MEE437- OPERATIONS RESEARCH

OR
Faculty: Radha.R
Assistant Professor (Sr.)
School of Mechanical and Building Sciences
VIT University, Chennai
 Books for Reference
Operations Research An Introduction :
Hamdy Taha (PHI)

Operations Research Theory andApplications :

J. K. Sharma (Macmillan)

Introduction to Operations Research :

Hillier,Lieberman (TMH)

Operations Research :
P.K.Gupta, S.Hira(S.Chand)
 Introduction
Origin of OR

Concept and definition of OR

Characteristics of OR

Applications of OR

OR approach

Advantages and Limitations of OR

 Origin of OR
First coined by MC Closky and Trefthen in 1940 in a small
town, Bowdsey of UK.
Origin of OR was during the second world war
Military operations - to formulate specific proposals and to
arrive at the decision on optimal utilization of scarce military
resources and also to implement the decisions effectively
OR activities has become universally applicable to any areas
such as transportation, hospital management, agriculture,
libraries, city planning, financial institutions, construction
management and so forth.
In India many of the industries like Delhi cloth mills, Indian
Airlines, Indian Railways etc are making use of OR activity.
 What is OR?

Operations research is a science which deals with the

problem, formulation, solutions and finally appropriate
decision making.

OR can be called by numerous names such as operations

analysis, systems analysis, Decision analysis, Management
Science, Quantitative analysis, Decision Science etc.
 Definitions of OR

Operations research is the systematic application of

quantitative methods, techniques and tools to the analysis of
problems involving the operation of systems.
Dallenbach and George, 1978
Operations research may be described as a scientific approach
to decision making that involves the operations of
organizational systems.
F S Hiller and G J Lieberman,1980
 Characteristics of OR
Inter-disciplinary team approach The optimum solution is
found by a team of scientists selected from various disciplines.
Holistic approach to the system OR takes into account all
significant factors and finds the best optimum solution to the
total organization.
Improves the quality of solution.
Scientific approach Uses scientific research to reach
optimum solution.
To optimize the total output It tries to optimize by
maximizing the profit and minimizing the loss.
 OR Approach
Problem
Definition
Develop the
Mathematical
Model

Solve
the
model
Modify
the Model
Testing the
Implementation Model and
and Controls its
Solutions
Advantages of OR
Effective decisions
Better coordination :
Facilitates control
Improves productivity

Limitations of OR
Magnitude of computation.
Non quantifiable factors.
Distance between user and analyst.
Time and Money cost.
Implementation
Modeling with Linear Programming
 Steps in formulating Linear Programming
(LP) Models
1. Understand the problem.
2. Identify the decision variables
3. State the objective function as a linear
combination of the decision variables.
4. State the constraints as linear combinations
of the decision variables.
5. State the non negativity constraints.
LP Model Formulation: Maximization problem
Product mix problem
Example 1 : Beaver Creek Pottery Company

Beaver Creek Pottery Company employs skilled

artisans to produce clay bowls and mugs. The two
resources used by the company are special pottery
clay and skilled labor.
Given these limited labor and materials resources are
40 hrs of labor per day and 120 lbs of clay, the
company desires to know how many bowls and mugs
should be produced to maximize profit?
 LP Model Formulation
Table 1
Products Resource requirements Profit/unit
(Rs)

Labour Clay
hrs/unit Lbs/unit
Bowl 1 4 40
Mug 2 3 50

Limit on 40 120
resources
Terminology used in LP
Mathematical Formulation
Resource 40 hrs of labor per day
Availability: 120 lbs of clay
Decision x1 = number of bowls to produce per day
Variables: x2 = number of mugs to produce per day
Objective Maximize Z = 40x1 + 50x2
Function: Where Z = profit per day
Resource 1x1 + 2x2 40 hours of labor
Constraints: 4x1 + 3x2 120 pounds of clay
Non-Negativity x1 0; x2 0
Constraints:
 Example 2 : Manufacturing Company

