Abstract
In a service operation where worker requirements have to be determined for short scheduling time periods with nonstationary customer demand, the assumptions necessary for applying steady-state solutions to elementary queueing models are usually violated. This paper describes a simulation study of the behavior of such a service operation. The results are compared with the steady-state solutions to a queueing model where individual scheduling time periods are assumed to be independent. It is found that if the system utilization is below a derived maximum value (based on a service level criterion), then the steady-state solutions are robust enough to explain the behavior of the system and can be used to schedule worker requirements.
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Kwan, S.K., Davis, M.M. & Greenwood, A.G. A simulation model for determining variable worker requirements in a service operation with time-dependent customer demand. Queueing Syst 3, 265–275 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01161218
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01161218