UNIT 4: MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING (LINEAR

PROGRAMMING)

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Requirements for Linear Programming Problems
3.2 Assumptions in Linear Programming
3.3 Application of Linear Programming
3.4 Areas of Application of Linear Programming
3.5 Formulation of Linear Programming Problems
3.6 Advantages Linear Programming Methods
3.7 Limitation of Linear programming Models
3.8 Graphical Methods of Linear Programming Solution
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor Marked Assignment
7.0 References

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Linear programming deals with the optimization (maximization or

minimization) of a function of variables known as objective function, subject
to a set of linear equations and/or inequalities known as constraints. The
objective function may be profit, cost, production capacity or any other
measure of effectiveness, which is to be obtained in the best possible or
optimal manner. The constraints may be imposed by different resources such
as market demand, production process and equipment, storage capacity, raw
material availability, etc. By linearity is meant a mathematical expression in
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which the expressions among the variables are linear e.g., the expression a1x1 +
a2x2 + a3x3 + ... + aⁿxⁿ is linear. Higher powers of the variables or their products
do not appear in the expressions for the objective function as well as the
constraints (they do not have expressions like x13, x2 3/2, x1 x2 , a1 x1 + a2 log x2 ,
etc.). The variables obey the properties of proportionality (e.g., if a product
requires 3 hours of machining time, 5 units of it will require 15 hours) and
additivity (e.g., amount of a resource required for a certain number of products
is equal to the sum of the resource required for each).

It was in 1947 that George Dantzig and his associates found out a technique for
solving military planning problems while they were working on a project for
U.S. Air Force. This technique consisted of representing the various activities
of an organization as a linear programming (L.P.) model and arriving at the
optimal programme by minimizing a linear objective function. Afterwards,
Dantzig suggested this approach for solving business and industrial problems.
He also developed the most powerful mathematical tool known as ―simplex
method‖ to solve linear programming problems.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this study unit, you should be able to

 Explain the requirements for Linear Programming

 Highlight the assumptions of Linear Programming
 Identify the Areas of application of Linear Programming
 Formulate a Linear Programming problem
 Solve various problems using Linear Programming

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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 REQUIREMENTS FOR A LINEAR PROGRAMMING

PROBLEM

All organizations, big or small, have at their disposal, men, machines, money
and materials, the supply of which may be limited. If the supply of these
resources were unlimited, the need for management tools like linear
programming would not arise at all. Supply of resources being limited, the
management must find the best allocation of its resources in order to maximize
the profit or minimize the loss or utilize the production capacity to the
maximum extent. However this involves a number of problems which can be
overcome by quantitative methods, particularly the linear programming.

Generally speaking, linear programming can be used for optimization

problems if the following conditions are satisfied:

1. There must be a well-defined objective function (profit, cost or quantities

produced) which is to be either maximized or minimized and which can be
expressed as a linear function of decision variables.

2. There must be constraints on the amount or extent of attainment of the

objective and these constraints must be capable of being expressed as linear
equations or inequalities in terms of variables.

3. There must be alternative courses of action. For example, a given product

may be processed by two different machines and problem may be as to how
much of the product to allocate to which machine.

4. Another necessary requirement is that decision variables should be

interrelated and nonnegative. The non-negativity condition shows that linear
programming deals with real life situations for which negative quantities are
generally illogical.

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5. As stated earlier, the resources must be in limited supply. For example, if a
firm starts producing greater number of a particular product, it must make
smaller number of other products as the total production capacity is limited.

3.2 ASSUMPTIONS IN LINEAR PROGRAMMING MODELS

A linear programming model is based on the following assumptions:

1. Proportionality: A basic assumption of linear programming is that

proportionality exists in the objective function and the constraints. This
assumption implies that if a product yields a profit of #10, the profit earned
from the sale of 12 such products will be # (10 x 12) = #120. This may not
always be true because of quantity discounts. Further, even if the sale price is
constant, the manufacturing cost may vary with the number of units produced
and so may vary the profit per unit. Likewise, it is assumed that if one product
requires processing time of 5 hours, then ten such products will require
processing time of 5 x 10 = 50 hours. This may also not be true as the
processing time per unit often decreases with increase in number of units
produced. The real world situations may not be strictly linear. However,
assumed linearity represents their close approximations and provides very
useful answers.

2. Additivity: It means that if we use t1 hours on machine A to make product 1

and t2 hours to make product 2, the total time required to make products 1 and
2 on machine A is t1 + t2 hours. This, however, is true only if the change-over
time from product 1 to product 2 is negligible. Some processes may not behave
in this way. For example, when several liquids of different chemical
compositions are mixed, the resulting volume may not be equal to the sum of
the volumes of the individual liquids.

3. Continuity: Another assumption underlying the linear programming model

is that the decision variables are continuous i.e., they are permitted to take any

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non-negative values that satisfy the constraints. However, there are problems
wherein variables are restricted to have integral values only. Though such
problems, strictly speaking, are not linear programming problems, they are
frequently solved by linear programming techniques and the values are then
rounded off to nearest integers to satisfy the constraints. This approximation,
however, is valid only if the variables have large optimal values. Further, it
must be ascertained whether the solution represented by the rounded values is
a feasible solution and also whether the solution is the best integer solution.

4. Certainty: Another assumption underlying a linear programming model is

that the various parameters, namely, the objective function coefficients, R.H.S.
coefficients of the constraints and resource values in the constraints are
certainly and precisely known and that their values do not change with time.
Thus the profit or cost per unit of the product, labour and materials required
per unit, availability of labour and materials, market demand of the product
produced, etc. are assumed to be known with- certainty. The linear
programming problem is, therefore, assumed to be deterministic in nature.

5. Finite Choices: A linear programming model also assumes that a finite

(limited) number of choices (alternatives) are available to the decision-maker
and that the decision variables are interrelated and non-negative. The non-
negativity condition shows that linear programming deals with real-life
situations as it is not possible to produce/use negative quantities.

