INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONS RESEARCH

1. LINEAR PROGRAMMING
HISTORY OF OR
OR is a relatively new discipline. Whereas 70 years ago it would have been possible
to study mathematics, physics or engineering (for example) at university it would not have
been possible to study OR, indeed the term OR did not exist then. It was only really in the
late 1930's that operational research began in a systematic fashion, and it started in the UK.
Early in 1936 the British Air Ministry established Bawdsey Research Station, on the east
coast, near Felixstowe, Suffolk, as the centre where all pre-war radar experiments for both the
Air Force and the Army would be carried out. Experimental radar equipment was brought up
to a high state of reliability and ranges of over 100 miles on aircraft were obtained.
It was also in 1936 that Royal Air Force (RAF) Fighter Command, charged
specifically with the air defense of Britain, was first created. It lacked however any effective
fighter aircraft - no Hurricanes or Spitfires had come into service - and no radar data was yet
fed into its very elementary warning and control system.
It had become clear that radar would create a whole new series of problems in fighter
direction and control so in late 1936 some experiments started at Biggin Hill in Kent into the
effective use of such data. This early work, attempting to integrate radar data with ground
based observer data for fighter interception, was the start of OR. The first of three major pre-
war air-defense exercises was carried out in the summer of 1937. The experimental radar
station at Bawdsey Research Station was brought into operation and the information derived
from it was fed into the general air-defense warning and control system. From the early
warning point of view this exercise was encouraging, but the tracking information obtained
from radar, after filtering and transmission through the control and display network, was not
very satisfactory.
In July 1938 a second major air-defense exercise was carried out. Four additional
radar stations had been installed along the coast and it was hoped that Britain now had an
aircraft location and control system greatly improved both in coverage and effectiveness. Not
so! The exercise revealed, rather, that a new and serious problem had arisen. This was the
need to coordinate and correlate the additional, and often conflicting, information received
from the additional radar stations. With the out-break of war apparently imminent, it was
obvious that something new - drastic if necessary - had to be attempted. Some new approach
was needed.
Accordingly, on the termination of the exercise, the Superintendent of Bawdsey
Research Station, A.P. Rowe, announced that although the exercise had again demonstrated
the technical feasibility of the radar system for detecting aircraft, its operational achievements
still fell far short of requirements. He therefore proposed that a crash program of research into
the operational - as opposed to the technical - aspects of the system should begin
immediately. The term "operational research" [RESEARCH into (military) OPERATIONS]
was coined as a suitable description of this new branch of applied science. The first team was
selected from amongst the scientists of the radar research group the same day.
In the summer of 1939 Britain held what was to be its last pre-war air defense
exercise. It involved some 33,000 men, 1,300 aircraft, 110 antiaircraft guns, 700 searchlights,
and 100 barrage balloons. This exercise showed a great improvement in the operation of the
air defense warning and control system. The contribution made by the OR teams was so
apparent that the Air Officer Commander-in-Chief RAF Fighter Command (Air Chief
Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding) requested that, on the outbreak of war, they should be attached
to his headquarters at Stanmore.
|On May 15th 1940, with German forces advancing rapidly in France, Stanmore Research
Section was asked to analyze a French request for ten additional fighter squadrons (12 aircraft
a squadron) when losses were running at some three squadrons every two days. They
prepared graphs for Winston Churchill (the British Prime Minister of the time), based upon a
study of current daily losses and replacement rates, indicating how rapidly such a move
would deplete fighter strength. No aircraft were sent and most of those currently in France
were recalled. This is held by some to be the most strategic contribution to the course of the
war made by OR (as the aircraft and pilots saved were consequently available for the
successful air defense of Britain, the Battle of Britain).
In 1941 an Operational Research Section (ORS) was established in Coastal Command
which was to carry out some of the most well-known OR work in World War II. Although
scientists had (plainly) been involved in the hardware side of warfare (designing better
planes, bombs, tanks, etc) scientific analysis of the operational use of military resources had
never taken place in a systematic fashion before the Second World War. Military personnel,
often by no means stupid, were simply not trained to undertake such analysis. These early OR
workers came from many different disciplines, one group consisted of a physicist, two
physiologists, two mathematical physicists and a surveyor. What such people brought to their
work were "scientifically trained" minds, used to querying assumptions, logic, exploring
hypotheses, devising experiments, collecting data, analyzing numbers, etc. Many too were of
high intellectual caliber (at least four wartime OR personnel were later to win Nobel prizes
when they returned to their peacetime disciplines).
By the end of the war OR was well established in the armed services both in the UK
and in the USA. OR started just before World War II in Britain with the establishment of
teams of scientists to study the strategic and tactical problems involved in military operations.
The objective was to find the most effective utilization of limited military resources by the
use of quantitative techniques. Following the end of the war OR spread, although it spread in
different ways in the UK and USA. You should be clear that the growth of OR since it began
(and especially in the last 30 years) is, to a large extent, the result of the increasing power and
widespread availability of computers. Most (though not all) OR involves carrying out a large
number of numeric calculations. Without computers this would simply not be possible

