Waiting line analyses assist service organizations to ensure customers are contented by reducing wait time. The waiting line is encountered almost everywhere people go. Waiting lines result from overcrowding and elbowing for amenities or when a place becomes filled fast. Waiting lines are common in banks, schools or at shopping malls. The time one spends on the line is dependent on the number of servers; the speed at which service is offered by the server or teller; or the number of people that waiting in the queue. They are meant for people and items such as purchase orders or a machine awaiting restoration (Ray & Thomas, 2008).
Two overriding elements can be used to define the waiting line. That is the customer population source and service system process. The source of the customer population may be considered as finite or infinite. A particular population that involves the generation of potential customers is dependent on the number of those already in line. In an infinite population, new customer generation is not dependent on customers already in line.
Service speed is attaining praise as a measure of evaluating service quality by patrons (Ray et al., 2008). The second parameter that defines a waiting line system is the process of the service system. This includes the arrival rate and service time. The arrival rate is the frequency at which customers attend the service, while serving time is the period taken, for a customer, to be fully attended (Ray et al, 2008). For an acceptable waiting-line, the arrival rate is expected to be less than the service time lest the system fails to clear out.
Rules governing service priority sever arrangement and quantity of servers characterize the service system. Arrival and service patterns typify the service system. Such systems may have single or multiple lines. Multiple lines are usually faster than single lines whereas single lines are more efficient than the multiple lines. Single lines can be exemplified by banks while multiple lines entail systems such as that of petrol stations (Ray et al., 2008).
Trade-off costs is a tricky decision made by the management. The relationship between the cost of waiting in line and the cost of service can be described by the following curve:
Primarily, the cost of waiting in line is at its extreme when the organization is at its least service capacity. As the capacity of the service increases, there is a drop in the total customers in line and their waiting times, hence cutting queuing costs. The most favorable total cost is at the connection between the service capacity and the point of waiting line curves (Dennis et al., 2009).
In the waiting line system, there are a few rules to follow, including priority rules, which are set, to organize or to determine the order of service. Ordinarily, first come first served is used to describe an orderly queue. Reservations can also be made, for example, what happens in hospitals-this is referred to as a priority queue. This can also be achieved through random order and last come first served which is a stack. Others are complex methods, including shuffling in customers in a line (Dennis et al, 2009).
In conclusion, waiting line analyses should not just be treated as obscure operation research but as a tool for improving management and enhancing staff ethics or boosting morale. One can understand queues and learn how to manage them based upon clear models or equations. Waiting line analyses if practiced can heighten productivity due to improved proficiency.
Reference
Ray, A., Dennis, J.S., & Thomas, A.W. (2008) An introduction to management science: quantitative approaches to decision making. Mason, OH : Thomson/South-Western, Cengage Learning Publishers.
Dennis, J.S., David, R.A., & Thomas A.W. (2009) Quantitative Methods for Business Mason, OH : Thomson/South-Western, Cengage Learning Publisher.