B-22 MODULE B TRANSPORTATION AND ASSIGNMENT SOLUTION METHODS

Solution of the Assignment Model

An assignment model is a The assignment model is a special form of a linear programming model that is similar
special form of the to the transportation model. There are differences, however. In the assignment model,
transportation model in which the supply at each source and the demand at each destination are limited to one unit
all supply and each.
demand values equal one. The following example from the text will be used to demonstrate the assignment
model and its special solution method. The Atlantic Coast Conference has four basketball
games on a particular night. The conference office wants to assign four teams of officials
to the four games in a way that will minimize the total distance traveled by the officials.
The dis- tances in miles for each team of officials to each game location are shown in
Table B-34.

Table B-34 Game Sites

The Travel Distances to RALEIGH ATLANT DURHA CLEMSO
Officials
Each Game for Each Team A M N
of
A 210 90 180 160
Officials B 100 70 130 200
C 175 105 140 170
D 80 65 105 120

The supply is always one team of officials, and the demand is for only one team of
offi- cials at each game. Table B-34 is already in the proper form for the assignment.
The first step in the assignment method of solution is to develop an opportunity cost
table. We accomplish this by first subtracting the minimum value in each row from every
An opportunity cost table
value in the row. These computations are referred to as row reductions. We applied a
is developed by first
similar principle in the VAM method when we determined penalty costs. In other words,
substracting the minimum
the best course of action is determined for each row, and the penalty or “lost
value in each
opportunity” is devel- oped for all other row values. The row reductions for this example
row from all other row values
are shown in Table B-35.
and then repeating this
process for
each column. Game Sites

Table B-35
The Assignment Tableau with
Row Reductions Officials RALEIGH ATLANT DURHA CLEMSON
A M

A 120 0 90 70
B 30 0 60 130
C 70 0 35 65
D 15 0 40 55

Next, the minimum value in each column is subtracted from all column values. These
computations are called column reductions and are shown in Table B-36, which
represents the completed opportunity cost table for our example. Assignments can be
made in this table wherever a zero is present. For example, team A can be assigned to
Atlanta. An optimal solution results when each of the four teams can be uniquely
assigned to a different game.

Table B-36
The Tableau with Game Sites
Column Reductions Officials RALEIGH ATLANT DURHA CLEMSON
A M

A 105 0 55 15
B 15 0 25 75
C 55 0 0 10
D 0 0 5 0
 SOLUTION of THE ASSIGNMENT MODEL B-23

Assignments are made to

Notice in Table B-36 that the assignment of team A to Atlanta means that no other team
locations with zeros in the
can be assigned to that game. Once this assignment is made, the zero in row B is infeasible,
opportunity cost
which indicates that there is not a unique optimal assignment for team B. Therefore, Table
table.
B-36 does not contain an optimal solution.
A test to determine whether four unique assignments exist in Table B-36 is to draw the
An optimal solution occurs minimum number of horizontal or vertical lines necessary to cross out all zeros through
when the number of independent the rows and columns of the table. For example, Table B-37 shows that three lines are
unique assignments equals the required to cross out all zeros.
number of
rows or Game Sites
columns.

Table B-37
The Opportunity Cost Table
with the Line Test Officials RALEIGH ATLANT DURHA CLEMSON
A M

A 105 0 55 15
B 15 0 25 75
C 55 0 0 10
D 0 0 5 0

If the number of
The three lines indicate that there are only three unique assignments, whereas four are
unique assignments is less
required for an optimal solution. (Note that even if the three lines could have been drawn
than the number of rows (or
differently, the subsequent solution method would not be affected.) Next, subtract the
columns), a line test must
min- imum value that is not crossed out from all values not crossed out. Then, add this
be used.
mini- mum value to those cells where two lines intersect. The minimum value not crossed
out in Table B-37 is 15. The second iteration for this model with the appropriate changes
is shown in Table B-38.

Game Sites
Table B-38 Officials RALEIGH ATLANT DURHA CLEMSO
The Second Iteration A M N

A 90 0 40 0
B 0 0 10 60
C 55 15 0 10
D 0 15 5 0

No matter how the lines are drawn in Table B-38, at least four are required to cross out
In a line test, all zeros are all the zeros. This indicates that four unique assignments can be made and that an optimal
crossed out by horizontal and solution has been reached. Now let us make the assignments from Table B-38.
vertical lines; the minimum First, team A can be assigned to either the Atlanta game or the Clemson game. We
uncrossed value is subtracted will assign team A to Atlanta first. This means that team A cannot be assigned to any
from all uncrossed values and other game, and no other team can be assigned to Atlanta. Therefore, row A and the
added to cell values where two Atlanta col- umn can be eliminated. Next, team B is assigned to Raleigh. (Team B
lines cross. cannot be assigned to Atlanta, which has already been eliminated.) The third
assignment is of team C to the Durham game. This leaves team D for the Clemson
game. These assignments and their respective distances (from Table B-34) are
summarized as follows:
Assignment Distance
Team A : Atlanta 90
Team B : Raleigh 100
Team C : Durham 140
Team D : Clemson 120
450 miles
B-24 MODULE B TRANSPORTATION AND ASSIGNMENT SOLUTION METHODS

