Production & Operations Management Final Exam Flashcards: Chapter 4
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When there are one or more customers waiting for a service
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Waiting line
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An input that generates potential customers
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Customer population
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A person (or crew), a machine (or group of machines), or both necessary to perform the service for the customer
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Service facility
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A rule that selects the next customer to be served by the service facility
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Priority rule
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The number of lines and the arrangement of the facility
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Service system
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One or more facilities required to perform a given service
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Channel
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A single step in providing a service
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Phase
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A rule that allows a customer of higher priority to interrupt the service of another customer
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Preemptive discipline
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The time between customer arrivals
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Inter-arrival times
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Look at 1. line length, 2. number of customers in system, 3. waiting time in line, 4. total time in system, and 5. service facility utilization.
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Using Waiting-Line Models to Analyze Operations
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Short lines could mean good customer service or too much capacity. Long lines could mean low server efficiency or the need to increase capacity.
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Line length
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Also indicates service efficiency and capacity. A high number of customers in the system causes congestion and may decrease customer satisfaction, unless more capacity is added.
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Number of customers in system
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Long lines don't always mean long waiting times. If the service rate is fast, then a long line can be served efficiently. When waiting times seem long, customers perceive the quality of service to be poor. Managers may try to change the arrival rate of customers or design the system to make wait times seem shorter than they are.
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Waiting time in line
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The total elapsed time from entry into the system until exit from the system may indicate problems with customers, server efficiency, or capacity.
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Total time in system
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Reflects the percent of time that service facilities are busy. Management's goal is to maintain high utilization and profitability without adversely affecting the other operating characteristics.
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Service facility utilization
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After analyzing a waiting time problem, management can improve the service system by making changes in one or more of these areas. 1. Arrival rates, 2. Number of service facilities, 3. Number of phases, 4. Number of servers per facility, 5. Server efficiency, 6. Priority rule, 7. Line arrangement
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7 decision areas for management
