Operations

Research

Operations Research may be

described as a scientific approach to
decision making that involves the
operations of organizational systems.

Linear Programming
Problems (LPP)

LPP in general are concerned with the

allocation of resources such as labour,
materials, machinery, capital etc in the
best possible manner, so that costs are
minimized or profits are maximized.

LP is a mathematical technique for

finding the optimal use for an
organizations scarce resources.

The LP model includes 3 basic elements:

Decision

variables that we seek to

determine.
Objective

(goal) that we seek to

optimize.
Constraints

that we need to satisfy.

A simple LP problem may look like this:

Maximize F = 2X +

Objective function

4Y
subject to:
Constraints

X+Y5
2X - 3Y 10

Quantity of
resources

X,Y 0
Decision variables

Example
1:

A home decorator manufactures two types

of lamps, A and B. Both lamps go through
two technicians, first a cutter and then a
finisher. A lamp of type A requires 2 hours
of the cutters time and 1 hour of the
finishers time. A lamp of type B requires 1
hour of the cutters time and 2 hours of
the finishers time.

The cutter has 104 hours and the finisher

has 76 hours of available time each month.
The profit on type A lamp is Rs 60/= and on
type B is Rs 110/=. How many lamps of
type A and B should be manufactured so as
to maximize the profit? Formulate the
problem. Assume that the manufacturer
can sell all the lamps he manufactures.

Type of
work

Time
reqd. for
type A

Time
reqd. for
type B

Available
time

Cutting

104

Finishing

76

Profit/unit

Rs60/=

Rs110/=

Maximize Z = 60X +110Y

Subject to:
2X + Y 104
X + 2Y 76
X,Y 0.
X No. of lamps of type A.
Y No. of lamps of type B.

Example
2:

A company sells two different products, A

and B. The company makes a profit of
Rs40/= and Rs30/= per unit on product A
and B respectively. The products are
produced in a common production process
and sold in two different markets. The
production has a capacity of 30,000 man
hours per month.

It takes 3 hours to produce one unit of A

and 1 hour to produce one unit of B. A
market survey revealed that only a
maximum of 8,000 units of A and 12,000
units of B can be sold per month. How
many units of product A and B should be
manufactured so as to maximize the
profit? Formulate the problem.

Maximize Z = 40X + 30Y

Subject to:
3X + Y 30,000
X 8,000
Y 12,000
X,Y 0.
X No. of units of product A.
Y No. of units of product B.

Example
3:
A person requires a minimum of 10, 12
and 12 units of chemicals A, B and C
respectively for his garden. A liquid
product contains 5, 2 and 1 units of A,B
and C respectively in a jar. A dry
product contains 1, 2 and 4 units of A, B
and C respectively per carton.

If the liquid product sells at Rs 300/=

per jar and the dry product sells at Rs
200/= per carton. How much of each
should be purchased to minimize the
cost and to meet the requirements?
Formulate the problem.

Type of Chemicals Chemicals Minimum

chemical reqd/unit reqd/unit requireme
nt of
of liquid
of dry
chemicals
prod.
prod.
A

10

12

12

Cost

Rs 300/=

Rs 200/=

Minimize Z = 300X + 200Y

Subject to:
5X + Y 10
2X + 2Y 12
X + 4Y 12
X,Y 0.
X No. of jars of liquid product.
Y No. of cartons of dry product.

Graphical Method

Graphical Method can be used to

solve a Linear Programming
Problem with two decision
variables.

Example 1:
Maximize Z = 3X + 5Y
Subject to:
X 4
2Y 12
3X + 2Y 18
X,Y 0.

X =4
Y=6
3X + 2Y = 18

3X

+
2Y
=

X=4
18

(2,6)
Y=6

Example
2:

Bright Paints produces interior and

exterior paints from two raw materials
M1 and M2. the following table provides
the basic data of the problem.

Tons of raw materials Max daily

per ton.
availabilit
y
Exterior
Interior
(tons)
Paints
Paints

M1
M2
Profit per
ton (Rs
1000)

6
1
5

4
2
4

24
6

A market survey restricts the maximum

daily demand of interior paint to 2 tons.
Also the daily demand for interior paint
cannot exceed that of exterior paint by
more than 1 ton. The company wants to
determine the optimum product mix of
exterior and interior paints that
maximizes the total daily profit.

X tons produced of exterior paints

Y tons produced of interior paints
Maximize Z = 5X + 4Y
Subject to:
6X + 4Y 24
X + 2Y 6
-X + Y 1
Y2

X,Y 0.

3X +2Y=12
-X +Y=1

(3,1.5)
Y=2
X +2Y=6

Example
3:

New life farm daily uses at least

800kg of special feed. The special feed
is a mixture of corn and soybean with
the following quantities.

Kg per kg of feed
Protein

Fiber

Cost
(Rs/kg)

Corn

0.09

0.02

30

Soybean

0.6

0.06

90

The dietary requirements of the feed mix

stipulates at least 30% protein and at most
5% fiber. Find the optimum solution.

Min Z = 30X + 90Y

Subject to:
X + Y 800
0.09X + 0.6Y (X +Y)0.3
0.02X +0.06Y (X +Y)0.05
X,Y 0
X No. of kgs of Corn
Y No. of kgs. of Soybean

Min Z = 30X + 90Y

Min Z = 30X + 90Y

Subject to:

Subject to:

X + Y 800
0.21X 0.3Y 0
0.03X 0.01Y
0
X,Y 0

X + Y 800
7X 10Y 0
3X Y 0
X,Y 0

3X-Y=0

7X-10Y=0

X+Y=800

Home Work
Question 1:
Maximize Z = 2000X + 300Y
Subject to:
400X + 600Y 6000
400X + 200Y 4000
X,Y 0.

Question 2:

Question 3:

Maximize Z = X +

Minimize Z = -4X + 6Y

2Y
Subject to:

Subject to:
-X + 6Y 24

X+Y 5

2X - Y 7

X - 2Y 2

X + 8Y 80

X,Y 0.

X,Y 0.

Unbounded Solution

In some LP models, the values of the

variables maybe increased indefinitely
without violating any of the constraints. Ie.
the solution space is unbounded in at least
one direction. As a result the objective
function value may increase (in a
maximization problem) or decrease (in a
minimization problem) indefinitely.

Example:
Maximize Z = 2X + 3Y
Subject to:
-2X + Y 1
X - 2Y 3
X+Y 2
X,Y 0.

Unbounded
Solution