Mathematically these non-negativity conditions do not differ from other

constraints. However, since while solving the problems they are handled
differently from the other constraints, they are termed as non-negativity
restrictions and the term constraints is used to represent constraints other than
non-negativity restrictions and this terminology has been followed throughout
the book.

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3.3 APPLICATIONS OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING METHOD

Though, in the world we live, most of the events are non-linear, yet there are
many instances of linear events that occur in day-to-day life. Therefore, an
understanding of linear programming and its application in solving problems is
utmost essential for today‘s managers.

Linear programming techniques are widely used to solve a number of business,

industrial, military, economic, marketing, distribution and advertising
problems. Three primary reasons for its wide use are:

1. A large number of problems from different fields can be represented or at

least approximated to linear programming problems.

2. Powerful and efficient techniques for solving L.P. problems are available.

3. L.P. models can handle data variation (sensitivity analysis) easily.

However, solution procedures are generally iterative and even medium size
problems require manipulation of large amount of data. But with the
development of digital computers, this disadvantage has been completely
overcome as these computers can handle even large L.P. problems in
comparatively very little time at a low cost.

3.4 AREAS OF APPLICATION OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING

Linear programming is one of the most widely applied techniques of

operations research in business, industry and numerous other fields. A few
areas of its application are given below.

1. INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

(a) Product mix problems: An industrial concern has available a certain

production capacity (men, machines, money, materials, market, etc.) on
various manufacturing processes to manufacture various products. Typically,
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differents products will have different selling prices, will require different
amounts of production capacity at the several processes and will, therefore,
have different unit profits; there may also be stipulations (conditions) on
maximum and/or minimum product levels. The problem is to determine the
product mix that will maximize the total profit.

(b) Blending problems: These problems are likely to arise when a product can
be made from a variety of available raw materials of various compositions and
prices. The manufacturing process involves blending (mixing) some of these
materials in varying quantities to make a product of the desired specifications.

For instance, different grades of gasoline are required for aviation purposes.
Prices and specifications such as octane ratings, tetra ethyl lead concentrations,
maximum vapour pressure etc. of input ingredients are given and the problem
is to decide the proportions of these ingredients to make the desired grades of
gasoline so that (i) maximum output is obtained and (ii) storage capacity
restrictions are satisfied. Many similar situations such as preparation of
different kinds of whisky, chemicals, fertilizers and alloys, etc. have been
handled by this technique of linear programming.

(c) Production scheduling problems: They involve the determination of

optimum production schedule to meet fluctuating demand. The objective is to
meet demand, keep inventory and employment at reasonable minimum levels,
while minimizing the total cost Production and inventory.

(d) Trim loss problems: They are applicable to paper, sheet metal and glass
manufacturing industries where items of standard sizes have to be cut to
smaller sizes as per customer requirements with the objective of minimizing
the waste produced.

(e) Assembly-line balancing: It relates to a category of problems wherein the

final product has a number of different components assembled together. These
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components are to be assembled in a specific sequence or set of sequences.
Each assembly operator is to be assigned the task / combination of tasks so that
his task time is less than or equal to the cycle time.

(f) Make-or-buy (sub-contracting) problems: They arise in an organization

in the face of production capacity limitations and sudden spurt in demand of its
products. The manufacturer, not being sure of the demand pattern, is usually
reluctant to add additional capacity and has to make a decision regarding the
products to be manufactured with his own resources and the products to be
sub-contracted so that the total cost is minimized.

2. MANAGEMENT APPLICATIONS

(a) Media selection problems: They involve the selection of advertising mix
among different advertising media such as T.V., radio, magazines and
newspapers that will maximize public exposure to company‘s product. The
constraints may be on the total advertising budget, maximum expenditure in
each media, maximum number of insertions in each media and the like.

(b) Portfolio selection problems: They are frequently encountered by banks,

financial companies, insurance companies, investment services, etc. A given
amount is to be allocated among several investment alternatives such as bonds,
saving certificates, common stock, mutual fund, real estate, etc. to maximize
the expected return or minimize the expected risk.

(c) Profit planning problems: They involve planning profits on fiscal year
basis to maximize profit margin from investment in plant facilities, machinery,
inventory and cash on hand.

(d) Transportation problems: They involve transportation of products from,

say, n sources situated at different locations to, say, m different destinations.
Supply position at the sources, demand at destinations, freight charges and
storage costs, etc. are known and the problem is to design the optimum
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transportation plan that minimizes the total transportation cost (or distance or
time).

(e) Assignment problems: They are concerned with allocation of facilities

(men or machines) to jobs. Time required by each facility to perform each job
is given and the problem is to find the optimum allocation (one job to one
facility) so that the total time to perform the jobs is minimized.

(f) Man-power scheduling problems: They are faced by big hospitals,

restaurants and companies operating in a number of shifts. The problem is to
allocate optimum man-power in each shift so that the overtime cost is
minimized.

3. MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS

(a) Diet problems: They form another important category to which linear
programming has been applied. Nutrient contents such as vitamins, proteins,
fats, carbohydrates, starch, etc. in each of a number of food stuffs is known.
Also the minimum daily requirement of each nutrient in the diet as well as the
cost of each type of food stuff is given and the problem is to determine the
minimum cost diet that satisfies the minimum daily requirement of nutrients.

(b) Agriculture problems: These problems are concerned with the allocation
of input resources such as acreage of land, water, labour, fertilisers and capital
to various crops so as to maximize net revenue.

(c) Flight scheduling problems: They are devoted to the determination of the
most economical patterns and timings of flights that result in the most efficient
use of aircrafts and crew.

(d) Environment protection: They involve analysis of different alternatives

for efficient waste disposal, paper recycling and energy policies.

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(e) Facilities location: These problems are concerned with the determination
of best location of public parks, libraries and recreation areas, hospital
ambulance depots, telephone exchanges, nuclear power plants, etc.

