Queue Management System
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Queue Management is the organisation of queues of people within a retail or public sector department. This can be reactive, through a Queue Management System (QMS) that can organise the existing queue, or proactive, through the queue management statistics gathering system, so that trends can be identified and anticipated.
Queue Management Systems work by streamlining front-end operations into centralised contact points, enabling managers to monitor and set performance thresholds.
Either people join a standing-in-line queue, and are directed to the next free position by the system, or visitors are issued with a ticket number and are placed in a virtual queue until they are called by the system.
The ticket-issuing process consists of the customer arriving at the establishment ready to join a queue relevant to their particular enquiry type. The customer is then issued a numbered ticket and is placed in a virtual queue. The benefits of this system are two-fold:
- Businesses are recognising that the United Kingdom has an ageing population, and public service providers have to make provision for the Disability Discrimination Act. With a ticketed system, the customer is taken out of a waiting-in-line scenario and can wait in a more relaxed environment.
- Businesses are empowered to manage their own resources according to visitor demands. Queue Management Systems can be tailored to inform customers and members of staff that customers are waiting to be served and make calls to action. Queue analysis starts to make an immediate impact.
The genesis of Queue Management Systems began in the 1970s when the UK-based company Lonsto (International) Ltd introduced the systems into the public domain. The product's penetration was substantial and such Queue Management Systems can now be found in everyday life, in doctors' surgeries, airports, banks, and deli counters.
There are two waiting environments for queues of people within the public and retail sector:
- The waiting-in-line environment known as the 'head of queue': the visitor joins a line of customers standing and waiting, and upon reaching the head of the queue is guided to the next available serving terminal.
- The "relaxed" waiting environment: visitors are invited to obtain a ticket and wait in a relaxed area with comfortable seating, often with reading material or audio-visual entertainment. This helps to relax the customer and provide a pleasant wait.
Queue Management Systems can provide solutions for both types of waiting environment. Both client requirements and queuing environments are an essential part of designing the most cost-effective queuing solution. This determines how the system will be used on a daily basis to maximise efficiency and organise queues.
