Queueing Theory Applied to Machine Manning

Cost pressures, recent expansion, and a limited labor pool triggered a two-year study coordinated by the Industrial Engineering Department of a high volume manufacturing plant. Plant management was introduced to the fundamentals of queueing theory and assisted in preparing a model applicable to optimum manpower/machine assignments. A resulting savings of $575,000, about one-fifth of plant manpower costs, was realized during the first year of implementation.