Topic: Simulation of Queuing Systems at McDonald's
The purpose of this project is to simulate a queuing system for McDonald's service and catering windows. It involves simulating the customer flow at McDonald's, focusing on two critical points: the service window where orders and payments occur, and the catering window where customers receive their food. The simulation will help estimate operational metrics such as customer waiting times and service efficiency.
Tasks:
Task 1:
Consider a queuing problem of MacDonald's which include a service window and a catering window. Customers need to order food and pay money at service window (server 1) and then get their food at catering window (server 2).
Suppose, on average, 21 customers come to MacDonald per hour. The service time at service window and catering window have exponential distribution with mean of 0.03 and 0.05 hours, respectively.
a) Simulate the queuing system for 2 hours. Record and display each customer’s arrival (for each server) and departure times.
b) Use your simulation to estimate the expected amount of time that a customer spends both at server 1 and at server 2 by the time t=10 hours.
c) Suppose the opening time for McDonald is 10:00 AM to 8:00PM. After 8:00 PM, new customers are NOT allowed to enter the McDonald, although the services for the customs who are already in Mcnonald will be completed. Use simulation to estimate the expected overtime of the server to complete service for all present customers..
Task 2:
Design a simulation model to estimate waiting times at McDonald’s, Considering multiple service and catering windows if necessary.
· Make the appropriate assumption about customer arrival rate throughout the day, customer behaviors, service rates, and server configuration.
· Identify key events (e.g., arrivals, service start and end) and variables (e.g., queue lengths, wait times).
· Draw a flow diagram that outlines the simulation process, including customer flow and server interaction.
· Write a program that simulates the defined system.
· Collect data on waiting times and service efficiency.
· Analyze the collected data to provide insights into average waiting times and potential improvements.
Reference:
A Queueing System with Two Servers in Series
Figure 6.2: A Tandem Queue
