Or Module 1 (15cs653)
Or Module 1 (15cs653)
Or Module 1 (15cs653)
MODULE-1
Definition of Operations Research:
Operations research is a scientific approach to problem solving for executive management.
OR
Operations research is the application of scientific method by interdisciplinary teams to
problems involving the control of organized (man-machine) systems so as to provide
solutions which best serve the purpose of the organization as a whole.
Introduction: The Origin of Operations Research
The beginning of the activity called OR has generally been recognized to the military
services early in the world war II. Because of the war effort, there was an urgent need to
allocate scare resources to the various military operations and to the activities within each
operation in an efficient manner. The British and the U.S military management called upon
a large number of scientists to apply a scientific approach to dealing with this and other
strategic and tactical problems. In effect they were asked to do research on(Military)
operations. These teams of scientist were the first operation research teams. By developing
efficient methods of using the new tool of radar, these teams were instrumented in winning
the Air Battle of Britain. Through their research on how to better manage convey and
antisubmarine operations, they also played a major role in winning the Battle of the North
Atlantic similar efforts assisted the Island campaign in the pacific.
The success of OR in the war effort spurred interest in applying OR outside the military as
well. As the industrial boom following the war was running its course, the problems caused
by the increasing complexity and specializations in organization were again coming to the
forefront. By the early 1950s, the use of OR to a variety of organization in business,
industry and government. The spread of OR soon followed,after the war, many of scientists
who had participated on OR teams or who had heard about this work were motivated to
pursue research work relevant to the field.
The simplex method for solving Linear programming problems developed by George
Dantzig in 1947.
Many of the standard tools of OR, such as linear programming, dynamic programming,
queing theory and inventory theory were relatively well deeloped before the end of the
1950s.
Another factor that gave great thrust to the growth of the field was the onslaught of the
computer revolution. A large amount of computation is usually required to deal most
effectively with the complex problems typically considered by OR. A boost came in the
1980s with the progress of increasingly powerful personal computers accompanied by good
software packages for doing OR. This brought the use of OR within the easy reach of much
larger number of people. Today literally millions of persons have ready access to OR
software.
The Nature of Operations Research
Operations research involves “research on operations”. Thus, OR is applied to problems that
concern how to conduct & coordinate the operations (i.e, the activities) within an
organizations. The nature of the organization is immaterial and in fact, OR has been applied
in areas such as manufacturing, transportation, construction, telecommunications, financial
planning ,health care the military and public service.
The research part of the name means that operations research uses an approach that
resembles the way research is conducted in recognized scientific fields. The scientific
method is used to examine the problem of concern. The process begins by carefully
observing and formulating the problem as well as gathering all relevant data. The next step
is to construct a scientific model that attempts to abstract the essence of the real problem. It
is then hypothesized and this model is a sufficiently precise representation of the essential
features of the situation that the conclusion obtained from the model are also valid for the
real problem. Suitable experiments are conducted to test this hypothesis and modify it as
needed and eventually verify some form of the hypothesis. Thus in a certain sense, OR
involves creative scientific research into the fundamental properties of operations. OR is
also concerned with the practical management of the organization.
The characteristic of OR is its broad viewpoint. OR adopts an organizational point of view.
OR frequently attempts to find best solution for the problem under consideration. Rather
than simply improving the status quo, the goal is to identify a best possible course of action.
The Impact of Operations Research
Operations Research has had an remarkable impact on improving the effectiveness of
numerous organizations around the world. In the process, OR has made a significant
contribution to increase the productivity of the economics of various countries. There are
member countries in the International Federation of OR Societies(IFORS), with each
country have a national OR society both Europe & Asia have federations of OR societies to
2) A computer company manufactures laptops & desktops that fetches profit of Rs.
700/- & 500/- unit respectively. Each unit of laptop takes 4 hours of assembly time
& 2 hours of testing time while each unit of desktop requires 3 hours of assembly
time & 1 hour for testing. In a given month the total number of hours available for
assembly is 210 hours & for inspection is 90 hours. Formulate the problem as LPP in
such a way that the total profit is maximum.
Solution: The objective function is
Zmax=700x1+500x2
Subject to the constraint:
4x1+3x2 ≤ 210 (Assembly time constraint)
2x1+x2 ≤ 90 (Inspection time constraint)
x1≥0, x2≥0
3) A toy company manufactures two types of dolls, a basic version-doll A and a deluxe
version- doll B. Each doll of type B takes twice as long to produce as one of type A
and the company would have time to make maximum of 2000 dolls per day. The
supply of plastic is sufficient to produce 1500 dolls per day( Both A & B combined).
The deluxe version requires a fancy dress of which there are only 600 per day
available. If the company makes a profit of Rs. 10/- & Rs. 18/- per doll on doll A &
B respectively, then how many of each doll should be produced per day in order to
maximize the total profit. Formulate the problem as LPP.
Solution: The objective function is
Zmax=10x1+18x2
grinder works for 40 hours a week & each polisher works for 60 hours a week. Profit of
M1 model is Rs. 3/- & on M2 model is Rs. 4/-. How should the manufacturer allocate his
production capacity to the two types of models so as to make maximum profit in a week.
