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CH 02 Modeling With Linear Programmin

This document provides an example of using linear programming (LP) to determine the optimal product mix for a company called Reddy Mikks. Reddy Mikks produces paint and wants to maximize daily profit given constraints on raw material availability and demand. The document outlines the decision variables, objective, and constraints to formulate the LP model. It then provides a graphical example of solving the LP model to find the optimal solution. The document concludes by discussing how OR studies require more than just mathematics and should consider human behavior to find effective solutions.

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Aura fairuz
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
81 views

CH 02 Modeling With Linear Programmin

This document provides an example of using linear programming (LP) to determine the optimal product mix for a company called Reddy Mikks. Reddy Mikks produces paint and wants to maximize daily profit given constraints on raw material availability and demand. The document outlines the decision variables, objective, and constraints to formulate the LP model. It then provides a graphical example of solving the LP model to find the optimal solution. The document concludes by discussing how OR studies require more than just mathematics and should consider human behavior to find effective solutions.

Uploaded by

Aura fairuz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 02

Modeling With Linear


Programming
Example: Reddy Mikks
 Reddy Mikks produces both interior and exterior paints from two raw materials, Ml and M2. The
following table provides the basic data of the problem:

Tons of raw material per ton of


Maximum daily
Exterior paint Interior paint availability (tons)

Raw material, M1 6 4 24
Raw material M2 1 2 6
Profit per ton ($1000) 5 4

 A market survey indicates that the daily demand for interior paint cannot exceed that for exterior
paint by more than 1 ton. Also, the maximum daily demand for interior paint is 2 tons.
 Reddy Mikks wants to determine the optimum (best) product mix of interior and exterior paints that
maximizes the total daily profit.
The LP model, as in any OR model, has three basic
components.
1. Decision variables that we seek to determine.
2. Objective (goal) that we need to optimize (maximize or
minimize).
3. Constraints that the solution must satisfy.
1. Variables that we seek to determine
 For the Reddy Mikks problem, we need to determine the daily
amounts to be produced of exterior and interior paints. Thus the
variables of the model are defined as
Xl = Tons produced daily of exterior paint
X2 = Tons produced daily of interior paint
2. Objective (goal) that we need to optimize (maximize or
minimize).
 Given that the profits per ton of exterior
 and interior paints are 5 and 4 (thousand) dollars, respectively, it
follows that
 Total profit from exterior paint = 5xl (thousand) dollars
 Total profit from interior paint = 4X2 (thousand) dollars

 Letting z represent the total daily profit (in thousands of dollars),


the objective of the company is

Maximize z = 5Xl + 4X2


3. Constraints that the solution must satisfy.
The daily usage of raw material MI is 6 tons per ton of exterior paint and 4 tons per ton of interior paint.
Thus
Usage of raw material Ml by exterior paint = 6Xl tons/day
Usage of raw material Ml by interior paint = 4X2 tons/day
Hence
Usage of raw material Ml by both paints = 6X1 + 4x2 tons/day
In a similar manner,
Usage of raw material M2 by both paints = Xl + 2X2 tons/day
Because the daily availabilities of raw materials Ml and M2 are limited to 24 and 6 tons, respectively,
the associated restrictions are given as

6x1 + 4x2 ≤ 24 (Raw material M1)


x1 + 2x2 ≤ 6 (Raw Material M2)
3. Constraints that the solution must satisfy.
 The first demand restriction stipulates that the excess of the daily production of
interior over exterior paint, x2 - xl, should not exceed 1 ton, which translates to

x2 - x1 ≤ 1
 The second demand restriction stipulates that the maximum daily demand of
interior paint is limited to 2 tons, which translates to
x2 ≤ 2 (Demand limit)

 An implicit (or "understood-to-be") restriction is that variables Xl and X2 cannot


assume negative values. The nonnegativity restrictions, X l > 0, X2 > 0, account for
this requirement.
The complete Reddy Mikks model is