Definition:
“Operations Research is the application of scientific methods, techniques and tools to
problems involving the operations of systems so as to provide those in control of operations
with optimum solutions to the problems.”
Churchman et al.
The significant features of operations research are:
1. Decision –making:
Primarily, OR is addressed to managerial decision-making or problem solving. A major
premise of OR is that decision-making, irrespective of the situation involved, can be
considered a general systematic process that consists of the following steps:
a) Define the problem and establish the criterion, which will be used. The criterion may
be the maximisation of profits, utility and minimisation of costs, and so on.
b) Select the alternative courses of action for consideration.
c) Determine the model to be used and the values of the parameters of the process.
d) Evaluate the alternatives and choose the one that is optimal.

2. Scientific Approach:
OR employs scientific methods for the purpose of solving problems, and there is no place of
whims and guesswork in it. It is a formalised process of reasoning and consists of the
following steps:
a) The problem to be analysed is defined clearly and the conditions for observations are
determined.
b) Observations are made under varying conditions to determine the behaviour of the
system.
c) On the basis of the observations, a hypothesis describing how the various factors
involved, are believed to interact and the best solution to the problem is formulated.
d) To test the hypothesis, an experiment is designed and executed. Observations are
made and measurements are recorded.
e) Finally, the results of the experiments are analysed and the hypothesis is either
accepted or rejected. If the hypothesis is accepted, the best solution to the problem is
obtained.
3. Objective:
OR attempts to locate the best or optimal solution to the problem under consideration. For
this purpose, it is necessary that a measure of effectiveness be defined, which is based on the
goals of the organisation. This measure is then used as the basis to compare the alternative
courses of action.
4. Inter-disciplinary Team Approach:
OR is inter-disciplinary in nature and requires a team approach to a solution to the problem.
No single individual can have a thorough knowledge of the myriad aspects of operations
research and how the problems may be addressed. Managerial problems have economic,
physical, psychological, biological, sociological and engineering aspects. This requires a
blend of people with expertise in the areas of mathematics, statistics, engineering, economics,
management, computer sciences, and so on. Of course, it is not always so. Some problem
situations may be adequately handled even by one individual.
5. Digital Computer:
Use of a digital computer has become an integral part of the operations research approach to
decision-making. The computer may be required due to the complexity of the model, volume
of data required or the computations to be made. Many quantitative techniques are available
in the form of ‘canned’ programmes.

Methodology (Phases/Approach/working) of Operations Research:

The Seven-Step Model-Building Process:
1. Define the Problem.
2. Formulate a Mathematical Model of the Problem.
3. Acquire the input data
4. Verify the Model and Use the Model for Prediction.
5. Select a Suitable Alternative.
6. Present the Results and Conclusion of the Study to the Organization.
7. Implement and Evaluate Recommendations.

1. Define the Problem:-

The operations researcher first defines the organisation’s problem. Defining the problem
includes specifying the organisation’s objectives and the parts of the organisation that
must be studied before the problem can be solved.
2. Formulate a Mathematical Model of the Problem:-
In this step, the operations researcher develops a mathematical model of the problem.
Many mathematical techniques are available that can be used to model systems.
3. Acquire the input data:-
Next, the operations researcher collects data to estimate the value of parameters that
affect the organisation’s problem. Since quality of data determines the quality of output,
the data obtained has to be accurate and complete. A number of sources, including
company reports and documents, interviews with company personnel and so on, may be
used for collecting the data.
4. Verify the Model and Use the Model for Prediction:-
The operations researcher now tries to determine if the mathematical developed in step 3
is an accurate representation of reality. Even if a model is valid for the current situation,
we must be aware of blindly applying it.
5. Select a Suitable Alternative:-
Given a model and a set of alternatives, the operations researcher now chooses the
alternative that best meets the organisation’s objectives. (There may more than one!).
6. Present the Results and Conclusion of the Study to the Organisation:-
In this step, the operations researcher presents the model and recommendation from step 5
to the decision-making individual or group. In some situations, one might present several
alternatives and let the organisation choose the one that best meets its needs. After
presenting the results of the operations research study, the analyst may find that the
organisation does not approve of the recommendation. This may result from incorrect
definition of the organisation’s problems or from failure to involve the decision maker
from the start of the project. In this case, the operations researcher should return to step 1,
2, or 3.
7. Implement and Evaluate Recommendations:-
If the organisation has accepted the study, then the analyst aids in implementing the
recommendations. The system must be constantly monitored (and updated dynamically as
the environment changes) to ensure that the recommendations enable the organisation to
meet its objectives.
 Applications / Scope:
- Management Information systems
- Decision Support System
- Artificial Intelligence & Expert Systems
Key Application areas of OR in management:
1. Allocation & Distribution

2. Production & facility planning

3. Procurement

4. Marketing

5. Finance

6. Personnel

7. R & D

Limitations of O.R.:
1. Qualitative or emotional factors cannot be incorporated in mathematical model.

