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Application of Linear Programming Model

Linear programming (LP) can be defined as a statistical model that is employed in

various practical fields to maximize output of a given process using given inputs. It was invented

during World War II for the purposes of determining how to maximize the efficiency of

available resources by optimizing the value of certain objectives which are subjected to

particular constraints. It was of paramount importance to manage costs during the war to ensure

that the right decisions were made for the purposes of winning (Christos, and Neal 649). Besides,

linear programming has many real life applications that have the objective of maximizing profit

or minimizing costs that includes but not limited to freight carriages to determine distribution, in

agriculture to determine production, in telecommunications in building capacity, and in

microchips optimum layout development (Taha 12). Hence, linear programming models enable

production of optima solution within the context of limited resources by formulating the problem

variables and solving the problem using standard techniques to find non-negative outcomes

which satisfies the constraints (Taylor 17). This paper seeks to apply the linear programming

tools and techniques learnt as well as incorporating some experience, interests, and career

business/management goals and ambitions in solving real life situations.

My client, the manager of Light-Connect Company has contracted me to help them solve

a crisis that the company faces currently. The company has 3 electricity plants which supplies

power to 4 cities as per their needs. The capacity of every power plant that can be supplied in
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kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity is as follows: power plant A has 35 million, power plant B

has 50 million, and power plant C has 40 million. Besides, according to research it is noted that

the peak demand of electric power in these 4 cities are as follows: Alabi City is 45 million kWh,

Bahar City is 20 million kWh, Chi City is 30 million kWh and Dabar City is 30 million kWh.

Distribution cost of 1 million kilowatts per hour of electric from a power plant to a given city is

dependent on the distance separating them. The manager wants a solution that formulates a

Linear Programing model that minimizes the cost of distribution of peak power demand to these

cities.

Firstly, after learning and understanding the theory of linear programs, it is important to

focus on different methods of solving the existing problems. It is worth noting that the

expression being optimized is referred to as the objective function, it is denoted as z. The

variables are denoted with y1, y2 . . . yn and are known as decision variables; at any given time

they are subject to non-negativity restrictions. The set of y1, y2 . . . yn which has the capacity to

satisfy the existing restrictions is denoted as feasible point while a collection of these points

forms a region referred as the feasible region. For all the constraints to be satisfied, the solution

of the LP must fall along point (y1, y2 . . . yn) within the feasible region. Hence, the outcomes of

the LP show how to maximize or minimize output depending on the problem at hand. In our

problem, the objective is to minimize cost which would translate to maximizing profit margins

(Dieter and Schmidt 26).

In solving the challenges for Light-Connect Company, an LP needs to be formulated that

expresses the connection between variables and every decision that the company is requirement

to arrive at as the optimal outcome. Given that Light-Connect Company must determine the

amount of power to be supplied from every power plant to every given city among the four
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cities. At first, it is essential to define every plant is represented by “i”, thus, i = 1, 2, 3 while

every city is represented by “j”, thus, j = 1, 2, 3, 4. Therefore, xij denotes the number of kilowatts

per hour that are produced at plant i and distributed to every city j. Depending on these variables,

expressions that defines association between supplying cost of peak electric power and demand

to the 4 destinations can be denoted by:

8y11 + 6y12 + 10y13 + 9y14 ……….. (Distribution fee from plant A)

+ 9y21 + 12y22 + 13y23 + 7y24 ……... (Distribution fee from plant B)

+ 14y31 + 9y32 + 16y33 + 5y34 ….….. (Distribution fee from plant C)

The Light-Connect Company is faced with two constraints; the supply limit and the consumption

limit. The total power distributed per plant cannot go beyond its capacity, for instance, power

plant A cannot supply beyond 35 million kWh. The table below illustrates the representation of

the company’s model

Demand and Supply Limits for Light-Connect Company

To city Supply
From Plant Alabi Bahar Chi Dabar
A $8 $6 $10 $9 35
B $9 $12 $13 $7 50
C $14 $9 $16 $5 40
Demand 45 20 30 30
Note: Demand and supply are in (million kilowatts per hour)

From the table above, supply constraint can be developed for the power plants to show the

supply point for every plant is as shown below:

y11 + y12 + y13 + y14 ≤ 35 …… (Supply limitation for A)

y21 + y22 + y23 + y24 ≤ 50 ……. (Supply limitation for C)

y31 + y32 + y33 + y34 ≤ 40 ……. (Supply limitation for C)

Additionally, from the table the demand constraint can be developed which ensures that

every city will receive satisfactory power that meets its peak demand. The demand point for

every city is shown below:

y11 + y21 + y31 ≥ 45 (demand limitation of Alabi City)

y12 + y22 + y32 ≥ 20 (demand limitation of Bahar City)

y13 + y23 + y33 ≥ 30 (demand limitation for Chi City)

y14 + y24 + y34 ≥ 30 (demand limitation for Dabar City)

Another constraint for the model is the sign limitations xij ≥ 0 where i is the 3 plants and j is the 4

cities.