Oil refineries have used linear programming with considerable success. Similar
trends are developing in chemical industries, iron and steel industries,
aluminium industry, food processing industry, wood products manufacture and
many others. Other areas where linear programming has been applied include
quality control inspection, determination of optimal bombing patterns,
searching of submarines, design of war weapons, vendor quotation analysis,
structural design, scheduling military tanker fleet, fabrication scheduling, steel
production scheduling, balancing of assembly lines and computations of
maximum flows in networks.

In fact linear programming may be used for any general situation where a
linear objective function has to be optimised subject to constraints expressed as
linear equations/inequalities.

3.5 FORMULATION OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING PROBLEMS

First, the given problem must be presented in linear programming form. This
requires defining the variables of the problem, establishing inter-relationships
between them and formulating the objective function and constraints. A model,
which approximates as closely as possible to the given problem, is then to be
developed. If some constraints happen to be nonlinear, they are approximated
to appropriate linear functions to fit the linear programming format. In case it
is not possible, other techniques may be used to formulate and then solve the
model.

EXAMPLE 9.1 (Production Allocation Problem)

A firm produces three products. These products are processed on three

different machines. The time required to manufacture one unit of each of the
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three products and the daily capacity of the three machines are given in the
table below.

TABLE 9.1

Machine Time per unit (minutes) Machine capacity

Product Product Product (minutes/day)

1 2 3

M1 2 3 2 440

M2 4 - 3 470

M3 2 5 - 430

It is required to determine the daily number of units to be manufactured for

each product. The profit per unit for product 1, 2 and 3 is #4, #3 and #6
respectively. It is assumed that all the amounts produced are consumed in the
market. Formulate the mathematical (L.P) model that will maximize the daily
profit.

Formulation of Linear Programming Model

Step 1:

From the study of the situation find the key-decision to be made. It this
connection, looking for variables helps considerably. In the given situation key
decision is to decide the extent of products 1, 2 and 3, as the extents are
permitted to vary.

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Step 2:

Assume symbols for variable quantities noticed in step 1. Let the extents.
(mounts) of products, 1, 2 and 3 manufactured daily be x1, x2 and x3 units
respectively.

Step 3:

Express the feasible alternatives mathematically in terms of variables. Feasible

alternatives are those which are physically, economically and financially
possible. In the given situation feasible alternatives are sets of values of x1, x2
and x3, where x1, x2, x= ≥ 0, since negative production has no meaning and is
not feasible.

Step 4:

Mention the objective quantitatively and express it as a linear function of

variables. In the present situation, objective is to maximize the profit.

i.e., maximize Z = 4x1 + 3x2 + 6x3.

Step 5:

Put into words the influencing factors or constraints. These occur generally
because of constraints on availability (resources) or requirements (demands).
Express these constraints also as linear equations/inequalities in terms of
variables.

Here, constraints are on the machine capacities and can be mathematically

expressed as

2x1 + 3x2 + 2x3 ≤ 440,

4x1 + 0x2 +3x3 ≤ 470,

2x1 + 5x2 + 0x3 ≤ 430.

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EXAMPLE 9.2 (Diet Problem)

A person wants to decide the constituents of a diet which will fulfil his daily
requirements of proteins, fats and carbohydrates at the minimum cost. The
choice is to be made from four different types of foods. The yields per unit of
these foods are given in table 2.2.

TABLE 9.2

Food type Yield per unit Cost per unit (#)

1 3 2 6 45

2 4 2 4 40

3 8 7 7 85

4 6 5 4 65

Minimum 800 200 700

requirement

Formulate linear programming model for the problem.

Formulation of L.P Model

Let x1, x2, x3 and x4 denote the number of units of food of type 1, 2, 3 and 4
respectively.

Objective is to minimize the cost i.e.,

Minimize Z = #(45x1 + 40x2 + 85x3 + 65x4).

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Constraints are on the fulfilment of the daily requirements of the various
constituents.

i.e., for protein, 3x1 + 4x2 + 8x3 + 6x4 ≥ 800,

for fats, 2x1 + 2x2 + 7x3 + 5x4 ≥ 200,

and for carbohydrates, 6x1 + 4x2 + 7x3 + 4x4 ≥ 700,

EXAMPLE 9.3 (Blending Problem)

A firm produces an alloy having the following specifications:

(i) specific gravity ≤ 0.98,

(ii) chromium ≥ 8%,

(iii) melting point ≥ 450°C.

Raw materials A, B and C having the properties shown in the table can be used
to make the alloy.

Table 9.3

Property Properties of raw material

A B C
Specific gravity 0.92 0.97 1.04
Chromium 7% 13% 16%
Melting point 440OC 490OC 480OC

Costs of the various raw materials per ton are: #90 for A, #280 for B and #40
for C. Formulate the L.P model to find the proportions in which A, B and C be

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used to obtain an alloy of desired properties while the cost of raw materials is
minimum.

Formulation of Linear Programming Model

Let the percentage contents of raw materials A, B and C to be used for making
the alloy be x1, x2 and x3 respectively.

Objective is to minimize the cost

i.e., minimize Z = 90x1 + 280x2 + 40x3.

Constraints are imposed by the specifications required for the alloy.

They are;

0.92x1 + 0.97x2 + 1.04x3 ≤ 0.98,

7x1 + 13x2+ 16x3 ≥ 8,

440x1 + 490x2 + 480x3 ≥ 450,

and x1 + x2 + x3 = 100,

as x1, x2 and x3 are the percentage contents of materials A, B and C in making

the alloy.

Also x1, x2, x3, each ≥ 0.