2. Mathematical models are applicable to only specific category of problems.

3. Employees resistance for the implementation of O.R. is expected.

4. Management may find it difficult to implement O.R. due to conventional thinking.

LINEAR PROGRAMMING
INTRODUCTION:
Programming problems in general are governed with the use or allocation of scarce resources
– Labour, Materials, Machines and Capital – in the “best” possible manner so that costs are
minimised or profits maximised. In using the term “best” it is implied that some choice or a
set of alternative courses of actions is available for making the decision. In general, the best
decision is found by solving a mathematical problem.
Linear Programming (LP) is a versatile technique for assigning a fixed amount of resources
among competing factors, in such a way that some objective is optimized and other defined
conditions are also satisfied.
In other words, linear programming is a mathematical technique for determining the optimal
allocation of resources and obtaining a particular objective when there are alternative uses of
the resources. The objective may be cost minimization or inversely profit maximization.
The term linear programming merely defines a particular class of programming problems that
meet the following conditions:
1. The decision variables involved in the problem are non-negative (i.e. positive or
zero).
2. The criterion for selecting the “best” values of the decision variables can be described
by a linear function of these variables, that is, a mathematical function involving only
the first powers of the variables with no cross products. The criterion function is
normally referred to as the Objective function.
3. The operating rules governing the process (e.g., scarcity of resources) can be
expressed as a set of linear equations or linear inequalities. This set is referred to as
the Constraint set.
The last two conditions are the reasons for the use of the term linear programming. Linear
programming techniques are widely used to solve a number of military, economic, industrial,
and social problems.

FORMULATION OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING PROBLEMS

(L.P.P.)
The three basic steps to constructing a linear programming model are as follows:

STEP 1: Identify the unknown variables to be determined (decision variables) and

represent them in terms of algebraic symbols.

STEP 2: Identify all the restrictions or constraints in the problem and express them as
linear equations or inequalities which are linear functions of the unknown
variables.

STEP 3: Identify the objective or criterion and represent it as a linear function of the
decision variables, which is to be maximised or minimised.

IMPORTANT NOTE

MODEL BUILDING IS NOT A SCIENCE BUT PRIMARILY AN ART

AND COMES MAINLY BY PRACTICE. HENCE, WORK OUT AS MANY
PROBLEMS ON FORMULATION AS POSSIBLE.

Terminologies used in LPP:

Linear Function:
A linear function contains terms each of which is composed of only a single, continuous
variable raised to (and only to) the power of 1.

Objective Function:
It is a linear function of the decision variables expressing the objective of the decision-maker.
Decision Variables:
These are economic or physical quantities whose numerical values indicate the solution of the
linear programming problem.

Constraints
These are linear equations arising out of practical limitations.

Feasible Solution:
Any non-negative solution which satisfies all the constraints is known as a feasible solution.

Optimal Solution:
Solution where the objective function is maximized or minimized
MODEL FORMULATION:

In fact, the most difficult problem in the application of management science is the
formulation of a model. Therefore, it is important to consider model formulation before
launching into the details of linear programming solution. Model formulation is the process
of transforming a real word decision problem into an operations research model. In the
sections that follow, we give several Lilliputian examples so that you can acquire some
experience of formulating a model. All the examples that are provided use static models,
because they deal with decisions that occur only within a single time period.

Model formulation is the process of transforming a real word decision problem

into an operations research model.

Product Mix Problem

In product mix selection, the decision-maker strives to determine the combination of the
products, which will maximize the profit without violating the resource constraints. In the
instance below, the objective is to maximize the profit. In the subsequent examples, you will
see other objectives, such as minimum cost.
1. A firm is engaged in producing two products A & B. Each unit of product A requires 2kg
of raw material and 4 labour hours for processing, whereas each unit of product B
requires 3 kg of raw material and 3 hours of labour of the same type. Every week, the
firm has an availability of 60kg of raw material and 96 labour hours. One unit of product
A sold yields Rs.40 and one unit of product B sold gives Rs.35 as profit. Formulate this
problem as a linear programming problem to determine as to how many units of each of
the products should be produced per week so that the firm can earn the maximum profit.
Assume that there is no marketing constraint so that all that is produced can be sold.
Solution:
Let X1 and X2 be the no. of units of product A & B to be produced
Maximise Z = 40X1 + 35X2
Subject to, 2X1 + 3X2 ≤ 60

