Queueing Theory: New Solutions to Optimize the Number of Workers

The paper presents the results of the study aimed at determining the optimal number of workers, who are employed in equipment-specific production, through the use of the queueing theory. The relevance of the research is that service operations in equipment-specific processes are performed irregularly and at any time, there may be equipment and workspaces downtime in expectation of the service activities. Moreover, there may be deadtime in operational people’s activities in wait for the service requests. Therefore, there is a need to determine service standards that would ensure both a minimum of the total costs in the personnel expenses and possible losses from equipment downtime. This task is complex and multi-variant, and it requires the use of mathematical methods. The authors presented the methodology for the queueing theory usage to develop efficient size standards in terms of alloy melting processes in gas-fired reverberatory furnaces, and calculation data of the service system performance indicators for melting furnaces by a working team of various size.