EXAMPLE 9.4 (Advertising Media Selection Problem)

An advertising company wishes to plan its advertising strategy in three

different media television, radio and magazines. The purpose of advertising is
to reach as large a number of potential customers as possible. Following data
have been obtained from market survey:

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 TABLE 9.4

Television Radio Magazine Magazine II

I

Cost of an advertising # 30,000 # 20,000 # 15,000 # 10,000

unit

No. of potential 200,000 600,000 150,000 100,000

customers reached per
unit

No. of female 150,000 400,000 70,000 50,000

customers reached per
unit

The company wants to spend not more than #450,000 on advertising.

Following are the further requirements that must be met:

at least I million exposures take place among female customers, advertising on

magazines be limited to #150,000,

at least 3 advertising units be bought on magazine I and 2 units on magazine II,

the number of advertising units on television and radio should each be between
5 and 10.

Formulation of Linear Programming Model

Let x1, x2, x3 and x4 denote the number of advertising units to be bought on
television, radio, magazine I and magazine II respectively.

The objective is to maximize the total number of potential customers reached.

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i.e., maximize Z = 10 (2x1 + 6x2 + 1.5x3 + x4).

Constraints are;

on the advertising budget: 30,000x1+20,000x2+15,000x3+10,000x4 ≤ 450,000

or 30x1+20x2+15x3+10x4 ≤ 450,

on number of female customers reached by

the advertising campaign: 150,000x1+400,000x2+70,000x3+50,000x4= ≥

100,000

or 15x1+40x2+7x3+5x4 ≥ 100

on expenses on magazine

advertising: 15,000x3+10,000x4 ≤ 150,000 or 15x3+10x4 ≤ 150

on no. of units on magazines: x3 ≥ 3,

x4 ≥ 2,

on no. of units on television: : 5 ≤ x1 ≤ 10 or x1 ≥ 5, x1 ≤ 10

on no. of units on radio: 5 ≤ x2 ≤ 10 or x2 ≥ 5, x2 ≤ 10

where x1, x2, x3, x4, each ≥ 0.

EXAMPLE 9.5 (Inspection Problem)

A company has two grades of inspectors, I and II to undertake quality control
inspection. At least 1,500 pieces must be inspected in an 8-hour day. Grade I
inspector can check 20 pieces in an hour with an accuracy of 96%. Grade II
inspector checks 14 pieces an hour with an accuracy of 92%.

Wages of grade I inspector are #5 per hour while those of grade II inspector
are #4 per hour. Any error made by an inspector costs #3 to the company. If

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there are, in all, 10 grade I inspectors and 15 grade II inspectors in the
company find the optimal assignment of inspectors that minimizes the daily
inspection cost.

Formulation of L.P Model

Let x1 and x2 denote the number of grade I and grade II inspectors that may be
assigned the job of quality control inspection.

The objective is to minimize the daily cost of inspection. Now the company
has to incur two types of costs: wages paid to the inspectors and the cost of
their inspection errors. The cost of grade I inspector/hour is

# (5 + 3 x 0.04 x 20) = #7.40.

Similarly, cost of grade II inspector/hour is

# (4 + 3 x 0.08 x 14) = #7.36.

: The objective function is

minimize Z = 8(7.40x1 + 7.36x2) = 59.20x1 + 58.88x2.

Constraints are on the number of grade I inspectors : x1 ≤ 10,

on the number of grade II inspectors : x2 ≤ 15,

on the number of pieces to be inspected daily:

20 X 8x1 + 14 X 8x2 ≥ 1,500

or 160x1 + 112x2 ≥ 1,500,

where x1,x2 ≥ 0.

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EXAMPLE 9.6 (Product Mix Problem)

A chemical company produces two products, X and Y. Each unit of product X

requires 3 hours on operation I and 4 hours on operation IL while each unit of
product Y requires 4 hours on operation I and 5 hours on operation II. Total
available time for operations I and 11 is 20 hours and 26 hours respectively.
The production of each unit of product Y also results in two units of a by-
product Z at no extra cost.

Product X sells at profit of #I0/unit, while Y sells at profit of #20/unit. By-

product Z brings a unit profit of #6 if sold; in case it cannot be sold, the
destruction cost is # 4/unit. Forecasts indicate that not more than 5 units of Z
can be sold. Formulate the L.P. model to determine the quantities of X and Y
to be produced, keeping Z in mind, so that the profit earned is maximum.

Formulation of L.P Model

Let the number of units of products X, Y and Z produced be x1, x2, xZ, where

xZ = number of units of Z produced

= number of units of Z sold + number of units of Z destroyed

= x3 + x4 (say).

Objective is to maximize the profit. Objective function (profit function) for

products X and Y is linear because their profits (#10/unit and #20/unit) are
constants irrespective of the number of units produced. A graph between the
total profit and quantity produced will be a straight line. However, a similar
graph for product Z is non-linear since it has slope +6 for first part, while a
slope of -4 for the second. However, it is piece-wise linear, since it is linear in
the regions (0 to 5) and (5 to 2Y). Thus splitting x into two parts, viz, the
number of units of Z sold (x3) and number of units of Z destroyed (x4) makes
the objective function for product Z also linear.
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Thus the objective function is

maximize Z= l0x1 + 20x2 + 6x3 - 4x4.

Constraints are

on the time available on operation I: 3x1 + 4x2 ≤ 20,

on the time available on operation II: 4x1 + 5x2 ≤ 26,

on the number of units of product Z sold: x3 ≤ 5,

on the number of units of product Z produced: 2Y = Z

or 2x2 = x3 + x4 or -2x2 + x3+x4 = 0,

where x1, x2, x3, x4, each ≥ 0.

EXAMPLE 9.7 (Product Mix Problem)

A firm manufactures three products A, B and C. Time to manufacture product

A is twice that for B and thrice that for C and if the entire labour is engaged in
making product A, 1,600 units of this product can be produced. These products
are to be produced in the ratio 3: 4: 5. There is demand for at least 300, 250
and 200 units of products A, B and C and the profit earned per unit is #90, #40
and #30 respectively.