4X1 + 3X2  96

X1, X2  0

2. An agriculture research institute suggested to a farmer to spread out atleast 4800kg of

special phosphate fertilizer and not less than 7200kg of a special nitrogen fertilizer to
raise productivity of crops in his fields. There are two sources for obtaining these,
mixtures A & B both of these are available in bags weighing 100kg each and they cost
Rs.40 and Rs.24 respectively. Mixture A contains phosphate and nitrogen equivalent of
20kg and 80 kg respectively, while mixture B contains these ingredients equivalent of
50kg each. Write this as a LPP and determine how many bags of each type the farmer
should buy in order to obtain the required fertilizer at minimum cost.
Solution:
Let X1 and X2 be the no. of bags of mixture A & B to be purchased
Minimise Z = 40X1 + 24X2

Subject to,

20X1 + 50X2  4800

80X1 + 50X2  7200
X1, X2  0

3. A company has three operational departments (weaving, processing and packing) with
capacity to produce three different types of clothes viz. suitings, shirtings, and wollens
yielding a profit of Rs.2, Rs.4, and Rs.3 per metre respectively. One metre of suiting
requires 3 minutes in weaving, 2 minutes in processing and 1 minute in packing.
Similarly one metre of shirting requires 4 minutes in weaving, 1 minute in processing and
3 minutes in packing. One metre of woolen requires 3 minutes in each department. In a
week, total run time of each department is 60, 40 and 80 hours for weaving, processing
and packaging respectively. Formulate the LPP to find the product mix to maximise the
profit.
Solution:
Let X1, X2, X3 be the no. of meters of suitings, shirtings and wollens to be produced.
 Minimise Z = 2X1 + 4X2 + 3X3

3X1+ 4X2+ 3X2  60 (Weaving)

2X1+ X2 + 3X2  40 (Processing)
X1 + 3X2 + 3X2  80 (Packaging)
X1, X2  0

4. A city transport company which wanted to have a city bus service operated on 24 hour
basis conducted a survey and got the following information about the requirement of
buses.

Each bus run 8 consecutive hours per day after which it returns to the shed for routine
maintenance checkup. If the objective is to find the minimum number of buses to comply
with above requirement, formulate this as a LPP.
Solution:
Let X1, X2 , X3, X4, X5, X6 be the no. of buses starting at the beginning of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
5th and 6th periods.
Minimise Z = X1 + X2 + X3+ X4 + X5+ X6

Subject to, X1 + X2  100

X2 + X3  120

X3 + X4  150

X4 + X5  40

X5 + X6  10

X6 + X1  80

X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6 0

5. The manager of an oil refinery must decide on the optimum mix of two possible blending
processes of which the input and output production runs are as follows:
 The maximum amounts available of crudes A and B are 250 units and 200 units
respectively. Market demand shows that at least 150 units of gasoline X and 130 units of
gasoline Y must be produced. The profits per production run from process 1 and process
2 are Rs.3 and Rs.4 respectively. Formulate the problem as a LPP.
Solution:
Let X1, X2 be the number of runs of processes 1 & 2 respectively used in the production
of gasoline.
Maximise Z = 3X1 + 4X2

Subject to, 6X1 + 5X2  250

4X1 + 6X2  200

6X1 + 5X2  150

9X1 + 5X2  130

X1, X2  0
6. Three nutrient components namely, thiamin, phosphorus and iron are found in a diet of
two food items - A and B. The amount of each nutrient (in milligrams per ounce, i.e.,
mg/oz) is given below:

The cost of food items A and B is Rs. 2 per oz and Rs. 1.70 per oz respectively. The
minimum daily requirements of these nutrients are at least 1.00 mg of thiamin, 7.50 mg of
phosphorus, and 10.00 mg of iron. Formulate this problem in the linear programming
form.
Solution:
Solution:

METHODS TO SOLVE LPP:

There are two methods mainly used to solve linear programing models. They are graphical
method and simplex method.

Graphical Method:
Linear programming problems with two decision variables can be easily solved by graphical
method. A problem of three dimensions can also be solved by this method, but their graphical
solution becomes complicated. It helps to visualize the procedure explicitly.
Terminologies used in graphical method:
Feasible Region: It is the collection of all feasible solutions. In the following figure, the
shaded area represents the feasible region.

Convex set: A region or a set R is convex, if for any two points on the set R, the segment
connecting those points lies entirely in R. In other words, it is a collection of points such that
for any two points on the set, the line joining the points belongs to the set. In the following
figure, the line joining P and Q belongs entirely in R.
Thus, the collection of feasible solutions in a linear programming problem form a convex set.

Redundant Constraint: It is a constraint that does not affect the feasible region.
Extreme point: Extreme points are referred to as vertices or corner points. In the above figure
P, Q, R and S are extreme points.
Iso-profit line: It is a line showing same profit along the length of the line in the feasible
region.
Iso-cost line: It is a line showing same cost along the length of the line in the feasible region.

