Quantitative Analysis for Management, 13/e

13.4 Simulation of a Queuing Problem

An important area of simulation application has been in the analysis of waiting line problems. As mentioned earlier, the assumptions required for solving queuing problems analytically are quite restrictive. For most realistic queuing systems, simulation may actually be the only approach available. This section illustrates the simulation at a large unloading dock and its associated queue.

Port of New Orleans

Barge arrivals and unloading rates are both probabilistic variables. Unless they follow the queuing probability distributions of Chapter 12, we must turn to a simulation approach.

Fully loaded barges arrive at night in New Orleans following their long trips down the Mississippi River from industrial midwestern ...