ISSN:
0144-3577
Source:
Emerald Fulltext Archive Database 1994-2005
Topics:
Economics
Notes:
The general practice in implementing an appointment scheduling rule(ASR) is to enforce a certain rule, such as "blockappointment", to schedule customer arrivals in service systems.There are several commonly used ASRs that have been used in such servicesystems as public and private clinics and restaurant reservations, mostof which tend to minimize the idle time or optimize the utilization rateof the service facility while neglecting customers' waiting times. Onecommonly used ASR in real-world service systems, which schedules severalcustomers to arrive at the start of each service session, tends toinduce long customer waiting time, but manages to keep the facility idletime fairly low. Introduces an ASR to reduce customers' waiting timeconsiderably while increasing the facility idle time at a manageableminimum. Evaluates environmental factors that may affect the performanceof ASRs, such as the probability of no-shows, the coefficient ofvariation of service times, and the number of customers per servicesession. Discusses several exceptional situations such as walk-ins,seasonality of customer arrivals, and multiple-priority/queues.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01443579510090345
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