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Formulate the problem as a linear programming problem.

TABLE 9.5

Raw material Requirement per unit of product Total availability

(kg) kg

A B C

P 6 5 2 5,000

Q 4 7 3 6,000

Formulation of L.P. Model

Let x1, x2 and x3 denote the number of units of products A, B and C to be

manufactured.

Objective is to maximize the profit. i.e.,

maximize Z = 90x1 + 40x2 + 30x3.

Constraints can be formulated as follows:

For raw material P, 6x1 + 5x2 + 2x3 ≤ 5,000,

and for raw material Q, 4x + 7x2 + 3x3 ≤ 6,000.

Product B requires 1/2 and product C requires 1/3rd the time required for
product A.

Let t hours be the time to produce A. Then t/2 and t/3 are the times in hours to
produce B and C and since 1,600 units of A will need time 1,600t hours, we
get the constraint,

t x1+t/2 x2+t/3x3 ≤ 1,600t or x1 + x2/2 + x3/3 ≤ 1,600.

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Market demand requires.

x1 ≥ 300,

x2 ≥ 250,

and x3 ≥ 200.

Finally, since products A, B and C are to be produced in the ratio 3: 4: 5, x1:

x2: x3:: 3: 4: 5

or x1/3 = x2/4,

and x2/4 = x3/5.

Thus there are two additional constraints

4x1 - 3x2=0,

5x2- 4x3 = 0,

where x1, x2, x3 ≥ 0.

EXAMPLE 9.8 (Trim Loss Problem)

A paper mill produces rolls of paper used in making cash registers. Each roll of
paper is 100m in length and can be used in widths of 3, 4, 6 and 1 (km. The
company production process results in rolls that are 24 cm in width. Thus the
company must cut its 24cm roll to the desired widths. It has six basic cutting
alternatives as follows:

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Cutting alternatives Width of rolls (cm) Waste (cm)

3 4 6 10

1 4 3 - - -

2 - 3 2 - -

3 1 1 1 1 1

4 - - 2 1 2

5 - 4 1 - 2

6 3 2 1 - 1

The minimum demand for the four rolls is as follows:

Roll width (cm) Demand

2 2,000

4 3,600

6 1,600

10 500

The paper mill wishes to minimize the waste resulting from trimming to size.
Formulate the L.P model.

Formulation of L.P. Model

Key decision is to determine how the paper rolls be cut to the required widths
so that trim losses (wastage) are minimum.

Let x, (j = 1, 2, ..., 6) represent the number of times each cutting alternative is

to be used.
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These alternatives result/do not result in certain trim loss.

Objective is to minimize the trim losses.

i.e., minimize Z =x3+2x4+2x5+x6.

Constraints are on the market demand for each type of roll width:

For roll width of 3cm, 4x1 + x3 + 3x6 ≥ 2,000,

for roll width of 4 cm, 3x1 + 3x2 + x3 + 4x5 + 2x6 ≥ 3,600,

for roll width of 6cm, 2x2 + x3 + 2x4 + x5 + x6 ≥ 1,600,

and for roll width of 10cm, x3 + x4 ≥ 500.

Since the variables represent the number of times each alternative is to be used,
they cannot have negative values.

:. x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, x6, each ≥ 0.

EXAMPLE 9.9 (Production Planning Problem)

A factory manufactures a product each unit of which consists of 5 units of part

A and 4 units of part B. The two parts A and B require different raw materials
of which 120 units and 240 units respectively are available. These parts can be
manufactured by three different methods. Raw material requirements per
production run and the number of units for each part produced are given
below.

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 TABLE 9.6

Method Input per run (units) Output per run (units)

Raw material 1 Raw material 2 Part A Part B

1 7 5 6 4

2 4 7 5 8

3 2 9 7 3

Formulate the L.P model to determine the number of production runs for each
method so as to maximize the total number of complete units of the final
product.

Formulation of Linear Programming Model

Let x1, x2, x3 represent the number of production runs for method 1, 2 and 3
respectively.

The objective is to maximize the total number of units of the final product.
Now, the total number of units of part A produced by different methods is 6x1
+ 5x2 + 7x3 and for part B is 4x1 + 8x2 + 3x1. Since each unit of the final
product requires 5 units of part A and 4 units of part B, it is evident that the
maximum number of units of the final product cannot exceed the smaller value
of 6x1 +5x2 +7x3 and 4x1 +8x2 +3x3

5 4

Thus the objective is to maximize

Z= Minimum of 6x1 +5x2 +7x3, 4x1 +8x2 +3x3

5 4

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Constraints are on the availability of raw materials. They are, for
raw material 1, 7x1 + 4x2 + 2x3 ≤ 120,
and raw material 2, 5x1 + 7x2 + 9x3 ≤ 240.
The above formulation violates the linear programming properties since the
objective function is non-linear. (Linear relationship between two or more
variables is the one in which the variables are directly and precisely
proportional). However, the above model can be easily reduced to the
generally acceptable linear programming format.

Let y = 6x1 +5x2 +7x3, 4x1 +8x2 +3x3

5 4

It follows that 6x1 + 5x2 + 7x3 ≥ y and 4x1 + 8x2 + 3x3≥ y

5 4

i.e., 6x1 + 5x2 + 7x3 - 5y ≥ 0, and 4x1 + 8x2 + 3x3 - 4y ≥ 0.

Thus the mathematical model for the problem is
Maximize Z = y,
subject to constraints 7x1 + 4x2 + 2x3 ≤ 120,
5x1 + 7x2 + 9x3 ≤ 240,
6x1 + 5x2 + 7x3 - 5y ≥ 0,
4x1 + 8x2 + 3x3 - 4y ≥ 0,
wherex1, x2, x3, y ≥ 0.
EXAMPLE 9.10 (Fluid Blending Problem)

An oil company produces two grades of gasoline P and Q which it sells at #30
and #40 per litre. The company can buy four different crude oils with the
following constituents and Costs:

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 TABLE 2.7

Crude oil Constituents Price/litre (#)

A B C

1 0.75 0.15 0.10 20.00

2 0.20 0.30 0.50 22.50

3 0.70 0.10 0.20 25.00

4 0.40 0.10 0.50 27.50

Gasoline P must have at least 55 per cent of constituent A and not more than
40 per cent of C. Gasoline Q must not have more than 25 per cent of C.
Determine how the crudes should be used to maximize the profit.

