Monotone Optimal Policies for a Transient Queueing Staffing Problem

Michael C. Fu (), Steven I. Marcus () and I-Jeng Wang ()
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Michael C. Fu: Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
Steven I. Marcus: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
I-Jeng Wang: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland 20723

Operations Research, 2000, vol. 48, issue 2, 327-331

Abstract: We consider the problem of determining the optimal policy for staffing a queueing system over multiple periods, using a model that takes into account transient queueing effects. Formulating the problem in a dynamic programming setting, we show that the optimal policy follows a monotone optimal control by establishing the submodularity of the objective function with respect to the staffing level and initial queue size in a period. In particular, this requires proving that the system occupancy in a G/M/s queue is submodular in the number of servers and initial system occupancy.

Keywords: Dynamic programming; applications: staffing problem; Queues; transient results: submodularity; Optimal control: monotone policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2000
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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