A location model for a facility operating as an M/G/k queue

This paper considers the problem of locating a single facility on a network that operates as an M/G/k queue, in which the average queueing delay is approximated by using a result in Nozaki and Ross [J. Appl. Prob. 15 (1978) 826–834]. Special consideration is given to the case of a tree network. Localization and sensitivity results are provided, together with appropriate intuitive explanations. We present an illustrative numerical example and provide a brief discussion of our computational experiences with the model. We also use discrete‐event simulation to test the effectiveness of the Nozaki and Ross approximation in the context of finding a good facility location—our results indicate that their approximation is adequate for this purpose.