Formulation of Mathematical Model

Key decision to be made is how much of each crude oil be used in making
each of the two grades of gasoline. Let these quantities in litres be represented
by xIJ, where i = crude oil 1, 2, 3, 4 and j = gasoline of grades P and Q
respectively. Thus

x1p = amount in litres of crude oil 1 used in gasoline of grade P

x2p = amount in litres of crude oil 2 used in gasoline of grade P

… …………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………

x1q = amount in litres of crude oil 1 used in gasoline of grade Q

X2q = amount in litres of crude oil 2 used in gasoline of grade Q

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… …………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………

Objective is to maximize the net profit.

i.e., maximize Z = # [30(xip + x2p + x3p, + x4p) + 40(xiq + x2q + x3q + x4q)

-20(x1p +Xia) - 22.50 (x2p +x2q) - 25 (x3p x3q) - 27.50(x4p - x4q)

or maximize Z = #[10x1p + 7.50x2p + 5x3p, + 2.50x4p + 201q + l7.50x2q + l5x3q)

Constraints are on the quantities of constituents A and C to be allowed in the

two grades of gasoline.

i.e., 0.75x1p + 0.20x2p + 0.70x3p + 0.40x4p ≥ 0.55 (x1p, + x2p + x3p + x4p),

0.10x1p + 0.50x2p + 0.20x3p + 0.50x4p ≤ 0.40 (x1 + x2p + x3p+x4p),

and 0.10x1q + 0.50x2q + 0.20x3q + 0.50x4q≤ 0.25 (x1q + x2q + x3q + x4q),

where x1p, x2p, x3p,x4p, x1q, x2q, x3q, x4q, each ≥ 0.

EXAMPLE 9.11 (Production Planning Problem)

A company manufacturing air coolers has, at present, firm orders for the next 6
months. The company can schedule its production over the next 6 months to
meet orders on either regular or overtime basis. The order size and production
costs over the next six months are as follows:

Month: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Orders: 640 660 700 750 550 650

Cost/unit (#) for

regular production: 40 42 41 45 39 40

Cost/unit (#) for

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overtime production: 52 50 53 50 45 43

With 100 air coolers in stock at present, the company wishes to have at least
150 air coolers in stock at the end of 6 months. The regular and overtime
production in each month is not to exceed 600 and 400 units respectively. The
inventory carrying cost for air coolers is #12 per unit per month. Formulate the
L.R model to minimize the total cost.

Formulation of L.P. Model

Key decision is to determine the number of units of air coolers to he produced

on regular as well as overtime basis together with the number of units of
ending inventory in each of the six months.

Let xij be the number of units produced in month j (j = 1, 2, ..., 6), on a regular
or overtime basis (i = 1, 2). Further let yj represent the number of units of
ending inventory in month j (j= 1, 2, ..., 6).

Objective is to minimize the total cost (of production and inventory carrying).

i.e., minimize Z = (40x11 + 42x12 + 41x13 + 45x14 + 39x15 + 40x16)

+ (52x21 + 50x22 + 53x23 + 50x24 + 45x25 + 43x26)

+12(y1 + y2 + y3 + y4 + y5 + y6)

Constraints are

for the first month, 100 + x11 + x21 - 640 = y1,

for the second month, y1 + x12 + x22 - 660 = y2,

for the third month, y2 + x13 + x23 – 700 = y3

for the fourth month, y3 + x14 + x24 – 750 = y4

for the fifth month, y4 + x15 + x25 – 550 = y5

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and for the sixth month, y5 + x16 + x26 – 650 = y6

Also, the ending inventory constraint is

Y6 ≥ 150

Further, since regular and overtime production each month is not to exceed
600 and 400 units respectively,

x11, x12, x13, x14, x15, x16, each ≤ 600,

and x21, x22, x23, x24, x25, x26, each ≤ 400.

Also xij ≥ 0 (i=1, 2; j=1, 2,..., 6), yj ≥ 0.

EXAMPLE 9.12 (Transportation Problem)

A dairy firm has two milk plants with daily milk production of 6 million litres
and 9 million litres respectively. Each day the firm must fulfil the needs of its
three distribution centres which have milk requirement of 7, 5 and 3 million
litres respectively. Cost of shipping one million litres of milk from each plant
to each distribution centre is given, in hundreds of naira below. Formulate the
L.P model to minimize the transportation cost.

Distribution Centres

1 2 3 Supply

2 3 11 6

1 9 6 9

Plants 7 5 3

Demand

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Formulation of L.P Model

Key decision is to determine the quantity of milk to be transported from either

plant to each distribution centre.

Let x1, x2 be the quantity of milk (in million litres) transported from plant I to
distribution centre no. 1 and 2 respectively. The resulting table representing
transportation of milk is shown below.

Distribution Centres

1 2 3

x1 x2 6-x1-x2

7-x1 5-x2 9-(7-x1)

(5-x2)

7 5 3

Objective is to minimize the transportation cost.

i.e., minimize Z = 2x1 + 3x2 + 11(6 – x1 – x2) + (7 - x1) + 9(5 - x2)

+ 6[9 - (7 - x1) - (5 - x2)] = 100 - 4x1 - llx2.

Constraints are

6 – x1 - x2 ≥ 0 or x1 + x2 ≤ 6,

7 - x1 ≥ 0 or x1 ≤ 7,

5 - x2 ≥ 0 or x2 ≤ 5,

and 9 - (7 - x1) - (5 - x2)≥0 or x1+x2 ≥ 3,

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where x1,x2 ≥ 0.