Formulate the above problem as LPP.
Solution: The objective function is
Zmax=3x1+4x2
Subject to the constraint:
4x1+2x2 ≤ 80 [Note: 40*2=80 hrs]
2x1+5x2 ≤180 [Note: 60*3=180 hrs]
x1≥0, x2≥0
7) A company produces two types of products. Each product of first type requires twice as
much time as the second type. The company can produce a total of 600 products a day.
The market limits the daily sales of the first & second types of products of 175 & 250
respectively. If the profits per product are Rs. 9/- for the first & Rs. 6/- for second
product. Formulate the problem as LPP.
Solution: The objective function is
Zmax=9x1+6x2
Subject to the constraint:
2x1+x2 ≤ 600
x1 ≤ 175
x2 ≤ 250
x1≥0, x2≥0
8) A company produces two types of Hats. Each hat of the first type requires twice as much
labour time as the second type. The company can produce a total of 500 hats a day. The
market limits daily sales of the first & second type to 150 & 250 hats. Assuming that the
profits/hat are Rs. 8/- for type A & Rs. 5 for type B. Formulate the problem as LP model
in order to determine the number of hats to be produced of each type so as to maximize
the profit.
Solution: The objective function is
Zmax = 8x1+5x2
Subject to the constraint:
2x1+x2 ≤ 500
x1 ≤ 150
x2 ≤ 250
x1≥0, x2≥0
9) An agriculturist has a farm with 126 acres. He produces Tomato, Mango and Potato.
Whatever he raises is fully sold in the market. He gets Rs. 5/- for tomato/kg, Rs. 4/-
for mango/kg and Rs. 5/- for potato/kg. The average yield is 1,500 kg of tomato/acre,
1800 kg of mango/acre and 1200 kg of potato/acre. To produce each 100 kg of
tomato and mango and to produce each 80 kg of potato a sum of Rs. 12.50 has to be
used for manure. Labour required for each acre to raise the crop is 6 man-days for
tomato and potato each and 5 man-days for mango. A total of 500 man-days of
labour at a rate of Rs. 40/- per man day are available. Formulate this as a LP model
to maximize the agriculturist’s total profit.
Solution: Tomato Mango Potato
600 kg per week. Market constraint on product B is known to be 800 unit every week.
Product A costs Rs. 5/- per unit and sold at Rs. 10/-. Product B costs Rs. 6/- per unit
and can be sold in the market at a unit price of Rs. 8/-. Determine the number of units
of A & B per week to maximize the profit.
Solution: Let x1 & x2 be the number of products A & B.
Cost of product A/unit is Rs.5 & sold at Rs.10/unit
Profit on one unit of product A=10-5=5x1
Profit on one unit of product B=8-6=2x2
The objective function is
Zmax = 5x1+2x2
Subject to the constraint:
10 x1+2x2≤ (35*60)
10 x1+2x2≤ 2100 [Time Constraint]
x1+0.5x2≤ 600 [Raw material constraint]
x2≥800
x1≥0, x2≥0
11) A person requires 10,12 and 12 units chemicals A,B,C respectively for his garden. One
unit of liquid product contains 5,2 and 1 units of A,B and C respectively. One unit of
dry product contains 1,2 and 4 units of A,B,C. If the liquid product sells for Rs. 3/- and
the dry product sells for Rs. 2/-, how many of each should be purchased, in order to
minimize the cost and meet the requirements.
Solution: The objective function is
Zmin=3x1+2x2
Subject to the constraint:
5x1+x2 ≥ 10
2x1+2x2 ≥12
x1+4x2 ≥ 12
x1≥0, x2≥0
12) A paper mill produces two grades of paper namely X and Y. Because of raw material
restrictions, it cannot produce more than 400 tons of grade X and 300 tons of grade Y
in a week. There are 160 production hours in a week. It requires 0.2 and 0.4 hours to
produce a ton of products X and Y respectively with corresponding profits of Rs. 200/-
and Rs. 500/- per ton. Formulate the above as a LPP to maximize profit and find the
optimum product mix.
Solution: The objective function is
Zmax = 200x1+500x2
Subject to the constraint:
x1 ≤ 400
x2 ≤ 300
0.2x1+0.4x2 ≤ 160
x1≥0, x2≥0
13) The owner of fancy goods shop is interested to determine how many advertisement to
release in the selected three magazines A,B and C. His main purpose is to advertise in
such a way that total exposure to principal buyers of his goods is maximized.
Percentage of readers for each magazine are known. Exposure in any particular
magazine is the number of advertisements released multiplied by the number of
principal buyers. The following data are available.
Particulars Magazines
A B C
Readers 1.0 lakh 0.6 lakh 0.4 lakh
Principal Buyers 20 % 15 % 8%
Cost per advertisement 8,000 6,000 5,000
The budgeted amount is at the most Rs. 1.0 lakh for the advertisements. The owner has
already decided that magazine A should have no more than 15 advertisements and that
B and C each gets at least 8 advertisements. Formulate a linear programming model for
this problem.
