LETRIS: Staffing service systems by means of simulation
Abstract: Purpose: This paper
introduces a procedure for solving the staffing problem in a service system
(i.e., determining the number of servers for each staffing period).
Design/methodology: The proposed algorithm combines the use of queueing
theory to find an initial solution with the use of simulation to adjust the
number of servers to meet previously specified target non-delay probabilities.
The basic idea of the simulation phase of the procedure is to successively fix
the number of servers from the first staffing period to the last, without
backtracking.
Findings: Under the assumptions that the number of servers is not
upper-bounded and there are no abandonments and, therefore, no retrials, the
procedure converges in a finite number of iterations, regardless of the
distributions of arrivals and services, and requires a reasonable amount of
computing time.
Originality / value: The new procedure proposed in this paper is a
systematic, robust way to find a good solution to a relevant problem in the
field of service management and it is very easy to implement using no more than
commonly accessible tools.
Penulis: Albert Corominas,
Amaia Lusa
Kode Jurnal: jptindustrigg120007
