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Assignment Problem
Danu Hadi Syaifullah ST., MSc., PhD.
 Introduction
• The assignment problem is a special type of linear programming
problem where assignees are being assigned to perform tasks
• For example, the assignees might be employees who need to be
given work assignments. Assigning people to jobs is a common
application of the assignment problem.
• However, the assignees need not be people. They also could be
machines, or vehicles, or plants, or even time slots to be assigned
tasks.
 Introduction
To fit the definition of an assignment problem, these kinds of
applications need to be formulated in a way that satisfies the
following assumptions:
1. The number of assignees and the number of tasks are the same.
(This number is denoted by n)
2. Each assignee is to be assigned to exactly one task.
3. Each task is to be performed by exactly one assignee.
4. There is a cost cij associated with assignee i (i = 1, 2,..., n)
performing task j ( j 1, 2, . . . , n).
5. The objective is to determine how all n assignments should be
made to minimize the total cost.
 Introduction
• Any problem satisfying all these assumptions can be solved
extremely efficiently by algorithms designed specifically for
assignment problems.
• The first three assumptions are fairly restrictive. Many potential
applications do not quite satisfy these assumptions.
• However, it often is possible to reformulate the problem to make it
fit.
• For example, dummy assignees or dummy tasks frequently can be
used for this purpose
 Job Shop Co. Example
• The JOB SHOP COMPANY has purchased three new machines of
different types. There are four available locations in the shop where
a machine could be installed. Some of these locations are more
desirable than others for particular machines because of their
proximity to work centers that will have a heavy work flow to and
from these machines. (There will be no work flow between the new
machines.)
• Therefore, the objective is to assign the new machines to the
available locations to minimize the total cost of materials handling.
 Job Shop Co. Example
• The estimated cost in dollars per hour of materials handling involving
each of the machines is given in the following Table for the respective
locations. Location 2 is not considered suitable for machine 2, so no cost
is given for this case.
 Job Shop Co. Example
• To formulate this problem as an assignment problem, we must
introduce a dummy machine for the extra location. Also, an
extremely large cost M should be attached to the assignment of
machine 2 to location 2 to prevent this assignment in the optimal
solution. The resulting assignment problem cost table is shown in the
following Table.
 Job Shop Co. Example
• This cost table contains all the necessary data for solving the
problem. The optimal solution is to assign machine 1 to location 4,
machine 2 to location 3, and machine 3 to location 1, for a total
cost of $29 per hour. The dummy machine is assigned to location 2,
so this location is available for some future real machine.
 The Assignment Problem Model
and Solution Procedures
• The mathematical model for the assignment problem uses the
following decision variables:

• for i = 1, 2, . . . , n and j = 1, 2, . . . , n. Thus, each x is a binary variable

(it has value 0 or 1).
• Binary variables are important in OR for representing yes/no
decisions. In this case, the yes/no decision is: Should assignee i
perform task j?
 The Assignment Problem Model
and Solution Procedures
• By letting Z denote the total cost, the assignment problem model is:
 The Assignment Problem Model
and Solution Procedures
• Now compare this model (without the binary restriction) with the
transportation problem model presented in the previous section.
• Note how similar their structures are. In fact, the assignment
problem is just a special type of transportation problem where the
sources now are assignees, and the destinations now are tasks and
where:
 The Assignment Problem Model
and Solution Procedures
• For any particular assignment problem, practitioners normally do not bother
writing out the full mathematical model. It is simpler to formulate the problem by
filling out a cost table, including identifying the assignees and tasks, since this
table contains all the essential data in a far more compact form.
 The Hungarian Method
The mechanism of the Hungarian Method:
• Step 1. For the original cost matrix, identify each row's minimum,
and subtract it from all the entries of the row.
• Step 2. For the matrix resulting from step 1, identify each column's
minimum, and subtract it from all the entries of the column.
• Step 3. Identify the optimal solution as the feasible assignment associated
with the zero elements of the matrix obtained in step 2.
 The Hungarian Method
Case example:
• Joe Klyne's three children, John, Karen, and Terri, want to earn
some money to take care of personal expenses during a school trip
to the local zoo.
• Mr. Klyne has chosen three chores for his children: mowing the
lawn, painting the garage door, and washing the family cars. To
avoid anticipated sibling competition, he asks them to submit
(secret) bids for what they feel is fair pay for each of the three
chores. The understanding is that all three children will abide by
their father’s decision as to who gets which chore.
 The Hungarian Method
Case example:
• Table below summarizes the bids received.
• Based on this information, how should Mr. Klyne assign the chores?
 The Hungarian Method
• Step 1 of the Hungarian Method • Step 3 of the Hungarian Method