Graphical Method - Algorithm

The details of the algorithm for this method are as follows.
i. Formulate the mathematical model of the given linear programming problem and identify
the decision variable for each axis of the graph
ii. Treat inequalities as equalities and then draw the lines corresponding to each equation and
non-negativity restrictions.
iii. Locate the end points (corner points) on the feasible region.
iv. Determine the value of the objective function corresponding to the end points determine in
step 3.
v. Find out the optimal value of the objective function.

4. Solve the following LPP using graphical method.

Maximize Z = 40X1 + 35X2
Subject to
2X1 + 3X2 ≤ 60
4X1 + 3X2 ≤ 96
X1, X2 ≥ 0
 Using Corner Point Method:
Corner Point X1 X2 Max Z=40X1+ 35 X2 Remark
O 0 0 0 Feasible solution
P 0 20 700 Feasible solution
Q 18 8 1000 OPTIMAL SOLUTION
R 24 0 960 Feasible solution
Answer:
Optimal Mix: X1= 18 units and X2= 8 units and Maximum profit = Rs.1000

5. Solve the following LPP using graphical method.

Minimise Z = 40X1 + 24X2
Subject to
20X1 + 50X2  4800
80X1 + 50X2  7200
X1, X2 ≥ 0
Using Corner Point Method:
Corner Point X1 X2 Min Z=40X1+ 24 X2 Remark
P 0 144 Rs. 3456 OPTIMAL SOLUTION
Q 40 80 Rs. 3520 Feasible solution
R 240 0 Rs.9600 Feasible solution

Answer:
Optimal Mix: X1= 0 units and X2= 144 units and Minimum cost = Rs.3456

6. Solve the following LPP using graphical method.

Minimise Z = 3X1 + 5X2
Subject to
-3X1 + 4X2 ≤ 12
-2X1 + X2 ≤ 2
2X1 + 3X2 ≥ 12
X1 ≤ 4
X2 ≥ 2
X1, X2 ≥ 0

Using Corner Point Method:

Corner Point X1 X2 Min Z=40X1+ 35 X2 Remark
P 0.8 3.6 20.4 Feasible solution
Q 4 6 42 Feasible solution
R 4 2 22 Feasible solution
S 3 2 19 OPTIMAL SOLUTION
T 0.75 3.5 19.75 Feasible solution
Answer:
Optimal Mix: X1= 3 units and X2= 2 units and Minimum cost = Rs.19.

7. Solve the following LPP using graphical method.

Maximize Z = 8X1 + 16X2
Subject to
X1 + X2 ≤ 200
X2 ≤ 125
3X1 + 6X2 ≤ 900
X1, X2 ≥ 0

This problem has multiple optimal solutions since iso-profit line coincides with extreme
boundary edge of the feasible region. According to corner point method, points B & C give
optimal mix and Z value will be maximum & same.

8. Solve the following LPP using graphical method.

Minimise Z = 6X1 + 14X2
Subject to
5X1 + 4X2  60
3X1 + 7X2  64
X1 + 2X2  18
X1, X2 ≥ 0
Note: Identify the optimal solution

Special cases in graphical solutions:

Following conditions should be satisfied to have,
1. Multiple optimal solutions
i. Objective function line should be parallel to constraint line that forms an edge/ boundary
on the feasible region
ii. Constraint must be a binding constraint
2. Infeasibility
If all the constraints can not be satisfied simultaneously in a common region, then feasible
region is empty.

3. Unboundedness
If the objective function is not bound over the feasible region then Iso-profit line can move
upward without any limit.

Simplex method:
It is an iterative procedure for find the optimal solution to LPP in a systematic manner.

Advantages:
- Can handle real world situations where 2 or more variables are involved
- Efficient technique, since it considers only few feasible solutions to obtain optimal
solution.

Conditions for application of simplex method:

- RHS of each constraint should be non-negative
- Each decision variable defined should be non-negative

Features of standard form of model in simplex method:

Optimality condition:
In a maximisation problem, j  0 for all the decision variables in the simplex table.
In a minimization problem, j  0 for all the decision variables in the simplex table.
 Slack variable:
This variable will be present in the standard form of the constraint with less than or equal to
() inequality. This variable is having positive sign in the constraint equation.

Surplus variable:
This variable will be present in the standard form of the constraint with greater than or equal
to () inequality. Hence, negative sign is attached this variable in the constraint equation.

Artificial variable:
This variable will be introduced in the standard form of the constraint with greater than or
equal to () inequality to overcome the violation of non-negativity restriction of surplus
variable. But they do not represent any quantity relating to the problem and have no tangible
relation with the decision variables. Their sole purpose is to give initial solution to the
problem by creating the identity matrix in the 1st simplex table. Artificial variables are also
used when there is a constraint with an equal sign.