Now let us go back and make the initial assignment of team A to Clemson (the
alternative assignment we did not initially make). This will result in the following set of
assignments:
Assignment Distance
Team A : Clemson 160
Team B : Atlanta 70
Team C : Durham 140
Team D : Raleigh 80
450 miles
These two assignments represent multiple optimal solutions for our example problem.
Both assignments will result in the officials traveling a minimum total distance of
When supply exceeds demands, 450 miles.
a dummy column is added to Like a transportation problem, an assignment model can be unbalanced when
the supply exceeds demand or demand exceeds supply. For example, assume that,
assignment tableau. instead of four teams of officials, there are five teams to be assigned to the four
games. In this case a dummy column is added to the assignment tableau to balance
the model, as shown in Table B-39.

Game Sites
Table B-39
An Unbalanced Assignment Officials RALEIGH ATLANT DURHAM CLEMSO DUMMY
Tableau with a Dummy A N

Column A 210 90 180 160 0

B 100 70 130 200 0
C 175 105 140 170 0
D 80 65 105 120 0
E 95 115 120 100 0

In solving this model, one team of officials would be assigned to the dummy
column. If there were five games and only four teams of officials, a dummy row
When demand exceeds supply, would be added instead of a dummy column. The addition of a dummy row or
a dummy row is added to column does not affect the solution method.
the assignment tableau. Prohibited assignments are also possible in an assignment problem, just as
prohibited routes can occur in a transportation model. In the transportation model, an M
value was assigned as a large cost for the cell representing the prohibited route. This same
A prohibited assignment is
method is used for a prohibited assignment. A value of M is placed in the cell that
given a large relative cost of M
so that it
represents the prohibited assignment.
will never be selected. The steps of the assignment solution method are summarized here:
1. Perform row reductions by subtracting the minimum value in each row from all
row values.
2. Perform column reductions by subtracting the minimum value in each column
from all column values.
3. In the completed opportunity cost table, cross out all zeros, using the minimum
number of horizontal or vertical lines.
4. If fewer than m lines are required (where m = the number of rows or columns),
subtract the minimum uncrossed value from all uncrossed values, and add this
same minimum value to all cells where two lines intersect. Leave all other values
unchanged, and repeat step 3.
5. If m lines are required, the tableau contains the optimal solution and m unique
assignments can be made. If fewer than m lines are required, repeat step 4.
B-38 MODULE B TRANSPORTATION AND ASSIGNMENT SOLUTION METHODS

36. Solve the following linear programming problem:

minimize Z = 18x11 + 30x12 + 20x13 + 18x14 + 25x21 + 27x22 + 22x23
+ 16x24 + 30x31 + 26x32 + 19x33 + 32x34 + 40x41 + 36x42
+ 27x43 + 29x44 + 30x51 + 26x52 + 18x53 + 24x54
subject to
x11 + x12 + x13 + x14 … 1
x21 + x22 + x23 + x24 … 1
x31 + x32 + x33 + x34 … 1
x41 + x42 + x43 + x44 … 1
x51 + x52 + x53 + x54 … 1
x11 + x21 + x31 + x41 + x51 = 1
x12 + x22 + x32 + x42 + x52 = 1
x13 + x23 + x33 + x43 + x53 = 1
x14 + x24 + x34 + x44 + x54 = 1
xij Ú 0

37. A plant has four operators to be assigned to four machines. The time (minutes) required by each
worker to produce a product on each machine is shown in the following table. Determine the opti-
mal assignment and compute total minimum time.

Machine
Operator A B C D
1 10 12 9 11
2 5 10 7 8
3 12 14 13 11
4 8 15 11 9

38. A shop has four machinists to be assigned to four machines. The hourly cost of having each
machine operated by each machinist is as follows:

Machine
Machinist A B C D
1 $12 11 8 14
2 10 9 10 8
3 14 8 7 11
4 6 8 10 9

However, because he does not have enough experience, machinist 3 cannot operate machine B.
a. Determine the optimal assignment and compute total minimum cost.
b. Formulate this problem as a general linear programming model.