Therefore, by combining these constraints and the objective function we produce a liner

programing model of The Light-Connect Company’s problem as shown in the formulation

below:

min z = 8y11 + 6y12 + 10y13 + 9y14 + 9y21 + 12y22 + 13y23 + 7y24 + 14y31 + 9y32 + 16y33 + 5y34

Subjecting the formulation to its constraints to find optimal solution for the LP gives us the

following optimal results:

z =1020,

y12 = 10

y13 = 25
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y21= 45

y23 = 5

y32 =10

y34 =30

This can be illustrated by a graphical representation as shown below:

Supply points Demand points

Alabi
City d1 = 45
y
Plant A 11 =0
y
S1= 35 12 = 10
y
y14 = 0 13 = 25 Bahar City
d2 = 20
y = 45
21 y22 = 0
S2= 50 Plant B y23 = 5
y
24 = 0 Chi City

y32 = 10 d3 = 30
y 31 =0
y33 =0
S3= 40 Plant C
y34 = 30
Dahar
City d4 = 30

The advisable distribution model that would ensure that the company reduces the

distribution cost and maximizes the profits is for power Plant A to supply 10 million kWh to

Bahar City and 25 million kWh to Chi City, Plant B needs to supply 45 million kWh to Alabi

City and 5 million kWh to Chi City while Plant C needs to supply 10 million kWh to Bahar City

and 30 million kWh to Dabar city. With that distribution model all the plants will satisfy their

production optimally and every city will receive satisfactory power supply.
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Something worth noting is that the LP model obeys four assumptions namely

proportionality, additivity, divisibility, and certainty. Proportionality determines that every

variable has proportional contribution to the constraints or objective function. Additivity

determines that contribution of variables to the constraints or objective function is dependent to

the other variables. Likewise, divisibility governs that decision variables can be fractions but this

can regulated by a special technique known as integer programming. Lastly, certainty is the

deterministic notion that the constraints and objective function consists of known coefficients

with certainty (Fagoyinbo, Akinbo, Ajibode, and Olaniran 87). When the LP model satisfies all

these assumptions an optimal solution is obtained as shown in the case study above. Hence, form

the obtained optimal solutions, it can be calculated the cost of distribution as well as the

projected profit margins because it is known how the company can supply electric power to the 4

cities. This is important in making decisions that minimize chances of making losses while at the

same time utilizing the available resources in the company. Therefore, LP models are important

in business since they show the best strategies to invest and ways of cutting costs by pointing

into alternatives that are risky; they can be used in risk management by companies when making

decisions (Phatangare, Deshmukh and Deshmukh 143).

It can be concluded that linear programming is useful in many areas and can be applied to

increase the certainty of decisions made. Understanding how the models are employed around

the existing constraints plays a critical role in ensuring that resources are effectively allocated

without bias or through guess work. Although linear programming approaches seems

complicated, understanding them and their application in real life scenarios saves time, costs and

resources since the decisions made are informed and guided by the analysis of the available

information. In the power supply challenges facing Light-Connect Company, it is erroneous to

think that distributing the electricity in any possible way is feasible but it could lead to losses and

increased cost of distribution. However, by employing the LP model it was possible to determine

an optimal approach to the issue in a way that saves the available resources and maximizes

outcomes. Hence, it was possible to apply the linear programming tools and techniques that I

learnt as well as incorporating some experience, interests, and career business/management goals

and ambitions in solving real life situations.

Works Cited

Christos, Koufogiannakis and Neal, Young. E. “A Nearly Linear-Time PTAS for Explicit

Fractional Packing and Covering Linear Programs”. Algorithmica. vol, 70, 2013,

pp. 648–674.

Dieter, G.E. and Schmidt, L.C. Engineering Design. (4th Edition), McGraw Hill, New York,

2009.

Fagoyinbo, I. S., Akinbo, R. Y., Ajibode, I. A., and Olaniran, O. A. “Maximization of profit in

manufacturing industries using linear programming techniques: Geepee Nigeria

Limited”, Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 2, no. 9, 2011, pp.7-105

Phatangare, S. A., Deshmukh, R. A. and Deshmukh, P. K. “Public Cryptography Linear and Non

Linear Programming Solver in Cloud Computing”, International Journal of Application

or Innovation in Engineering & Management, Vol. 2, 2013, pp 141-145.

Taha, Hamdy A., Operations Research: An introduction (8th Edition), Prentice-Hall Inc., New

Jersey, USA.

Taylor, B.W., Introduction to Management Science. Pearson Education Inc., New Jersey, 2010.