Big M method:
This method is used whenever there is an artificial variable in the standard form of constraint
equation. In this method, extremely high contribution(M or -M) is attached to the artificial
variables in the objective function depending the objective either minimisation or
maximisation. Due to this, artificial variables are to be driven out of the basis at the earliest.

9 .Solve the following LPP using simplex method.

Maximize Z = 40X1 + 35X2
Subject to
2X1 + 3X2 ≤ 60
4X1 + 3X2 ≤ 96
X1, X2 ≥ 0
Solution:
Standard form
Maximise Z = 40X1 + 35X2 + 0S1 + 0S2
Subject to,
2X1 + 3X2 + S1 + 0S2 ≤ 60
4X1 + 3X2 + 0S1 + S2 ≤ 96
X1 , X2 , S1 , S2 ≥ 0
Replacement ratio
Key column

Key element Key row

 Replacement row (2nd row)

Note: The elements of the replacement row in simplex table 2 are obtained by dividing
each element of key row in simplex table 1 by the key element in that table.
The elements of other rows in simplex table 2 are calculated as follows.
Row Element in Corresponding
New Row Element (NRE) = Old Row Element (ORE) –
the key column X Replacement
Row Element
(REKC)
(CRRE)
For example: 1st row of simplex table 2,
Column ORE REKC CRRE NRE
X1 2 2 1 0
X2 3 2 ¾ 3/2
S1 1 2 0 1
S2 0 2 ¼ -1/2
bi 60 2 24 12

Similarly all the values in 3rd table can be computed. This procedure is same for any
minimisation or maximisation LPP.

Optimal solution is, X1= 18 and X2= 8 and Z = 1000.

10 .Solve the following LPP using simplex method.
Minimise Z = 40X1 + 24X2
Subject to
20X1 + 50X2  4800
80X1 + 50X2  7200
X1, X2 ≥ 0
Solution:
Standard form
Minimise Z = 40X1 + 24X2 + 0S1 + 0S2
Subject to,
20X1 + 50X2  S1 + 0S2 + A1 = 4800
80X1 + 50X2 + 0S1  S2 + A2 = 7200
X1 , X2 , S1 , S2, A1, A2 ≥ 0
 Optimal solution is, X1= 0 and X2= 144 and Z = 3456.

11. Solve the following LPP using simplex method.

Maximize Z = 5X1 + 10X2 + 8X3

Subject to, 3X1 + 5X2 + 2X3  60

4X1 + 4X2 + 4X3  72

2X1 + 4X2 + 5X3  100

X1, X2, X3 ≥ 0

Solution: Standard form

Maximize Z = 5X1 + 10X2 + 8X3 +0S1 + 0S2 + 0S3

Subject to, 2X1 + 5X2 + 2X3 + S1 + 0S2 + 0S3 = 60

4X1 + 4X2 + 4X3 + 0S1 + S2 + 0S3 = 72

2X1 + 4X2 + 5X3 + 0S1 + 0S2 + S3 = 100

X1, X2 , X3, S1 , S2 , S3 ≥ 0
 8

Optimal solution is, X1= 0, X2= 8 and X3= 10. Z = 160.

12 .Solve the following LPP using simplex method.
Maximize Z = 2X1 + 4X2
Subject to,
2X1 + X2  18
3X1 + 2X2  30
X1 + 2X2 = 26
X1, X2 ≥ 0
Solution: Standard form
Maximize Z = 2X1 + 4X2 +0S1 + 0S2 – MA2 – MA3
Subject to,
2X1 + X2 + S1 + 0S2 + 0A2 + 0A3 = 18
3X1 + 2X2 + 0S1 – S2 + A2 + 0A3 = 30
X1 + 2X2 + 0S1 + 0S2 + 0A2+ A3 = 26
X1 , X2 , S1 , S2 , A2 , A3 ≥ 0
Optimal solution is, X1= 4, X2= 12 and Z = 56.

Special cases in simplex solutions (method):

1. Multiple optimal solutions

A LPP will have multiple optimal solutions when a non-basic variable in an optimal solution
has a zero value for j, the solution is not unique.

2. Infeasibility
A LPP will have no feasible solution to the problem when there is an artificial variable in the
basis of a final solution of simplex algorithm.
4
3. Unboundedness
A LPP will have unbounded feasible solutions if there are no non-negative replacement
ratio’s or they are equal to infinity, as a result the algorithm terminates.

4. Degeneracy
When one or more of the basic variables have a value zero in the solution, no. of non-zero
variables is less than no. of constraints & solution degenerate.
Whenever, there is a tie in the replacement ratio’s next table would give degenerate solution.

(Note: Only the final values in the tables are shown, intermediate calculations needs to done
to cross check the entries in the table.)