EXAMPLE 9.13 (Product Mix Problem)

A plant manufactures washing machines and dryers. The major manufacturing

departments are the stamping department, motor and transmission deptt. and
assembly deptt. The first two departments produce parts for both the products
while the assembly lines are different for the two products. The monthly
deptt.capacities are;

Stamping deptt. : 1,000 washers or 1,000 dryers

Motor and transmission deptt. : 1,600 washers or 7,000 dryers

Washer assembly line : 9,000 washers only

Dryer assembly line : 5,000 dryers only.

Profits per piece of washers and dryers are #270 and #300 respectively.
Formulate the

L.P model.

Formulation of Linear Programming Model

Let x1 and x2 represent the number of washing machines and dryers to be

manufactured each month.

The objective is to maximize the total profit each month.

i.e. maximize Z = 270x1 + 300x2.

Constraints are on the monthly capacities of the various departments.

For the stamping deptt.,x1 + x2 ≤ 1,

1,000 1,000
For the motor and transmission deptt.,

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 x1 + x2 ≤ 1

1,600 7,000

for the washer assembly deptt., x1 ≤ 9,000

and for the dryer assembly deptt., x2 ≤ 5,000

where x1 ≥ 0, x2 ≥ 0.

EXAMPLE 9.14 (Product Mix Problem)

A certain farming organization operates three farms of comparable

productivity. The output of each farm is limited both by the usable acreage and
by the amount of water available for irrigation. Following are the data for the
upcoming season:

Farm Usable acreage Water available in acre feet

1 400 1,500

2 600 2,000

3 300 900

The organization is considering three crops for planting which differ primarily
in their expected profit per acre and in their consumption of water.
Furthermore, the total acreage that can be devoted to each of the crops is
limited by the amount of appropriate harvesting equipment available.

Crop Minimum acreage Water consumption in Expected profit

acre feet per acre per acre

A 400 5 # 400

B 300 4 # 300

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C 300 3 # 100

However, any combination of the crops may be grown at any of the farms. The
organization wishes to know how much of each crop should be planted at the
respective farms in order to maximize expected profit. Formulate this as a
linear programming problem.

Formulation of Linear Programming Model

The key decision is to determine the number of acres of each farm to be

allotted to each crop.

Let x, (i = farm 1, 2, 3; j = crop A, B, C) represent the number of acres of the

ith farm to be allotted to the jth crop.

The objective is to maximize the total profit.

i.e., maximize Z = # 400 ∑x1A + 300∑x1B + 100∑x1C.

Constraints are formulated as follows:

For availability of water in acre feet,

5x1A + 4x1B + 3x1c ≤ 1,500,

5x2A + 4x2B + 3x2C ≤ 2,000,

5x3A + 4x3B + 3x3C ≤ 900.

For availability of usable acreage in each farm,

x1A + x1B + x1C ≤ 400,

x2A + x2B + x3C ≤ 600,

x3A + x3B + x3C ≤ 300.

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For availability of acreage for each crop,

x1A + x2A + x3A ≥ 400,

x1B + x2B + x3B ≥ 300,

x1C + x2C + x3C ≥ 300.

To ensure that the percentage of usable acreage is same in each farm,

x1A + x1B + x1C X 100 = x2A + x2B + x2C X 100 = x3A + x3B + x3C X 100
400 600 300

or 3(x1A + x1B + x1C) = 2(x2A + x2B + x2C), and

(x2A + x2B + x2C) = 2(x3A + x3B + x3C).

where x1A, x1B, xIC, x2A, x2B, x2C, x3A, x3B, x3C, each ≥ 0.

The above relations, therefore, constitute the L.P. model.

3.6 ADVANTAGES OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING METHODS

Following are the main advantages of linear programming methods:

1. It helps in attaining the optimum use of productive factors. Linear

programming indicates how a manager can utilize his productive factors most
effectively by a better selection and distribution of these elements. For
example, more efficient use of manpower and machines can be obtained by the
use of linear programming.

2. It improves the quality of decisions. The individual who makes use of linear
programming methods becomes more objective than subjective. The individual
having a clear picture of the relationships within the basic equations,
inequalities or constraints can have a better idea about the problem and its
solution.

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3. It also helps in providing better tools for adjustments to meet changing
conditions. It can go a long way in improving the knowledge and skill of future
executives.

4. Most business problems involve constraints like raw materials availability,

market demand, etc. which must be taken into consideration. Just because we
can produce so many units of products does not mean that they can be sold.
Linear programming can handle such situations also since it allows
modification of its mathematical solutions.

5. It highlights the bottlenecks in the production processes. When bottlenecks

occur, some machines cannot meet demand while others. remain idle, at least
part of the time. Highlighting of bottlenecks is one of the most significant
advantages of linear programming.

3.7 LIMITATIONS OF’LINEAR PROGRAMMING MODEL

This model, though having a wide field, has the following limitations:

1. For large problems having many limitations and constraints, the

computational difficulties are enormous, even when assistance of large digital
computers is available. The approximations required to reduce such problems
to meaningful sizes may yield the final results far different from the exact
ones.

2. Another limitation of linear programming is that it may yield fractional

valued answers for the decision variables, whereas it may happen that only
integer values of the variables are logical.

For instance, in finding how many lathes and milling machines to be produced,
only integer values of the decision variables, say x1 and x2 are meaningful.
Except when the variables have large values, rounding the solution values to

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the nearest integers will not yield an optimal solution. Such situations justify
the use of special techniques like integer programming.

3. It is applicable to only static situations since it does not take into account the
effect of time. The O.R. team must define the objective function and
constraints which can change due to internal as well as external factors.