A company manufactures two types of products P1

and P2. Each product uses lathe and milling machine.
The processing time per unit of P1 on the lathe is 5
hours and on the milling machine is 4 hours. The
processing time per unit of P2 on the lathe is 10
hours and on the milling machine is 4 hours. The
maximum number of hours available per week on
the lathe and milling machine are 60 hours and 40
hours respectively. Formulate a linear programming
model to determine the production volume of each
of the products such that total profit is maximized.
 LP Model Formulation
Table 2
Products Machine hours/unit Profit/unit
(Rs)

Lathe Milling
Machine
P1 5 4 6
P2 10 4 8

Limit on 60 40
Machine hours
 LP Mathematical formulation

Maximize Z= 6X1 + 8X2 where X1 and X2 are

decision variables

Subject to
5X1+ 10X2 60
4X1 + 4X2 40
X1 , X2 0
 Example 3 : Nutrition Scheme

A nutrition scheme for babies is proposed by a

committee of doctors. Babies can be given two types
of food (I and II) which are available in standard size
packets weighing 50 grams. The cost per packet of
these foods are Rs.2 and Rs.3, respectively. The
vitamin availability in each type of food per packet
and the minimum vitamin requirement for each type
of vitamin are summarized in table (3). Develop a LP
model to determine the optimal combination of food
types with the minimum cost such that the minimum
requirement of vitamin in each type is satisfied.
 LP Model Formulation
Table 3
Vitamin Vitamin availability per packet Minimum
daily required
vitamin
Food Type I Food Type II
1 1 1 6
2 7 1 14

Cost/Packet 2 3
(Rs)
 LP Mathematical formulation

Minimize Z= 2X1 + 3X2 where X1 and X2 are

decision variables

Subject to
X1+ X2 6
7X1 + X2 14
X1 , X2 0
 Example 4 : Manufacturing Company

A company is planning to determine its product mix

out of three different products: P1, P2 and P3. The
monthly sales of the product P1 is limited to a
maximum of 500 units. For every two units of P2
produced, there will be one unit of by-product which
can be sold at the rate of Rs. 20 per unit. The highest
monthly demand for this by-product is 200 units. The
contributions per unit of the products P1,P2 and P3
are Rs. 50, Rs. 70 and Rs.60, respectively. The
processing requirements of these products are shown
in table (4).Formulate a LP model to maximize the
profit.
 LP Model Formulation
Table 4
Process Hours per Unit Available
Hours

P1 P2 P3
I 3 5 2 1000
II 4 - 3 700
III 4 3 2 1300
Cost/Produ 50 70 60
ct (Rs)
 LP Mathematical formulation
X1,X2 and X3 be the production volumes of the products
P1, P2 and P3, respectively. Let X2/2 be the production
volume of the by-product from the product P2.
Maximize Z= 50X1 + 70X2 + 60X3 + 20X2/2 where X1 and
X2 are decision variables

Subject to
3X1+ 5X2 + 2X3 1000
4X1 + 3X3 700
4X1+ 3X2 + 2X3 1300
X1 500
X2/2 200
X 1 , X2 , X 3 0
 Example 5 : Postal Department
The Postal department is considering the purchase of
vehicles to pick up and deliver mail from various
offices. They are considering three types of vehicles.
The cost of each vehicles are Rs 5 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs
and Rs. 8 lakhs respectively. These require a crew of
2, 4 and 4 persons per day considering multiple shifts.
They expect these to run for 60,100 and 80 km per
day and the total distance to be covered by the
vehicles per day would be 2000 km. Based on the fuel
economy, the operating cost per day for these
vehicles are Rs.200, Rs.350 and Rs.300 per day. They
have a budget restriction of Rs. 1.6 crore and have 80
people available as crew. Formulate a LP model to
minimize the operating costs.
 LP Model Formulation
Table 5
Vehicles Resources Operating
cost in Rs

Cost of Crew Run (km)

vehicles in
(lakhs)
I 5 2 60 200
II 10 4 100 350
III 8 4 80 300
Limit on 160 80 2000
resources
 LP Mathematical formulation

X1,X2 and X3 be the types of vehicles..

Minimize Z= 200X1 + 350X2 + 300X3
where X1 and X2 are decision variables

Subject to
5X1+ 10X2 + 8X3 1000
2X1+ 4X2 + 4X3 80
60X1+ 100X2 + 80X3 2000
X1 , X2, X3 0