Memo Assignment #1



Memo Assignment #2

(Note: I changed the assignment from what I had announced in class)

Tom Spencer, an administrator at a large hospital, is in charge of scheduling doctors to provide treatment for patients that arrive at the hospital’s emergency room. The emergency room is open 16 hours a day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The patients’ arrival rates change throughout the day. The arrival pattern for a typical day is:

|Time |Arrival rate |

|6 a.m. – 10 a.m. |6 patients/hour |

|10.a.m. – 2 p.m. |4 patients/hour |

|2 p.m. – 6 p.m. |15 patients/hour |

|6 p.m. – 10 p.m. |8 patients/hour |

The hospital standards require that, on the average, patients should not have to sit in the waiting room for more than 10 minutes before being seen by a doctor. Patients are treated on a first-come, first-served basis and see the first available doctor. On the average a doctor spends 12 minutes with each patients, but, obviously, the time varies from one patient to another.

Doctors are working in 8-hour shifts and are paid $200 per shift. For a particular doctor, the shift can start either at 6 a.m. (and then continue until 2 p.m.), or at 10 a.m. or at 2 p.m. currently, three doctors are assigned to the 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. shift, and three doctors are assigned to the 2 p.m. - 10 p.m. shift. Mr. Spencer is concerned with the excessive waiting that occurs during some periods and needs help in improving the situation. In addition, he is considering improving the service by reducing the average waiting time of patients from 10 minutes to 5 minutes, but would like to know what, if any, scheduling changes are necessary and by how much, if at all, the daily operating costs will increase.

Required:

1. Using queuing analysis, determine the minimum number of doctors needed in each time period in order to meet the current service standard regarding average waiting time.

2. Check whether the current doctor schedule is appropriate. If not, suggest a revised schedule that would meets the service standard at a minimum daily cost.

3. Repeat the first two steps for the suggested new service standard in order to find whether the daily operating costs will increase.

4. Write a memo, addressed to Mr. Spencer, explaining (in plain language) how you did the analysis and what are your findings and recommendations.

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