39. The Omega pharmaceutical firm has five salespersons, whom the firm wants to assign to
five sales regions. Given their various previous contacts, the salespersons are able to cover the
 PROBLEMS B-39

regions in different amounts of time. The amount of time (days) required by each salesperson to
cover each city is shown in the following table. Which salesperson should be assigned to each
region to minimize total time? Identify the optimal assignments and compute total minimum
time.

Region
Salesperson A B C D E
1 17 10 15 16 20
2 12 9 16 9 14
3 11 16 14 15 12
4 14 10 10 18 17
5 13 12 9 15 11

40. The Bunker Manufacturing firm has five employees and six machines and wants to
assign the employees to the machines to minimize cost. A cost table showing the cost
incurred by each employee on each machine follows. Because of union rules regarding
departmental transfers, employee 3 cannot be assigned to machine E and employee 4
cannot be assigned to machine B. Solve this problem, indicate the optimal assignment, and
compute total mini- mum cost.

Machine
Employee A B C D E F
1 $12 $7 $20 $14 $8 $10
2 10 14 13 20 9 11
3 5 3 6 9 7 10
4 9 11 7 16 9 10
5 10 6 14 8 10 12

41. Given the following cost table for an assignment problem, determine the optimal assignment
and compute total minimum cost. Identify all alternative solutions if there are multiple optimal
solutions.

Machine
Operator A B C D
1 $10 $2 $8 $6
2 9 5 11 9
3 12 7 14 14
4 3 1 4 2

42. An electronics firm produces electronic components, which it supplies to various electrical
manu- facturers. Quality control records indicate that different employees produce different
numbers of defective items. The average number of defects produced by each employee for
each of six components
B-40 MODULE B TRANSPORTATION AND ASSIGNMENT SOLUTION METHODS

is given in the following table. Determine the optimal assignment that will minimize the total
aver- age number of defects produced by the firm per month.

Component
Employee A B C D E F
1 30 24 16 26 30 22
2 22 28 14 30 20 13
3 18 16 25 14 12 22
4 14 22 18 23 21 30
5 25 18 14 16 16 28
6 32 14 10 14 18 20

43. A dispatcher for the Citywide Taxi Company has six taxicabs at different locations and five cus-
tomers who have called for service. The mileage from each taxi’s present location to each customer
is shown in the following table. Determine the optimal assignment(s) that will minimize the total
mileage traveled.

Customer
Cab 1 2 3 4 5
A 7 2 4 10 7
B 5 1 5 6 6
C 8 7 6 5 5
D 2 5 2 4 5
E 3 3 5 8 4
F 6 2 4 3 4

44. The Southeastern Conference has nine basketball officials who must be assigned to three confer-
ence games, three to each game. The conference office wants to assign the officials so that the
total distance they travel will be minimized. The distance (in miles) each official would travel to
each game is given in the following table:

Game
Official Athens Columbia Nashville
1 165 90 130
2 75 210 320
3 180 170 140
4 220 80 60
5 410 140 80
6 150 170 190
7 170 110 150
8 105 125 160
9 240 200 155
 PROBLEMS B-41

a. Should this problem be solved by the transportation method or by the assignment method?
Explain.
b. Determine the optimal assignment(s) that will minimize the total distance traveled by the
officials.
45. In Problem 44, officials 2 and 8 had a recent confrontation with one of the coaches in the
game in Athens. They were forced to eject the coach after several technical fouls. The
conference office decided that it would not be a good idea to have these two officials work
the Athens game so soon after this confrontation, so they decided that officials 2 and 8 will
not be assigned to the Athens game. How will this affect the optimal solution to this
problem?
46. State University has planned six special catered events for the November Saturday of its
homecom- ing football game. The events include an alumni brunch, a parents’ brunch, a
booster club lun- cheon, a postgame party for season ticket holders, a lettermen’s dinner, and a
fund-raising dinner for major contributors. The university wants to use local catering firms as
well as the university catering service to cater these events and it has asked the caterers to bid
on each event. The bids (in
$1,000s) based on menu guidelines for the events prepared by the university are shown in the fol-
lowing table:

Event
Alumni Parents’ Booster Postgame Lettermen’s Contributor’s
Caterer Brunch Brunch Club Lunch Party Dinner Dinner
Al’s $12.6 $10.3 $14.0 $19.5 $25.0 $30.0
Bon Apetít 14.5 13.0 16.5 17.0 22.5 32.0
Custom 13.0 14.0 17.6 21.5 23.0 35.0
Divine 11.5 12.6 13.0 18.7 26.2 33.5
Epicurean 10.8 11.9 12.9 17.5 21.9 28.5
Fouchés 13.5 13.5 15.5 22.3 24.5 36.0
University 12.5 14.3 16.0 22.0 26.7 34.0

The Bon Apetít, Custom, and University caterers can handle two events, whereas the other four
caterers can handle only one. The university is confident all the caterers will do a high-quality
job, so it wants to select the caterers for the events that will result in the lowest total cost.
Determine the optimal selection of caterers that will minimize total cost.
47. A university department head has five instructors to be assigned to four different courses. All the
instructors have taught the courses in the past and have been evaluated by the students. The rating
for each instructor for each course is given in the following table (a perfect score is 100). The
department head wants to know the optimal assignment of instructors to courses that will maxi-
mize the overall average evaluation. The instructor who is not assigned to teach a course will be
assigned to grade exams. Solve this problem using the assignment method.