Maximize z = 5x1 + 4x2

subject to

6x1 + 4x2 =

24

x1 + 2x2 =
GRAPHICAL SOLUTION
GRAPHICAL LP SOLUTION
 The graphical procedure includes two steps:
1. Determination of the feasible solution space.
2. Determination of the optimum solution from among all the
feasible points in the solution space.
 The procedure uses two examples to show how maximization and
minimization objective functions are handled.
OTHER EXAMPLE
MORE THAN JUST
MATHEMATICS
MORE THAN JUST MATHEMATICS
 Because of the mathematical nature of OR models, one tends
to think that an OR study is always rooted in mathematical
analysis. Though mathematical modeling is a cornerstone of
OR, simpler approaches should be explored first.
 In some cases, a "common sense" solution may be reached
through simple observations. Indeed, since the human
element invariably affects most decision problems, a study
of the psychology of people may be key to solving the
problem.
Three illustrations are presented here to support this
argument.
1. Responding to complaints of slow elevator service in a large
office building, the OR team initially perceived the situation as a
waiting-line problem that might require the use of mathematical
queuing analysis or simulation. After studying the behavior of
the people voicing the complaint, the psychologist on the team
suggested installing full-length mirrors at the entrance to the
elevators. Miraculously the complaints disappeared, as people
were kept occupied watching themselves and others while
waiting for the elevator.
Three illustrations are presented here to support this
argument.
2. In a study of the check-in facilities at a large British airport, a
United StatesCanadian consulting team used queuing theory to
investigate and analyze the situation. Part of the solution
recommended the use of well-placed signs to urge passengers
who were within 20 minutes from departure time to advance to
the head of the queueand request immediate service. The
solution was not successful, because the passengers, being mostly
British, were "conditioned to very strict queuing behavior" and
hence were reluctant to move ahead of others waiting in the
queue.
Three illustrations are presented here to support this
argument.
3. In a steel mill, ingots were first produced from iron ore and then used in the
manufacture of steel bars and beams. The manager noticed a long delay between
the ingots production and their transfer to the next manufacturing phase (where
end products were manufactured). Ideally, to reduce the reheating cost,
manufacturing should start soon after the ingots left the furnaces. Initially the
problem was perceived as a line-balancing situation, which could be resolved
either by reducing the output of ingots or by increasing the capacity of the
manufacturing process. The OR team used simple charts to summarize the output
of the furnaces during the three shifts of the day. They discovered that, even
though the third shift started at 11:00 PM., most of the ingots were produced
between 2:00 and 7:00 A.M. Further investigation revealed that third-shift
operators preferred to get long periods of rest at the start of the shift and then
make up for lost production during morning hours. The problem was solved by
"leveling out" the production of ingots throughout the shift.
Three conclusions can be drawn from these
illustrations
1. Before embarking on sophisticated mathematical modeling, the OR team should explore
the possibility of using "aggressive" ideas to resolve the situation.
2. Solutions are rooted in people and not in technology. Any solution that does not take
human behavior into account is apt to fail. Even though the mathematical solution of the
British airport problem may have been sound, the fact that the consulting team was not
aware of the cultural differences between the United States and Britain (Americans and
Canadians tend to be less formal) resulted in an unimplementable recommendation.
3. An OR study should never start with a bias toward using a specific mathematical tool
before its use can be justified. For example, because linear programming is a successful
technique, there is a tendency to use it as the tool of choice for modeling "any" situation.
Such an approach usually leads to a mathematical model that is far removed from the real
situation. It is thus imperative that we first analyze available data, using the simplest
techniques where possible (e.g., averages, charts, and histograms), with the objective of
pinpointing the source of the problem.
PHASES OF AN OR STUDY
The principal phases for implementing OR in
practice include
1. Definition of the problem.
2. Construction of the model.
3. Solution of the model.
4. Validation of the model.
5. Implementation of the solution.

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