Problem 1

UPF maintains a powerful mainframe computer for research use by its faculty, Ph.D. students,
and re- search associates. During all working hours, an operator must be available to operate and
maintain the computer, as well as to perform some programming services. Beryl Ingram, the
director of the computer facility, oversees the operation.

It is now the beginning of the fall semester, and Beryl is confronted with the problem of
assigning different working hours to her operators. Because all the operators are currently
enrolled in the university, they are available to work only a limited number of hours each day, as
shown in the following table.

Maximum hours of availability

Operators Wage rate (€) Mon. Tue. Wed. Thurs. Fri.

K.C. 10,00/hour 6 0 6 0 6

D.H. 10,10/hour 0 6 0 6 0

H.B. 9,90/hour 4 8 4 0 4

S.C. 9,80/hour 5 5 5 0 5

K.S. 10,80/hour 3 0 3 8 0

N.K. 11,30/hour 0 0 0 6 2

There are six operators (four undergraduate students and two graduate students). They all have
different wage rates because of differences in their experience with computers and in their
programming ability. The above table shows their wage rates, along with the maximum number
of hours that each can work each day.

Each operator is guaranteed a certain minimum number of hours per week that will maintain an
adequate knowledge of the operation. This level is set arbitrarily at 8 hours per week for the
undergraduate students (K.C., D.H., H.B., and S.C.) and 7 hours per week for the graduate
students (K.S. and N.K.).

The computer facility is to be open for operation from 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. Monday through Friday
with exactly one operator on duty during these hours. On Saturdays and Sundays, the computer
is to be operated by other staff.

Because of a tight budget, Beryl has to minimize cost. She wishes to determine the number of
hours she should assign to each operator on each day.

Formulate a linear programming model for this problem.

Decision Variables

Xij: Number of hours assigned to operator iii on day jjj

where i represents the operators:

● i=1 for K.C.

● i=2 for D.H.
● i=3 for H.B.
● i=4 for S.C.
● i=5 for K.S.
● i=6 for N.K.

and j represents the days of the week:

● j=1 for Monday

● j=2 for Tuesday
● j=3 for Wednesday
● j=4 for Thursday
● j=5 for Friday

Objective:

Min Z = 10,0(X11 + X13 + X15) + 10,1(X22 + X24) + 9,9(X31 + X32 + X33 + X35) +
9,8(X41 + X42 + X43 + X45) + 10,8(X51 + X53 + X54) + 11,3(X64 + X65)

Constraints:

Minimum of hours guaranteed:

X11 + X13 + X15 >= 8

X22 + X24>= 8

X31 + X32 + X33 + X35 >= 8

X41 + X42 + X43 + X45 >= 8

X51 + X53 + X54 >=7

X64 + X65 >= 7

Maximum hours for each worker:

Xi,j >= hours available for each worker and day

Amount of hours for each day:

X11 + X31 + X41 + X51 = 14

X22 + X23 + X24 = 14

X13 + X33 + X43 + X53 = 14

X24 + X54 + X64 = 14

X15 + X35 + X45 + X55 = 14

Non negativity
Xij integeR

Maximum number of hours that each can work each day stated at the tables

The optimal scheduling minimizes the total wage cost to €709.60 while ensuring the required
hours are met each day and that each operator receives their minimum weekly hours.

The schedule assigns hours to operators in alignment with their availability and wage rates,
prioritizing lower-cost operators on days they are available, effectively minimizing costs.

Each operator's daily and weekly constraints are satisfied, ensuring the lab remains operational
at the required times without exceeding budget limitations.
Problem 2 .

Larry Edison is the director of the computer center for UPF. He now needs to schedule the
staffing of the center. It is open from 8 AM until midnight. Larry has monitored the usage of the
center at various times of the day, and determined that the following number of computer
consultants are required:

Time of the day Minimum Number of Consultants Required to Be on Duty

8AM – noon 4

Noon – 4 PM 8

4 PM – 8 PM 10

8 PM - midnight 6

Two types of consultants can be hired: full-time and part-time. Full-time consultants are paid
12€ per hour and work for 8 consecutive hours in any of the following shifts:
- morning ( 8 AM – 4 PM)
- afternoon (noon-8 PM)
- evening (4 PM – Midnight)

Part-time consultants can be hired to work any of the four shifts listed in the above table and are
paid 12€ per hour.

An additional requirement is that during every time period, there must be at least 2 full-time
consultants on duty for every part-time consultant on duty.

Larry would like to determine how many full-time and how many part-time consultants should
work each shift to meet the above requirements at the minimum possible cost.
Formulate a linear programming model to solve the problem.

Variables

Xi = Full-time consultant hired in period i, where i ∈ { 1 = morning; 2 = afternoon; 3 = evening}

Yi = Part-time consultant to be hired in period i, where i ∈ { 1 = 8AM-noon; 2 = noon-4 PM; 3 = 4

PM-8 PM; 4 = 8 PM-midnight}

Objective function

The objective is to minimize the total cost of staffing of the center while meeting the
requirements. This is done by allocating the optimum number of full-time and part-time
employees.

