System and method for forecasting bank traffic and scheduling work assignments for bank personnel

• US 4,700,295 A
• Filed: 04/18/1985
• Issued: 10/13/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Barry Katsof, Joel Matlin, Ronald G. Waxman
• Original Assignee: Barry Katsof, Joel Matlin, Ronald G. Waxman
• Inventors: Matlin, Joel, Katsof, Barry, Waxman, Ronald G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jerry
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUI, KIM T
• Application Number:
  US06/724,480
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 364/401, 364/402, 364/569, 364/550, 340/286, 377/6, 377/20, 235/379
• US Class Current: 705/7.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 11/00 Arrangements, systems or apparatus for checking, e.g. the occurrence of a condition, not provided for elsewhere
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2011/04 related to queuing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00 Individual registration on entry or exit

Abstract

A method and system for forecasting bank traffic and teller utilization and for scheduling work assignments for bank personnel based on the forecasts includes data gathering apparatus and steps and data processing apparatus and steps.

Claims

1. A method of providing efficient use of tellers and for forecasting customer traffic and teller utilization on a continuous basis at a bank wherein any one of a plurality of customers may be serviced by any one of a plurality of tellers at a respective one of a plurality of teller stations and to arrange teller work schedules for the future, the customers being formed in a queue while awaiting service, and wherein said queue is formed in a physically defined area having an entrance and an exit;

said method comprising the steps of;

A. DATA SENSING AND COLLECTING;

sensing the arrival of customers at the entrance of said queue;

recording the number of such arrivals and the time of each arrival;

sensing the departures of customers from said exit of said queue;

recording the number of departures and the time of each departure;

sensing the time spent by each customer in said queue;

recording the time spent by each customer in said queue;

determining whether a teller is available at each teller station;

recording the amount of time that a teller is available at each of the stations;

determining whether a teller at a station is active or inactive;

recording the amount of time that a teller at each station is active;

sensing the number of customers serviced at each station;

recording the number of customers serviced at each station;

B. ANALYZING;

determining arrival patterns for customers for predetermined time periods based on said sensed and recorded data; and

obtaining teller utilization forecasts;

C. SCHEDULING;

based on said arrival patterns, estimating a number of arrivals for each predetermined time period;

combining said estimates with said teller utilization forecasts;

positioning a number of tellers to respective teller stations for each predetermined time period of limit customer waiting time to a predetermined level during all predetermined time periods; and

positioning the remainder of the tellers to perform non-teller tasks for each predetermined time period;

whereby providing efficient use of tellers while controlling customer waiting time.