The concept of queue management system is to ease the customer’s perils at places like
hospital, Banks, Airline, and public service halls etc., where large number of people gathers
for related services.
The problem of serving customers in a specific sequence at business or public establishments
has been solved in many different ways. Depending on available resources and technology,
various mechanical, electronic and computerized systems have been designed and
implemented.
The first objective of any queue management system is to achieve a better quality of service
to customers. In its most basic form, a queue management system will issue a queue ticket
to an arriving customer and later call the ticket when service is available, eliminating the
need to stand in line while waiting. In this way, queue management systems help to provide
comfort as well as fairness to customers, by allowing them to maintain their position in the
queue while they are seated comfortably or engaged in constructive activity.
Modern queue management systems attempt to do more than that. Through the use of
computerized systems, they help the management by producing statistical reports on
information such as arrival rates and patterns, waiting and service times, and default and
reneging cases. Based on these statistics, the optimal use of resources can be achieved,
helping the trade-off between service quality and service cost. The latest Internet-enabled
systems allow remote system monitoring, report generation and system configuration across
an Internet/LAN link.
Upon arrival at the designated place, the customer collects a queue ticket from a ticket vending machine by pressing the appropriate button relating to the required service. The queue number is automatically entered in the sequence of arrival. The customer can then be seated comfortably and wait for their token number to be called. In the counter rooms, the attending staff is fed the token numbers sequentially. They press the designated key to call the waiting customer from the queue. The called queue number and counter number are displayed on the main display and counter display. The number blinks, and the buzzer is activated to call for the attention of the customer. The customer with the displayed queue number can then proceed to the counter for the desired service.
