Electronic queue

Electronic customer flow management systems help to change and improve the quality of service. If necessary, they allow you to organize the appointment of visitors by time and date. The electronic queue systems allow optimizing the service based on the data obtained during the work process or developing new methods, as well as promptly making adjustments. The consequence of the use of electronic queuing systems is an improvement in the overall service climate and a higher coefficient of work for the staff of the institution.

The electronic queue system differs from “customer call” systems in that it allows you to enter a flexibly customizable algorithm for managing customer flow, keep records and statistics of operators' work and flow intensity, which allows you to efficiently plan the load on operators, as well as use information boards to display advertising information. In addition, the system provides functions for managing the system settings and its executive modules. This type of system can be attributed to on-line systems that operate and are controlled in real time.

• operating rooms of banks
• insurance payment centers
• client centers of mobile operators
• mobile and landline operators
• government agencies (e.g. tax and registration services, embassies and consular offices)
• pension funds
• medical centers
• travel companies
• visa centers
• car dealerships, car services
• notary and law offices
• air and railway ticket offices
• operating rooms of communication departments

Queue Registration Point

The registration panel, ticket dispenser, numbering machine or registration terminal is a device that allows the client to select a service and receive a queue number (ticket with a number). Registration boards are touch and push-button. In addition to the function of issuing coupons, touch-based registration desks can have extended functionality, for example, an integrated help system or a system for assessing the quality of service (reviews). The simplest implementation option for this system component is a ribbon with pre-printed queue numbers.

Hardware Operator Console

A hardware operator’s console is a device used to call clients from a queue; it also allows you to redirect a client to another operator or complete a service. As a rule, it has digital buttons and several specialized ones.

Virtual Operator Console

Virtual operator console is software that replaces a hardware operator console.

Main Scoreboard

The main scoreboard is a device located in the waiting area and used to display the current status of the queue. Typically, it displays a list of the most recently called clients in FIFO order. As the main display, a plasma TV or LED display can be used.

Operator Scoreboard

Operator Scoreboard is a device that allows you to duplicate the main scoreboard information for a specific called client. Monitors, TVs and LED displays are used as the operator’s display. In many cases, the use of this device can be abandoned, because it duplicates the information of the main panel. In this case, the operator’s workplace is marked with a number plate.

Voice Alert System

The voice notification system is a software and hardware solution that allows you to duplicate the functionality of the main and operator displays. When a new client is called, the system pronounces its queue number and the number of the window (operator panel) where it will be served. The electronic queue can function only in the voice alert mode, that is, without the main and operator displays.

Quality Assessment System

The quality assessment system is a software and hardware solution that complements the functionality of the electronic queue. It allows you to evaluate the results of the provision of services on a predetermined scale. This functionality can be realized both with the help of separate hardware devices, such as hardware panels of the quality assessment system, and by integration with existing components of the electronic queue, such as a virtual operator panel or a registration panel.

Quality Assurance System Console

The hardware console of the quality assessment system is a device with several buttons that allows you to choose one of the options for assessing the quality of service. As a rule, the device interface is very intuitive - the buttons are marked with emoticons .

Execution Control System

The performance monitoring system is a software solution that complements the functionality of the electronic queue. This system allows you to control the timing of services. With its help, the operator at the time of the provision of the service creates an application for execution, and later on the system allows you to track the status of the application. In those cases when the storage of documents accompanying the service is required, it is advisable to use a full-fledged system of this electronic document management .

Event Surveillance System

Event-based video surveillance system is a hardware-software solution supplementing the functionality of the electronic queue. It allows you to record and store videos, as well as receive events from the electronic queue system, such as receiving a ticket at the check-in point, starting to provide a service, ending a service, redirecting a client from one operator to another, and evaluating a customer’s quality of service using the hardware console of an assessment system quality and so on. Events received from the queue management system are synchronized with the video sequence, which allows you to select video clips with the participation of a client, operator or piece of equipment.

SMS alert system

SMS alert system is a hardware and software solution that complements the functionality of the electronic queue. This system, using the client’s mobile number obtained by entering manually when registering at the kiosk or by sending an SMS message with the client’s coupon number to a specific number, allows you to notify this client of the approaching call time in advance by sending a response SMS message via a GSM modem. Typically, such systems have special statistical analysis algorithms, due to which, based on the accumulated data, it is possible to accurately predict the time for which it is required to call the client. In the case of tight integration with the electronic queue, feedback is also possible, you can move the client’s call time so that it matches the predicted one.

Content Management System

A content management system is a hardware-software solution that complements the functionality of an electronic queue. This system allows you to centrally or locally receive various data, such as video recordings, audio recordings, graphic images, for their subsequent output according to the schedule on the main and operator screens. Such a system can be used both for the purpose of advertising and in order to alert the public in emergency situations. For example, some queue management systems have the ability to interact with the notification system.

Internal Navigation System

The internal navigation system is a software and hardware solution that complements the functionality of the electronic queue. This system allows you to set the rules for navigation inside the premises where the queue management system is deployed. The minimum functionality of such a system is as follows - arrows are displayed on the main display indicating the direction to the corresponding operator. However, in premises of complex configuration in this form, the system is not applicable. In this case, the static navigation map is displayed on a separate board or dynamic display on the kiosk is possible if you enter the ticket number after the call in the corresponding menu. Also, colored lines on the floor can be used for navigation, for example, the yellow line for the client’s hello to the cashier and the blue line to the telephone.

The client approaches the numbering device and receives a ticket with a queue number. Then he, being in the waiting area, monitors the passage of the queue. The operator calls visitors using the operator's console. When a regular visitor is called up, the customer’s queue number and rack number (operator’s scoreboard number) appear on the main and operator’s boards, and the queue number is announced in the voice notification system. After providing the service, the operator calls the next customer. The client can evaluate the quality of the service using the hardware console of the quality assessment system or at the registration point.

Although most queue management systems are proprietary commercial projects, there are also open source open source systems that run on standard computer hardware. The code of such programs is available to everyone. Such software products are distributed under one of the GNU GPL license versions.