Queueing Theory is is the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues. Queueing Theory enables mathematical analysis of several related processes, including the following:
On average, how many will arrive at the (back of the line) queue?
On average, how long will one wait in the queue?
On average, how long will one wait until being served at the front of the queue?
Below are several posts on Queueing Theory. I’ll be adding to this page periodically — applications, best practices, and general items:
I had an opportunity to visit a local Jiffy Lube for an oil change recently. I needed to change the oil in our car before moving to Tennessee. In the process of getting an oil change, I learned how Jiffy Lube approaches work and their adherence to metrics. This Jiffy Lube had 4 bays and [...]
About two weeks ago, we went on a family vacation – on a Carnival Cruise. En route to the Long Beach and San Pedro port, we stopped at Las Vegas for the night. If you ignore the gambling, the permissiveness, and the shear excess of the city, it is really an engineering marvel. That got [...]
We are pleased to bring you the second part of Cornelio Abellanas’ first article on modeling the impact of variability on systems and processes. In the first article, Cornelio showed the impact of variability, in general, on processes as it relates to lead time, cycle time, work in process (WIP), and the impact to the [...]
Where’s my legal stuff? Yes, even in the industry of law, we ask the fundamental question of “where’s my stuff?” Similar to the supply chain and service chain of iPhone Supply Chain, Order Pipeline of Events, the Pizza Supply Chain, Ecommerce Supply Chain, the Domino’s Pizza Supply Chain, the BMW Supply Chain, the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain, the iPhone 4S and Fedex Tracker, [...]
We are pleased to bring you this article by Cornelio Abellanas, a practitioner of lean manufacturing who is based in Spain. His strong technical background validates what many practitioners of lean manufacturing take for granted, but he knows through mathematical validation how and why certain lean methods work. Enjoy this article and learn more about [...]
I’m fascinated by supply chains of all types. I’ve written before on the iPhone Supply Chain, Order Pipeline of Events, the Pizza Supply Chain, Ecommerce Supply Chain, the Domino’s Pizza Supply Chain, the BMW Supply Chain, the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain, and even the Supply Chain of the White Truffle Mushroom. Today, I want to highlight how a [...]
Applying Queueing Theory in a restaurant operation might be helpful to those who proactively wish to manage revenue. After all, the drivers of revenue in a restaurant is how many guests a restaurant can serve in a given shift, as well as average order value. So how does one apply Queueing Theory in a restaurant [...]
Queueing Theory, if used appropriately, can describe the a system and its dynamics accurately in order to pave the way for eventually improving the system. Let me illustrate. Let’s assume the following scenario. Widgets are made to order in an assembly line that consists of three steps, each performed by a single worker. So, there [...]