• Step 2 of the Hungarian Method

 Exercise (1)
• Can you use the Hungarian Method to solve the previous
example?
 The Hungarian Method
• The given steps of the Hungarian method work well in the
preceding example because the zero entries in the final matrix
happen to produce a feasible assignment (in the sense that each
child is assigned a distinct chore).
• In some cases, the zeros created by steps 1 and 2 may not yield a
feasible solution directly, and further steps are needed to find the
optimal (feasible) assignment.
• The following example demonstrates this situation.
 The Hungarian Method
Case example:
• Suppose that the situation discussed in Mr. Klyne’s case is extended
to four children and four chores.
• Table below summarizes the cost elements of the problem.
 The Hungarian Method
• The application of steps 1 and 2 to the table yields the reduced
table:

• The locations of the zero entries do not allow assigning unique

chores to all the children.
• For example, if we assign child 1 to chore 1, then column 1 will be
eliminated, and child 3 will not have a zero entry in the remaining
three columns.
 The Hungarian Method
This obstacle can be accounted for by adding the following step to
the procedure:
Step 2a. If no feasible assignment (with all zero entries) can be
secured from steps 1 and 2,
• (i) Draw the minimum number of horizontal and vertical lines in the
last reduced matrix that will cover all the zero entries.
• (ii) Select the smallest uncovered entry, subtract it from every
uncovered entry, then add it to every entry at the intersection of
two lines.
• (iii) If no feasible assignment can be found among the resulting zero
entries, repeat step 2a. Otherwise, go to step 3 to determine the
optimal assignment.
 The Hungarian Method
Case example:
• The application of step 2a to the last matrix produces the following:
 Exercise (2)
The coach of an age group swim team needs to assign swimmers to a
200-yard medley relay team to send to the Junior Olympics. Since most
of his best swimmers are very fast in more than one stroke, it is not clear
which swimmer should be assigned to each of the four strokes. The five
fastest swimmers and the best times (in seconds) they have achieved in
each of the strokes (for 50 yards) are:
 Exercise (2)
• The coach wishes to determine how to assign four swimmers to the
four different strokes to minimize the sum of the corresponding best
times.
• Formulate this problem as an assignment problem!
• Obtain an optimal solution!
 Exercise (3)
• JoShop needs to assign 4 jobs to 4 workers. The cost of performing a
job is a function of the skills of the workers. Table below summarizes the
cost of the assignments. Worker 1 cannot do job 3 and worker 3
cannot do job 4.
• Determine the optimal assignment using the Hungarian method!
 Exercise (3)
• Suppose that an additional (fifth) worker becomes available for
performing the four jobs at the respective costs of $60, $45, $30, and
$80. Is it economical to replace one of the current four workers with
the new one?
Exercise (4): Assigning Products to
Plants
• The BETTER PRODUCTS COMPANY has decided to initiate the production of
four new products, using three plants that currently have excess production
capacity. The products require a comparable production effort per unit, so
the available production capacity of the plants is measured by the number
of units of any product that can be produced per day, as given in the
rightmost column of the following Table:
Exercise (4): Assigning Products to
Plants
• The bottom row gives the required production rate per day to meet
projected sales. Each plant can produce any of these products,
except that Plant 2 cannot produce product 3. However, the variable
costs per unit of each product differ from plant to plant, as shown in
the main body of the previous Table.
• Management now needs to make a decision on how to split up the
production of the products among plants. Two kinds of options are
available:
1. Option 1: Permit product splitting, where the same product is
produced in more than one plant.
2. Option 2: Prohibit product splitting.
 Assignment 4a
• A company is taking bids on four construction jobs. Three people have
placed bids on the jobs. Their bids (in thousands of dollars) are given in
Table below (a * indicates that the person did not bid on the given
job). Person 1 can do only one job, but persons 2 and 3 can each do
as many as two jobs. Determine the minimum cost assignment of
persons to jobs.
 Assignment 4b
The Chicago board of education is taking bids on the city’s four school bus
routes. Four companies have made the bids in Table below:

a) Suppose each bidder can be assigned only one route. Use the assignment
method to minimize Chicago’s cost of running the four bus routes.
b) Suppose that each company can be assigned two routes. Use the
assignment method to minimize Chicago’s cost of running the four bus
routes.
The End