Min Z: 12·8·(X1+ X2+ X3) + 12·4(Y1+ Y2+ Y3+Y4)

Constraints

X1 + Y1 = 4

X1 + X2 + Y2 = 8
X2 + X3 + Y3 = 10

X3 + X4 = 6

X2 ≥ 2Y1

X1 + X2 ≥ 2Y2

X2 + X3 ≥ 2Y3

X3 ≥ 2Y4

X1, X2, X3, Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4 = Integer numbers

The solution provided an optimal staffing configuration at a minimal cost of €1,344, fulfilling all
the specified requirements. This staffing plan is efficient in terms of cost while ensuring
adequate consultant coverage across the center's operating hours. Therefore, the optimum
number of full-time consultants that Larry would have to hire is 6 whereas 14 part-time
consultants are needed.
Problem 3: 9.34 in Render’s Chapter 9, Transportation problems .

Marc Smith, vice president for operations of HHN, Inc., a manufacturer of cabinets for telephone
switches, is constrained from meeting the 5-year forecast by limited capacity at the existing
three plants. These three plants are located in Waterloo, Pusan, and Bogota. You, as his able
assistant, have been told that because of existing capacity constraints and the expanding world
market for HHN cabinets, a new plant is to be added to the existing three plants. The real estate
department has advised Marc that two sites seem particularly good because of a stable political
situation and tolerable exchange rate: Dublin, Ireland, and Fontainebleau, France. Marc suggests
that you should be able to take the data on the next page and determine where the fourth plant
should be located on the basis of production costs and transportation costs. Which location is
better?
Variables

Xij, i = plant location & j=market area

i={Waterloo, Pusan, Bogota, Fontainebleau, Dublín}

j={Canada, South America, Pacific Rim, Europe}

X11 = nº of cabinets in Waterloo sent to Canada

X21= nº of cabinets in Pusan sent to Canada

X31 = nº of cabinets in Bogota sent to Canada

X41 = nº of cabinets in Fontainebleau sent to Canada

X51 = nº of cabinets in Dublin sent to Canada

X12 = nº of cabinets in Waterloo sent to South Africa

X22 = nº of cabinets in Pusan sent to South Africa

X32 = nº of cabinets in Bogota sent to South Africa

X42 = nº of cabinets in Fontainebleau sent to South Africa

X52 = nº of cabinets in Dublin sent to South Africa

X13 = nº of cabinets in Waterloo sent to Pacific Rim

X23 = nº of cabinets in Pusan sent to Pacific Rim

X33 = nº of cabinets in Bogota sent to Pacific Rim

X43 = nº of cabinets in Fontainebleau sent to Pacific Rim

X53 = nº of cabinets in Dublin sent to Pacific Rim

X14 = nº of cabinets in Waterloo sent to Europe

X24 = nº of cabinets in Pusan sent to Europe

X34 = nº of cabinets in Bogota sent to Europe

X44 = nº of cabinets in Fontainebleau sent to Europe

X54 = nº of cabinets in Dublin sent to Europe

Objective

The goal is to minimize the costs of the four plants of the manufacturer. The decision will be
based on which location is cheaper.

Objective function Dublín:

Minimize 60X11​+55X21​+60X31​+70X51​+70X12​+55X22​+50X32​+75X52​+75X13​+40X23​+

65X33​+85X53​+75X14​+70X24​+70X34​+65X54​

Objective function Fontainebleau:

Minimize 60X11​+55X21​+60X31​+75X41​+70X12​+55X22​+50X32​+80X42​+75X13​+40X23​+

65X33​+90X43​+75X14​+70X24​+70X34​+60X44​

Constraints

Case 1: Plant is in Dublín

Demand must be satisfied for each market area

X11 + X21 + X31 + X51 = 4000

X12 + X22 + X32 + X52 = 5000

X13 + X23 + X33 + X53 = 10000

X14 + X24 + X34 + X54 = 5000

Case 2: Plant is in Fontainebleau

Demand must be satisfied for each market area

X11 + X21 + X31 + X41 = 4000

X12 + X22 + X32 + X42 = 5000

X13 + X23 + X33 + X43 = 10000

X14 + X24 + X34 + X44 = 5000

Moreover, each plant must have a capacity equal or lower than its total capacity

X11 + X12 + X13 + X14 <= 8000

X21 + X22 + X23 + X24 <= 2000

X31 + X32 + X33 + X34 <= 5000

X41 + X42 + X43 + X44 <= 9000

X51 + X52 + X53 + X54 <= 9000

For the last two rows, if one is different from zero the other must equal zero.

All Xij >=0 Non-negative constraint for all variables.

Solution

Excel Solver Solution

Dublín Fontainebleau
We can see that the cheapest location is Fontainebleau with a total cost of $1530000 while the
cost of Dublin's location is $1535000.