Applications and Solutions of Linear Programming SESSION 1

Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
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Formulate linear programming problems with different objectives. Set up constraints that have unique structures. Translate statements into constraint formulas. Utilize Excel to solve a variety of linear programming problems. Interpret the Excel output of linear programming problems. Make managerial conclusions based on computer (Excel) output. Explain at least two applications of linear programming.

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Elements of Linear Programming

Issues in formulating problems

Degree of simplification of the real-world problem Violation of the assumptions of linear programming (additivity, divisibility, certainty, and proportionality)

Linear programming problems may include:

Different types of decision variables definitions

Simple problem Lp

A company needs to make 2 products A and B. The labour hrs reqd are 4 and 3 respectively, and raw material reqd is 2 and 3 kg respectively. The limit to labour hrs is 96 and raw material is 60 kg. Profit from A is 40 per unit and B is 35 per unit. Solve using LPP for max profit.

Product Mix Problem

1. The World Light Company produces two light fixtures (products 1 and 2) that require both metal frame parts and electrical components. Management wants to determine how many units of each product to produce so as to maximize profit. For each unit of product 1, one unit of frame parts and

Example 4-1 Product-Mix Problem

The Style and Comfort Furniture Manufacturing Company wishes to determine its production schedule for the next quarter. The company produces four types of furniture, including sofas, love seats, recliners, and coffee tables. The profit contribution from selling one sofa is $120, one love seat is $105, one recliner is $150, and one coffee table is $73. The quarterly production budget is set at $180,000. Each unit of a sofa, love seat, recliner, and coffee table costs $400, $300, $500, and $150, respectively. The sales forecasts indicate that the potential sales volume is limited to 200 units of sofas, 150 units of love seats, 100 units of recliners, and 400 units of coffee tables. There are an aggregate of 800 machine hours

Table 41

Per Unit Machine and Labor Hour Required for Each Product

Policy constraints At least 40 percent of all production costs must be incurred for the sofas. At least 25 percent of all production costs must be allocated to the recliners. There must be at least 30 love seats manufactured.

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Style and Comfort Furniture Example

x1,x2,x3,x4 : no. of sofas,love seats, recliners and coffee tables produced respectively.) Constraints:

400x1+300x2+500x3+150x4<=1800 00 (budget) X1 x2 <=200(sales volume) <=150 x3 <=100

Continued) Policy constraint

400x1>=.40(400x1+300x2+500x3+ 150x4)

Solving: 240x1-120x2-200x3-60x4 >=0

500x3>=.25(400 x1+300x2+500x3+150x4)

Solving: -100x1-75x2+375x3-37.5x4>=0

Exhibit 4-1

Input Screen for the Style and Comfort Furniture Company Problem

Exhibit 42 Solver Dialog Box

Exhibit 43

Add Constraint Dialog Box

Exhibit 44 Completed Solver Dialog Box

There are three types of Solver cells:

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Target cell shows the overall performance measure (i.e., the maximum profit or the minimum cost). Output cell shows the output or quantity of the decision variables based on the changing cells. Data cells simply show the data of the problem (constraint coefficients, objective function coefficients, and right-hand-side constraints).

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Exhibit 4-5 Solver Options Dialog Box

Exhibit 47

Output Screen for the Style and Comfort Furniture Company Problem

Table 42

Cost per Ounce and Dietary Requirements for Diet Problem

4-3 Blending Problem

Formulate the appropriate model for the following blending problem: The sugar content of three juices orange, banana, and pineappleis 10, 15, and 20 percent, respectively. How many quarts of each must be mixed together to achieve one gallon (four quarts) that has a sugar content of at least 17 percent to minimize cost? The cost per quart is 20 cents for orange juice, 30 cents for banana juice, and 40 cents for pineapple

Example 4-2 Diet Problem

4-3 Blending Problem

Solution Variable definitions O = quantity of orange juice in quarts B = quantity of banana juice in quarts P = quantity of pineapple juice in quarts