Solution: The total exposure of principal buyers of the magazine is
Zmax= (20% of 1,00,000)x1 + (15% of 60,000)x2+(8% of 40,000)x3
The Objective function
Zmax= 20000x1 +9000x2+3,200x3
Subject to the constraint
8000x1 +6000x2+5000x3≤1,00,000
x1 ≤ 15, x2 ≥ 8, x3 ≥ 8
How many chairs, armchairs and sofas that the company should make per week so
that the total profit is maximized?
Solution: The objective function is
Zmax=50x1+60x2+80x3
Subject to the constraint:
2x1+5x2+8x3 ≤ 300
6x1+4x2+5x3 ≤ 350
8x1+4x2+5x3 ≤ 480
x1≥0, x2≥0,x3≥0
Graphical Method
Linear programming problems involving two decision variables can easily be solved by
graphical method, which provides a pictorial representation of the solution.
Steps in Graphical Method
Formulate the given problem as LPP
Draw a graph with one variable on the horizontal axis and one on the vertical axis.
Plot each of the constraint as if they were equalities or equations.
Identify the feasible region (Solution space) that is the area that satisfies all the
constraints.
Name the intersections of the constraints on the perimeter of the feasible region and
get their co-ordinates,
Substitute each of the co-ordinates into the objective function and solve for Z
Select the solution that optimizes Z (based on objective) that is obtain Zmin or Zmax
Co-ordinates Zmax=3x1+4x2
ZO=3(0)+4(0)=0
O(0,0)
ZA=3(300)+4(0)=900
A(300,0)
ZB=3(150)+4(300)=1650
B(150,300)
ZC=3(0)+4(450)=1800
C(0,450)
Zmax occurs at Zc and the value is 1800 & co-ordinates are x1=0 and x2=450.
2) Solve the following Linear programming problem by graphical method
Zmin=20x1 +10x2
Subject to
x1+2x2 ≤ 40
3x1 + x2 ≥30
4x1 +3 x2 ≥60
Department of CSE Page 14
OPERATIONS RESEARCH(15CS653)
x1≥0, x2≥0
Ans:
x1+2x2 ≤ 40---------(1)
3x1 + x2 ≥30----------(2)
4x1 + 3x2 ≥60----------(3)
x1≥0, x2≥0
Writing the constraint (1) as equation
x1+2x2 = 40
when x1 = 0, x2 = 20, The Co-ordinates are (0,20).
when x2 = 0,x1 = 40, The Co-ordinates are (40,0).
Similarly writing the constraint (2) as equation
3x1 + x2 = 30
when x1 = 0, x2 = 30, The Co-ordinates are (0,30).
when x2 = 0,x1 = 10, The Co-ordinates are (10,0).
Similarly writing the constraint (3) as equation
4x1 + 3x2 =60
when x1 = 0, x2 = 20, The Co-ordinates are (0,20).
when x2 = 0,x1 = 15, The Co-ordinates are (15,0).
Co-ordinates Zmax=20x1+10x2
Zp=20(15)+10(0)=300
P(15,0)
ZQ=20(40)+10(0)=800
Q(40,0)
ZR=20(4)+10(18)=260
R(4,18)
ZS=20(6)+10(12)=240
S(6,12)
The minimum value occurs at ‘S’. Hence Zmin=240, and coordinates are x1=6, x2=12.
3) Solve the following Linear programming problem by graphical method
Zmax=2x1 +3x2
Subject to
x1+2x2 ≤ 4
x1 + x2 =3
x1≥0, x2≥0
Ans:
x1+2x2 ≤ 4 -----------------(1)
x1 + x2 = 3 ------------------(2)
x1≥0, x2≥0
Writing the constraint (1) as equation
x1+2x2 = 4
when x1 = 0, x2 = 2, The Co-ordinates are (0,2).
when x2 = 0,x1 = 4, The Co-ordinates are (4,0).
Similarly writing the constraint (2) as equation
x1 + x2 = 3
when x1 = 0, x2 = 3, The Co-ordinates are (0,3).
when x2 = 0,x1 = 3, The Co-ordinates are (3,0).
Note: The obtained feasible region is open or unbounded if Z is to be maximized then the
solution is unbounded that is Zmax occurs at infinity in the given problem.
6) Solve the following Linear programming problem by graphical method
Zmax=x1 +x2
Subject to
x1 + x2 ≤ 1
-3x1 + x2 ≥3
x1≥0, x2≥0
Ans:
x1 + x2 ≤ 1-----------------(1)
-3x1 + x2 ≥3------------------(2)
x1≥0, x2≥0
Writing the constraint (1) as equation
x1 + x2 = 1
when x1 = 0, x2 = 1, The Co-ordinates are (0,1).
when x2 = 0,x1 = 1, The Co-ordinates are (1,0).
Similarly writing the constraint (2) as equation
-3x1 + x2 =3
when x1 = 0, x2 = 3, The Co-ordinates are (0,3).
when x2 = 0,x1 = -1, The Co-ordinates are (-1,0).
It is observed that there is no common feasible region satisfying all the constraints. Hence
the problem cannot be solved. In other words the given linear programming problem has no
solution.