4. It assumes that the values of the coefficients of decision variables in the

objective function as well as in all the constraints are known with certainty.
Since in most of the business situations, the decision variable coefficients are
known only probabilistically, it cannot be applied to such situations.

5. In some situations it is not possible to express both the objective function

and constraints in linear form. For example, in production planning we often
have non-linear constraints on production capacities like setup and takedown
times which are often independent of the quantities produced. The
misapplication of linear programming under non-linear conditions usually
results in an incorrect solution.

6. Linear programming deals with problems that have a single objective. Real
life problems may involve multiple and even conflicting objectives. One has to
apply goal programming under such situations.

When comparison is made between the advantages and

disadvantages/limitations of linear programming, its advantages clearly
outweigh its limitations. It must be clearly understood that linear programming
techniques, like other mathematical tools only help the manager to take better
decisions; they are in no way a substitute for the manager.

3.8 GRAPHICAL METHOD OF SOLUTION

Once a problem is formulated as mathematical model, the next step is to solve

the problem to get the optimal solution. A linear programming problem with

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only two variables presents a simple case, for which the solution can be
derived using a graphical or geometrical method. Though, in actual practice
such small problems are rarely encountered, the graphical method provides a
pictorial representation of the solution process and a great deal of insight into
the basic concepts used in solving large L.P. problems. This method consists of
the following steps:

1. Represent the given problem in mathematical form i.e., formulate the

mathematical model for the given problem.

2. Draw the x1 and x2-axes. The non-negativity restrictions x1 ≥ 0 and x2 ≥ 0

imply that the values of the variables x1 and x2 can lie only in the first
quadrant. This eliminates a number of infeasible alternatives that lie in 2nd,
3rd and 4th quadrants.

3. Plot each of the constraint on the graph. The constraints, whether equations
or inequalities are plotted as equations. For each constraint, assign any
arbitrary value to one variable and get the value of the other variable.
Similarly, assign another arbitrary value to the other variable and find the
value of the first variable. Plot these two points and connect them by a straight
line. Thus each constraint is plotted as line in the first quadrant.

4. 1dentify the feasible region (or solution space) that satisfies all the
constraints simultaneously. For type constraint, the area on or above the
constraint line i.e., away from the origin and for type constraint, the area on or
below the constraint line i.e., towards origin will be considered. The area
common to all the constraints is called feasible region and is shown shaded.
Any point on or within the shaded region represents a feasible solution to the
given problem. Though a number of infeasible points are eliminated, the
feasible region still contains a large number of feasible points

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5. Use iso-profit (cost) function line approach. For this plot the objective
function by assuming Z = 0. This will be a line passing through the origin. As
the value of Z is increased from zero, the line starts moving to the right,
parallel to itself. Draw lines parallel to this line till the line is farthest distant
from the origin (for a maximization problem). For a minimization problem, the
line is nearest to the origin. The point of the feasible region through which this
line passes will be optimal point; It is possible that this line may coincide with
one of the edges of the feasible region. In that case, every point on that edge
will give the same maximum/minimum value of the objective function and will
be the optimal point.

Alternatively use extreme point enumeration approach. For this, find the co-
ordinates each extreme point (or corner point or vertex) of the feasible region.
Find the value of the objective function at each extreme point. The point at
which objective function is maximum/minimum optimal point and its co-
ordinates give the optimal solution.

4.0 CONCLUSION
Linear programming involves with the optimization (maximization or
minimization) of a function of variables known as objective function, subject
to a set of linear equations and/or inequalities known as constraints. The
objective function may be profit, cost, production capacity or any other
measure of effectiveness, which is to be obtained in the best possible or
optimal manner. The constraints may be imposed by different resources such
as market demand, production process and equipment, storage capacity, raw
material availability and so on.
5.0 SUMMARY
All organizations, big or small, have at their disposal, men, machines, money
and materials, the supply of which may be limited. If the supply of these

169
resources were unlimited, the need for management tools like linear
programming would not arise at all. Supply of resources being limited, the
management must find the best allocation of its resources in order to maximize
the profit or minimize the loss or utilize the production capacity to the
maximum extent. However this involves a number of problems which can be
overcome by quantitative methods, particularly the linear programming.
Generally speaking, linear programming can be used for optimization
problems if the following conditions are satisfied- there must be a well-defined
objective function; there must be constraints on the amount or extent of
attainment of the objective and these constraints must be capable of being
expressed as linear equations or inequalities in terms of variables; there must
be alternative courses of action; decision variables should be interrelated and
nonnegative; and the resources must be in limited supply. Linear Programming
has the following assumptions- Proportionality, Additivity, Continuity,
Certainty, and Finite Choices. LP solution methods can be applied in solving
industrial problems, management related problems, and a host of other
problem areas.

6.0 TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Briefly discuss what linear programming involves.
2. Identify and discuss five assumptions of linear programming.
3. List and explain three areas where linear programming can be applied.
4. Highlight four limitations of linear programming.
5. Give five advantages of the linear programming method.
6. A manufacturer has two milk plants with daily milk production of 9
million litres and 11 million litres respectively. Each day the firm must
fulfil the needs of its three distribution centres which have milk
requirement of 9, 6 and 4 million litres respectively. Cost of shipping
one million litres of milk from each plant to each distribution centre is

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 given, in hundreds of naira below. Formulate the L.P model to minimize
the transportation cost.

Distribution Centres

1 2 3 Supply

3 4 12 9

2 10 7 11

Plants 9 6 4

Demand

7.0 REFERENCES
Dixon – Ogbechi, B.N. (2001). Decision Theory in Business, Lagos: Philglad
Nig. Ltd.
Denardo, E.V. (2002). The Schience of Decision making: A Problem-Based
Approach Using Excel. New York: John Wiley.
Gupta, P.K., & Hira, D.S. (2012). Operations Research, New – Delhi: S.
Chand & Company.
Lucey, T. (1988). Quantitative Techniques: An Instructional Manual, London:
DP Publications.

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