13. Solve the following LPP using simplex method.

Maximize Z = 8X1 + 16X2
Subject to,
X1 + X2  200
X2  125
3X1 + 6X2  900
X1, X2 ≥ 0
Solution:
Standard form:
Maximize Z = 8X1 + 16X2 +0S1 + 0S2 + 0S3
Subject to,
X1 + X2 + S1 + 0S2 + 0S2 = 200
X2 + 0S1 + S2 + 0S3 = 125
3X1 + 6X2 + 0S1 + 0S2 + S3 = 900
X1, X2, S1, S2 , S3 ≥ 0
Solution is multiple optimal. One solution is X1= 50, X2=125 and Z= 2400. Second solution
is X1= 100, X2=100 and Z= 2400.

14. Solve the following LPP using simplex method.

Maximize Z = 10X1 + 20X2

Subject to, 2X1 + 4X2  16

X1 + 5X2  15

X1, X2 ≥ 0

Solution: Standard form

Maximise Z = 10X1 + 20X2 +0S1 + 0S2  MA1  MA2

Subject to,

2X1 + 4X2  S1 + 0S2 + A1 + 0A2 = 16

X1 + 5X2 + 0S1  0S2 + 0A1 + A2 = 15
X1, X2 , S1 , S2 , A1 , A2 ≥ 0
The solution is feasible and unbounded. X1= 15, X2=0 and Z= 150.

15. Solve the following LPP using simplex method.

Maximize Z = 28X1 + 30X2
Subject to,
6X1 + 3X2  18
3X1 + X2 8
4X1 + 5X2  30
X1, X2 ≥ 0
Solution:
Standard form
Maximize Z = 28X1 + 30X2 +0S1 + 0S2 + 0S3
Subject to,
6X1 + 3X2 + S1 + 0S2 + 0S3 = 18
3X1 + X2 + 0S1 + S2 + 0S3 = 8
4X1 + 5X2 + 0S1 + 0S2 + S3 = 30
X1, X2, S1 , S2 , S3 ≥ 0
The solution is degenerate. X1= 0, X2=6 and Z= 180. Table 2, 3 and 4 have shown no
improvement Z.
16. Solve the following LPP using simplex method.
Maximize Z = 20X1 + 30X2
Subject to,
2X1 + X2 ≤ 60
4X1 - X2 ≤ 20
X1 ≥ 30
X1, X2 ≥ 0
Solution:
Standard form
Maximize Z = 20X1 + 30X2 +0S1 + 0S2 + 0S2 - MA1
Subject to,
2X1 + X2 + S1 = 60
4X1 - X2 + S2 = 20
X1 - S3 + A1 = 30
X1, X2, S1, S2, S3 , A1 ≥ 0
The solution is infeasible due to the presence of A1 in the basis.

Concept of Duality in LPP:

Duality:

For every linear programming problem (LPP), there is another LPP which is related to it and
therefore may be derived from it. That is called dual of the primal.

Conditions for application of simplex method:

Following conditions must be satisfied before writing the dual of a LPP. They are,
1. All the variables in the problem should be non – negative
2. All the constraints should be of less than or equal to () for maximization type and greater
than or equal to () for minimization type
Writing a dual LPP from Primal LPP:

Primal Dual

Primal – Dual relationship:

16) Write the dual of the following LPP.

Minimise Z = 10X1 + 20X2

Subject to,
3X1 + 2X2  18
X1 + 3X2  8
2X1  X2  6
X1 , X2  0
Solution:
Standard form:
Minimise Z = 10X1 + 20X2
Subject to,
3X1 + 2X2  18
X1 + 3X2  8
 2X1 + X2   6
X1 , X2  0

Dual LPP:

Maximise Z = 18Y1 + 8Y2  6Y3

Subject to,

3Y1 + Y2  2Y3  10

2Y1 + 3Y2 + Y3  20

Y1, Y2 , Y3  0

17) Write the dual of the following LPP.

Maximise Z = 8X1 + 10X2 + 5X3
Subject to,
X1 - X3 4
2X1 + 4X2  12
X1 + X2 + X3  2
3X1 + 2X2 - X3 = 8
X1, X2 , X3 0

Solution:
Standard form:
Maximise Z = 8X1 + 10X2 + 5X3
 Subject to,
X1 - X3 4
2X1 + 4X2  12
 X1  X2  X3   2
3X1 + 2X2 - X3  8
3X1 + 2X2 - X3  8 -3X1 - 2X2 + X3 - 8 X1 , X2 , X3 0
Dual LPP:

Minimise Z = 4Y1 + 12Y2  2Y3 + 8Y4  8Y5

Subject to,
Y1 + 2Y2  Y3 + 3Y4  3Y5  8
4Y2  Y3 + 2Y4  2Y5  10
 Y1  Y3  Y4 + Y5  5
Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5  0
Replace Y4  Y5 = Y6

Final form:
Minimise Z = 4Y1 + 12Y2  2Y3 + 8Y6
Subject to,
Y1 + 2Y2  Y3 + 3Y6  8
4Y2  Y3 + 2Y6  10
 Y1  Y3  Y6  5
Y1, Y2, Y3  0, Y6 unrestricted in sign
18) Write the dual of the following LPP.

