After a couple of tries, I end up with a graph that looks…
““After a couple of tries, I end up with a graph that looks like this: I tell them what Erik told me at MRP-8, about how wait times depend upon resource utilization. “The wait time is the ‘percentage of time busy’ divided by the ‘percentage of time idle.’ In other words, if a resource is fifty percent busy, then it’s fifty percent idle. The wait time is fifty percent divided by fifty percent, so one unit of time. Let’s call it one hour. So, on average, our task would wait in the queue for one hour before it gets worked. “On the other hand, if a resource is ninety percent busy, the wait time is ‘ninety percent divided by ten percent’, or nine hours. In””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The quote illustrates how queue wait time grows non‑linearly as resource utilization rises, using a simple percentage formula to show that higher busy rates cause dramatically longer delays.
In simple terms: Higher busy rates cause much longer wait times.
Key Takeaway
Monitor utilization and balance load.
Themes
operations
performance
queues
resource management
Mood
analytical
concerned
Type
technical
explanatory
When to use this quote
- manufacturing
- IT services
- call centers
- project planning
Key Concepts
queue theory
utilization
non‑linear scaling
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we reduce utilization peaks?
- What alternative scheduling could flatten wait times?
A Different Perspective
Assumes constant service rate and ignores variability.