq + S (average service time)

• Lq (average number of customers in queue) = λ x Wq (arrival rate x average waiting

time in queue)
 • L (average number of customers in system) = λ x W (arrival rate x average waiting
time)

Given that the arrival rate is 40 customers per hour, the service rate is 30 customers per hour
(1/2 minute per customer), and the average waiting time in queue is 1 minute, we can use these
relationships to calculate the basic measures of performance as follows:

• Wq = Lq / λ = (40 x 1) / 40 = 1 minute

• W = Wq + S = 1 + (2/30) = 1.067 minutes

• Lq = λ x Wq = 40 x 1 = 40

• L = λ x W = 40 x 1.067 = 42.67

Problem 2
A three-server queueing system has a controlled arrival process that provides customers with
time to keep the servers continuously busy. Service times have an exponential distribution with
a mean of 0.5. You observe the queueing system starting with all three servers beginning
service at t = 0. You then note that the first completion occurs at time t = 1. Given this
information, determine the expected time after t = 1 until the next service completion occurs.
In this problem, we find queuing theory problem in the excel QM and get the result.

Results and Discussion

In this problem, we have a three-server queueing system with an exponential service time
distribution with a mean of 0.5. We observe the system starting with all three servers beginning
service at t = 0 and the first completion occurs at time t = 1.

To find the expected time after t = 1 until the next service completion occurs, we can use the
Little's Law. Little's Law states that the average number of customers in the system, L, is equal
to the product of the average arrival rate, λ, and the average time customers spend in the system,
W.

L = λW
Given that the service time is exponential, we know that the average service rate is equal to 1/μ
where μ is the mean service time. Therefore, the average service rate for the three servers is
3/0.5 = 6 customers per unit time.

Now, using the Little's Law, we can find the expected time until the next service completion
by dividing the average number of customers in the system by the service rate.

W = L/λ = 1 / (3*(6)) = 1/18

So, the expected time after t = 1 until the next service completion occurs is 1/18 of a unit time.

Problem 3
A queueing system has three servers with expected service times of 20 minutes, 15 minutes,
and 10 minutes. The service times has an exponential distribution. Each server has been busy
with a current customer for 5 minutes. Determine the expected remaining time until the next
service completion.

Results and Discussion

In this problem, the queueing system is a multi-server queueing system, also known as an
M/M/c system. This is because we have multiple servers (three in this case) and the service
times are assumed to have an exponential distribution.

To determine the expected remaining time until the next service completion, we can use the
following formula:

W = 1 / (Σ(1/μi))

Where W is the expected remaining time until the next service completion, μi is the expected
service time for the ith server and Σ denotes the sum of all the service rates.

Given that the expected service times for the three servers are 20 minutes, 15 minutes, and 10
minutes, the service rates are 1/20, 1/15, and 1/10 customers per minute respectively.

So, the expected remaining time until the next service completion is:

W = 1 / (1/20 + 1/15 + 1/10) = 1 / (1/60 + 1/45 + 1/30) = 1 / (1/60) = 60 minutes

It is worth noting that this is the expected value, and the actual time until the next service
completion could vary. Additionally, the time of the servers are busy with current customer is
not considered in this calculation, therefore this time should be added to the expected remaining
time to get the total expected time until the next service completion

So, the total expected time until the next service completion is 5 minutes + 60 minutes = 65
minutes.

Problem 4
Consider a queueing system with two types of customers. Type 1 customers arrive according
to a Poisson process with a mean rate of 5 per hour. Type 2 customers also arrive according to
a Poisson process with a mean rate of 5 per hour. The system has two servers, both of which
serve both types of customers. For both types, service times have an exponential distribution
with a mean of 10 minutes. Service is provided on a first-come-first-served basis.

(a) What is the probability distribution (including its mean) of the time between consecutive
arrivals of customers of any type?

(b) When a particular type 2 customer arrives, she finds two type 1 customers there in the
process of being served but no other customers in the system. What is the probability
distribution (including its mean) of this type 2 customer’s waiting time in the queue?

Results and Discussion

(a) The probability distribution of the time between consecutive arrivals of customers of any
type is a Poisson distribution. The mean time between consecutive arrivals is 1/λ, where λ is
the mean arrival rate. In this case, the mean arrival rate for both types of customers is 5 per
hour, so the mean time between consecutive arrivals is 1/5 = 0.2 hours.

The probability distribution function is given by P (X = x) = (λ^x * e^(-λ)) / x! where X is the

random variable representing the time between consecutive arrivals and x is the number of
occurrences.

(b) When a particular type 2 customer arrives and finds two type 1 customers being served, her
waiting time in the queue is determined by the service times of the two type 1 customers. Since
service times for both types of customers have an exponential distribution with a mean of 10
minutes, the service time of each type 1 customer is a random variable with an exponential
distribution. Therefore, the sum of the service times of the two type 1 customers is also a
random variable with an exponential distribution.

The mean waiting time in the queue for the type 2 customer can be calculated using the
following formula:

Wq = (1/μ) * (1 - (2*(1/μ) / (2*(1/μ) + λ)))

Where Wq is the mean waiting time in the queue, μ is the mean service time (10 minutes in
this case), and λ is the mean arrival rate of type 2 customers (5 per hour in this case).

So, the probability distribution of the type 2 customer’s waiting time in the queue is exponential
with a mean of Wq = (1/10) * (1 - (2*(1/10) / (2*(1/10) + 5/60)) = 0.095 hours

Note that the waiting time does not include the service time of the customer, so the customer
would spend 0.095 hours in the queue plus the 10 minutes of service time.