A queue management system is used to control queues. Queues of people form in various situations and locations in a queue area. The process of queue formation and propagation is defined as queuing theory. Queues exist in two main forms:
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Here people form a queue in a fixed, predictable position, such as at supermarket checkouts, some other retail locations such as banks, airport security and so on.
Very often, queue management systems are set up to manage ticket ranking for a service (with or without a numbered ticket) with identification and thus enable a serene and stress-free waiting (without to wait in a queue, one behind the other.
Extending the different possibilities, planned reception by appointment and remotely rank allocation on Smartphone or through SMS can also be included.
Where people form a queue in unpredictable and varying locations and directions. This is often the case in some forms of retail, taxi queues, ATMSs and at periods of high demand in many situations.
Nevertheless organizational systems exist to manage these cases: rank allocation for a service / need / salesperson, pagers or 2D or RFID badges or simply by reading the customer card.
Various queue measurement and management techniques exist:
They aimed at guiding queue formation and organising it in the most efficient way.
These aim to provide information to people queuing to aid efficient queue formation and flow, as well as setting service expectations.
These use a variety of measurement technologies which predict and measure queue lengths and waiting times and provide management information to help service levels and resource deployment.
Automatic queue measurement systems are designed to help managers in two ways - first, through enhanced customer service; second by improving efficiency and reducing costs.
They use people counting sensors at entrances and above checkout lanes / queue areas to accurately detect the number and behaviour of people in the queue. Built-in predictive algorithms can provide advance notice on how many checkouts or service points will be needed to meet demand. Dashboards, available on a computer monitor or mobile PDA device, are often used to provide a range of information, such as dynamic queue length, waiting time data, and checkout performance on the shop floor. In the event that performance falls towards a minimum service level, in supermarkets or banks management teams can be automatically alerted beforehand, allowing them time to proactively manage the situation. Key measurements produced are:
A number of the large UK supermarket chains use such systems for service level and resource management.[1][2][3][4] [5]
Where queues form in unpredictable locations and/or extend beyond a relatively small queue area, overhead detector based queue measurement systems cannot be effectively used. Alternative technology solutions using wide area queue sampling are effective in these situations. One method is using Bluetooth detection from mobile telephones held by people in the queue. Although a sampling technique, as typically 10 – 30% of telephone have active Bluetooth at any one time (need reference), it gives accurate measurement of average queue wait times where long queues are present. This can be particularly useful in situations such as airport security where a large volume of people pass through an area in varying flow patterns and constantly varying physical locations.
Reception management solutions allow managing flows and the purposes of visits from initial contact to the service given.
These intelligent management systems allow to increase productivity and sales and reduce operating costs by ensuring that customer is served by the staff that are the most qualified according to the request. Reception management solutions are above all a way of increasing customer satisfaction by reducing the perceived and actual waiting time, creating a pleasant environment and a fair reception. These innovative reception management solutions also contribute to the satisfaction of working teams by reducing the amount of stress and optimizing the processing of requests. Reception management solutions also enable to generate data about how customers wait and how staff can best serve them. This type of information assists in improving organization processes and in increasing the quality of customer service.
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Reception management solutions cover 6 stages:
Besides these stages, for a complete reception solution, it is useful and efficient to include appointments management, agenda planning and future flows and resources forecasting. These modular solutions, adaptable to various sectors (Retail, Health, Telecommunications, Finance, Transport, Public Sector...), can suit to the management of a simple queue to centralized multiple site organization.
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Provide various options for establishing contact:
In the case of a common queue guide for several call forward windows (cash, desks), a LED or video screen at the head of the queue displays the number called with a directional arrow. The number called should also be able to be shown by a number, arrow, floor-plan etc.
When waiting times may be long, a possible first stage is to use a beeper or text message or Smart phone message* to send customers to a final waiting area, where they are free to move around the store or area. If the reception procedure takes several stages, or if additional waiting time is necessary before the provision of the service can be concluded, it should be possible to place visitors on hold for subsequent treatment.
Managers have access to a tracking screen with warnings (visual, sound, text messages or e-mails) which enable overall monitoring and control of the reception system. Nevertheless, the system positions backups automatically, to ensure that the target waiting levels per service are respected, as a function of the allocation of salespersons/staff to the services and the forecasts and actual arrivals of customers/visitors.
Complete statistical reports enable tables and graphs of the following parameters and variables to be interlinked and presented: time periods, waiting times, handling times, times present, services provided, reasons for visits etc. These reports are configurable temporal documents for different needs, displaying functions with 1 or 2 variables. They can be consulted or personalised and sent directly to managers by e-mail.
To be able to estimate future visitor flows and resource requirements by department and time period, as a function of statistical data and the designation of past and future days. This enables scheduling of reception resources to be optimized. To be able to make appointments or anticipate flows arrival, by direct contact, telephone or Internet, and mix appointments with walk-in visits using the same resources, by ensuring that appointments are automatically handled at the planned time.