Priority Assignment in Waiting-Line Problems Under Conditions of Misclassification

This article deals with priority assignment in waiting-line problems in case the classification on which the priorities are based is subject to errors. The expected waiting time under this condition is derived for a two-priority single-channel system. The procedure recommended involves the introduction of a “mixed” group for those customers who cannot be classified with certainty in group 1 or group 2, and to allocate such a customer to this group when the probability that he really belongs to group 1 lies in a certain interval, the limits of which are determined by the basic data of the waiting-line problem (mean service times, arrival rates, etc).