Course
Instructor A B C D
1 80 75 90 85
2 95 90 90 97
3 85 95 88 91
4 93 91 80 84
5 91 92 93 88
B-42 MODULE B TRANSPORTATION AND ASSIGNMENT SOLUTION METHODS

48. The coach of the women’s swim team at State University is preparing for the conference swim
meet and must choose the four swimmers she will assign to the 800-meter medley relay team.
The medley relay consists of four strokes—the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle.
The coach has computed the average times (in minutes) each of her top six swimmers has
achieved in each of the four strokes for 200 meters in previous swim meets during the season as
follows:

Stroke (min)
Swimmer Backstroke Breaststroke Butterfly Freestyle
Annie 2.56 3.07 2.90 2.26
Beth 2.63 3.01 3.12 2.35
Carla 2.71 2.95 2.96 2.29
Debbie 2.60 2.87 3.08 2.41
Erin 2.68 2.97 3.16 2.25
Fay 2.75 3.10 2.93 2.38

Determine the medley relay team and its total expected relay time for the coach.

49. Biggio’s Department Store has six employees available to assign to four departments in the store
— home furnishings, china, appliances, and jewelry. Most of the six employees have worked in
each of the four departments on several occasions in the past and have demonstrated that they
perform better in some departments than in others. The average daily sales for each of the six
employees in each of the four departments is shown in the following table.

Department Sales ($)

Home
Employee Furnishings China Appliances Jewelry
1 340 160 610 290
2 560 370 520 450
3 270 — 350 420
4 360 220 630 150
5 450 190 570 310
6 280 320 490 360

Employee 3 has not worked in the china department before, so the manager does not want to
assign this employee to china.
Determine which employee to assign to each department and indicate the total expected
daily sales.

50. The Vanguard Publishing Company has eight college students it hires as salespeople to sell
encyclo- pedias during the summer. The company desires to allocate them to three sales
territories. Territory 1 requires three salespeople, and territories 2 and 3 require two
salespeople each. It is estimated that each salesperson will be able to generate the amounts of
dollar sales per day in each of the three ter- ritories as given in the following table. The
company desires to allocate the salespeople to the three territories so that sales will be
maximized. Solve this problem using any method to determine the initial solution and any
solution method. Compute the maximum total sales per day.
 PROBLEMS B-43

Territory
Salesperson 1 2 3
A $110 $150 $130
B 90 120 80
C 205 160 175
D 125 100 115
E 140 105 150
F 100 140 120
G 180 210 160
H 110 120 90

51. Carolina Airlines, a small commuter airline in North Carolina, has six flight attendants whom it
wants to assign to six monthly flight schedules in a way that will minimize the number of nights
they will be away from their homes. The numbers of nights each attendant must be away from
home with each schedule are given in the following table. Identify the optimal assignments that
will minimize the total number of nights the attendants will be away from home.

Schedule
Attendant A B C D E F
1 7 4 5 10 5 7
2 4 5 4 12 7 5
3 9 9 10 7 10 7
4 11 6 7 5 9 9
5 5 8 5 10 7 5
6 10 12 10 9 9 9

52. The football coaching staff at Tech focuses its recruiting on several key states, including Georgia,
Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. The staff includes seven assistant
coaches, two of whom are responsible for Florida, a high school talent–rich state, whereas one
coach is assigned to each of the other five states. The staff has been together for a long time and
at one time or another all the coaches have recruited all of the states. The head coach has
accumulated some data on the past success rate (i.e., percentage of targeted recruits signed) for
each coach in each state as shown in the following table:

State
Coach GA FL VA PA NY NJ
Allen 62 56 65 71 55 63
Bush 65 70 63 81 75 72
Crumb 46 53 62 55 64 50
Doyle 58 66 70 67 71 49
Evans 77 73 69 80 80 74
Fouch 68 73 72 80 78 57
Goins 72 60 74 72 62 61

Determine the optimal assignment of coaches to recruiting regions that will maximize the over-
all success rate and indicate the average percentage success rate for the staff with this assignment.