The Science of Standing in Line

         

 When finalizing a purchase, all shoppers are faced with the dreadfulness of selecting the speediest checkout line.  Several applicable reasons apply to the underlying problem of elongated checkout lines.  A few specialists in mathematical models of service systems have shared their findings and solutions.

 Linda V. Green states two causes of a lengthy checkout line; 

1. “When the demands for service come in” 

2. “How long it takes the servers to process them” 

Green also states; "The inevitability causes temporary mismatches between supply and demand" Hence the backups, delays, and congestion.  Greens solution is directed towards proper management of a company.

Agner Krarup Erlang originated the “Queuing Theory” in 1908. Erlang practiced an example of his Queuing Theory in the efficiency of phone calls. He stated; Think of it like a bike wheel, the switchboard is the hub.  Each spoke is a wire coming from a home to a human operator, who can connect your wire to some other spoke in the wheel.  Erlang then covered how to decide capacity of operators to be on call.  His basic formula was to take the number of trunks divided by the number of callers which gave him his average call length, and that told him how many callers to have on standby.  Erlang stated “the best system depends on the situation no matter what line you’re in”.  A variety of companies now use Erlangs Queuing Theory as a step to assure efficiency in productive decision making for reducing the length of lines.

In addition to these two researchers’ studies, some companies take additional steps to manage waiting lines.  Examples include but not limited to, grocery stores offering speedy checkout lines with a set number of items or less, some even offer self-checkout lines. Usually checkout lines are based on a first come first serve basis, others are based on Priority, such as hospitals and emergency rooms.  Either way, waiting lines are present in almost anywhere you go.  Knowing how to decipher which line to wait in can save numerous amounts of time.

The WSJ article “The Science of Waiting in Line” held several categories of relevance to our current course material.  After reading this article I personally discovered the ability that one (from the customer’s side) is able to depict whether or not a company is being well managed, due to the speed and length of a checkout line.  Manager’s efficiency involves planning, distribution, strategy, and decision making.  A high level of efficiency in a company can allow for a strong comparative advantage especially in today’s market with several competitors offering the same product.  A buyers experience is imperative to the company for its customers’ rate of return.

This article also covers the significance of efficiency’s’ role played in a company’s budget plan.  Manager’s efficiency should remain in the peak stage of growth and never fall below, as this will generate personable yet profitable success for a business.  

Article found at:

  

   http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-science-of-standing-in-line-1475850601

Steven Booker