Maximise Z = 3X1 + 5X2 + 7X3

Subject to,

X1 + X2 + 3X3  10

4X1 - X2 + 2X3  15 X1, X2  0 , X3 unrestricted in sign

Solution:

Standard form: Put X3 = X4  X5

Maximise Z = 3X1 + 5X2 + 7X4  7X5
 Subject to,
X1 + X2 + 3X4  3X5  10
 4X1 + X2  2X4 + 2X5   15
X1, X2 , X4 , X5  0
Dual LPP:

Minimise G = 10Y1  15Y2

Subject to,
Y1  4Y2  3
Y1 + Y2  5
3Y1  2Y2 = 7 Y1, Y2  0

Sensitivity Analysis (Post optimality analysis of simplex solution):

It is an analysis to determine how the optimal solution would be affected if the parameters
like profit coefficients (Cj) and resource values(bi) change.

19) Examine the sensitivity of the optimal solution to,

a) Variation in profit contribution/unit b) Variation in the availability of the resources.

Maximise Z = 5X1 + 10X2 + 8X3

Subject to,

3X1 + 5X2 + 2X3  60; (Resource 1)

4X1 + 4X2 + 4X3  72; (Resource 2)

2X1 + 4X2 + 5X3  100; (Resource 3)

X1, X2 , X3 0

Solution:
The table shown below is an optimal simplex table obtained after 3rd iteration.
a) Variation in profit contribution/unit
i) Decision variables in the basis (X2 and X3)
Decision variable X2:
X2: 1/3 1 0 1/3 -1/6 0 (coefficients taken from 1st row of table)
j: -11/3 0 0 -2/3 -5/3 0 (values Taken from j row of table)
Divide ‘j’ row elements by ’ X2’ row elements and identify least positive and least negative
elements.
-11 0  -2 10 

Here, -2 is the least negative and 10 is the least positive. That means least positive quotient
provides the answer to how much profit could increase without changing the solution. The
least negative quotient is the maximum decrease in the profit that would not cause a change
in the solution. Therefore the range of profit is Rs. 8 to Rs. 20. In case the profit/unit falls
below Rs. 8 or becomes greater than Rs.20, then optimal solution will be different.

Decision variable X3:

X3: 2/3 0 1 -1/3 5/12 0 (coefficients Taken from 2nd row of table)
j: -11/3 0 0 -2/3 -5/3 0 (Values taken from j row of table)
Divide ‘j’ row elements by ’X3’ row elements and identify least positive and least negative
elements.
-11/2  0 2 -4 

Here, -4 is the least negative and 2 is the least positive. Therefore the range of profit is Rs. 4
to Rs. 10.

ii) Decision variables not in the basis (X1):

j = -11/3 for X1 column suggests that a unit of X1 would cause a loss of 11/3.
Therefore, profit margin must be increased at least by 11/3 so that it is more than 26/3
before its production could be undertaken.

b) Change in bi values : Right hand side ranging:

It means how many units of each resource may be decreased or increased, keeping the
shadow price same. In other words, it is to determine the range over which each of the
shadow prices will remain valid. This analysis is called RHS ranging.

On performing RHS ranging for resource 1 we get,

Resource 1: ‘S1’ is the slack variable corresponding to resource 1.
S1(aij values) bi bi/aij
1/3 8 24
-1/3 10 -30
1/3 18 54
By considering least positive value of 24 units and least negative value of -30 units for
resource 1, we can conclude that with present capacity of 60 units, the shadow price of 2/3
will remain valid over range 36 to 90 units, other things remaining the same.
Similarly range for resource 2 is from 48 to 84.7 units and range for resource 3 is 82 to
infinity. That is, all units of resource 3 is not used, 18 units remain unused. Therefore, 18
units can be reduced, in case of shortage number of units can be increased without limit with
no consequences on the solution.
The entire analysis can be presented in the form of a table as follows:

20) A firm has the choice of producing 4 similar products in any combination. These products
have profit rates of Rs.70, 65, 80 & 75 respectively. They all require two types of raw
materials R1 & R2 & two types of labour L1 & L2. The per unit requirements & the
availability of the resources every week is given in the following table.

Determine the optimal product mix for the firm and carry out the sensitivity analysis, for the
changes in objective function coeff. and RHS values of constraints.
Solution:
The table shown below is an optimal simplex table obtained after 3rd iteration.
The entire sensitivity analysis can be carried out in a way similar to last numerical and results
are presented below. Variation is profit contribution/unit:

Variation of change of resources::

In case of RHS ranging. Least positive value become allowable decrease and least negative
value increase.