Assignment Problem: An assignment problem is a particular case of

transportation problem. The objective here is to assign a number of

resources to an equal number of activities so as to minimize total cost of
getting the jobs completed. The problem of assignment arises because
available resources such as men, machines etc. have varying degrees of
efficiency in performing different jobs and as such timings/cost (or maximum
profit) of performing these jobs will be different. Suppose that we have n jobs
to be performed on n machines (one job to one machine). Our objective is
to assign the jobs to the machines at the minimum cost (or maximum
profit) under the assumption that each machine can perform each job but
with varying degree of efficiencies.

Mathematical Formulation: We consider the cost /time matrix of getting

the jth job done on ith machine say c ij

Let xij=1, if jth job is assigned to ith machine

xij=0, if jth job is not assigned to ith machine
n

then ∑ x ij =1 , i=1,2,…,n, ensures that that only one job is assigned

j=1

and ∑ x ij =1 , j=1,2,…n, ensures that that only one machine is assigned and
i=1

the minimum total cost/time of getting these jobs done is

n n

Minimize Z=∑ ∑ c ij x ij
i=1 i

Hungarian Method:
Step 1: In a given problem, if the number of rows is not equal to the
number of columns and vice versa, then add a dummy row or a dummy
column. The assignment costs for dummy cells are always assigned as
zero.
Step 2: Reduce the matrix by selecting the smallest element in each row
and subtract with other elements in that row.
Step 3: Reduce the new matrix column-wise using the same method as
given in step 2.

Step 4: Draw minimum number of lines to cover all zeros.

Step 5: If Number of lines drawn is equal to the order of the matrix, then
optimality is reached, so proceed to step 7. If optimality is not reached, then
go to step 6.
Step 6: Select the smallest element of the whole matrix, which is NOT
COVERED by lines. Subtract this smallest element with all other remaining
elements that are NOT COVERED by lines and add the element at the
intersection of lines. Leave the elements covered by single line as it is. Now
go to step 4.
Step 7: Take any row or column which has a single zero and assign by
squaring it. Strike off the remaining zeros, if any, in that row and column
(X). Repeat the process until all the assignments have been made.

Step 8: Write down the assignment results and find the minimum cost/time.

Note: While assigning, if there is no single zero exists in the row or column,
choose any one zero and assign it. Strike off the remaining zeros in that
column or row, and repeat the same for other assignments also. If there is
no single zero allocation, it means multiple numbers of solutions exist. But
the cost will remain the same for different sets of allocations.

Example: A car hire company has one car at each of five depots a, b, c,
d and e. a customer requires a car in each town namely A, B, C, D and E.
Distance (kms) between depots (origins) and towns (destinations) are
given in the following distance matrix

a b c d e
A 160 130 175 190 200
B 135 120 130 160 175
C 140 110 155 170 185
D 50 50 80 80 110
E 55 35 70 80 105

Solution

Row Reduced Matrix

30 0 45 60 70
15 0 10 40 55
30 0 45 60 75
0 0 30 30 60
20 0 35 45 70
 I Modified Matrix

N < n i.e. 3 < 5, so move to

next modified matrix II Modified

Matrix

N = 5, n = 5
Since N = n, we move on to
zero assignment Zero

assignment

Minimum distance travelled = 200 + 130 + 110 + 50 + 80 = 570 kms

Example : Assign the four tasks to four operators. The assigning costs are
given in the Table given below.

Operators
1 2 3 4

( )
1 20 28 19 13
2 15 30 31 28
Tasks 3 40 21 20 17
4 21 28 26 12

Solution:
Step 1: The given matrix is a square matrix and it is not necessary to add a
dummy row/column

Step 2: Reduce the matrix by selecting the smallest value in each row and
subtracting from other values in that corresponding row. In row A, the
smallest value is 13, row B is 15, row C is 17 and row D is 12. The row
wise reduced matrix is shown in table below.
Row-wise Reduction
Operators
1 2 3 4

( )
1 7 15 6 0
2 0 15 16 13
Tasks 3 23 4 3 0
4 9 16 14 0

Step 3: Reduce the new matrix given in the following table by selecting the
smallest value in each column and subtract from other values in that
corresponding column. In column 1, the smallest value is 0, column 2 is 4,
column 3 is 3 and column 4 is 0. The column-wise reduction matrix is
shown in the following table.
Column-wise Reduction Matrix

Operators
1 2 3 4

( )
A 7 11 3 0
B 0 11 13 13
Tasks C 23 0 0 0
D 9 12 11 0

Step 4: Draw minimum number of lines possible to cover all the zeros in
the matrix given in Table
Matrix with all Zeros Covered

Operators
1 2 3 4

( )
A 7 11 3 0
B 0 11 13 13
Tasks C 23 0 0 0
D 9 12 11 0
The first line is drawn crossing row C covering three zeros, second line is
drawn crossing column 4 covering two zeros and third line is drawn
crossing column 1 (or row B) covering a single zero.
Step 5: Check whether number of lines drawn is equal to the order of the
matrix, i.e., 3 ≠ 4. Therefore optimality is not reached. Go to step 6.
Step 6: Take the smallest element of the matrix that is not covered by
single line, which is 3. Subtract 3 from all other values that are not covered
and add 3 at the intersection of lines. Leave the values which are covered
by single line. The following table shows the details.

Subtracted or Added to Uncovered Values and Intersection Lines

Respectively

Operators
1 2 3 4

( )
A 7 8 0 0
B 0 8 10 13
Tasks C 26 0 0 3
D 9 9 8 0

Step 7: Now, draw minimum number of lines to cover all the zeros and
check for optimality. Here in table minimum number of lines drawn is 4
which are equal to the order of matrix. Hence optimality is reached.

Operators
1 2 3 4

( )
A 7 8 0 0
B 0 8 10 13
Tasks C 26 0 0 3
D 9 9 8 0

Optimality Matrix

Step 8: Assign the tasks to the operators. Select a row that has a single
zero and assign by squaring it. Strike off remaining zeros if any in that row
or column. Repeat the assignment for other tasks. The final assignment is
shown in table below.
Final Assignment

Therefore, optimal assignment is:

Example : Solve the following assignment problem shown in Table using

Hungarian method. The matrix entries are processing time of each man in
hours.
Assignment Problem

Solution: The row-wise reductions are shown in Table

Row-wise Reduction Matrix

The column wise reductions are shown in Table.

Column-wise Reduction Matrix
Matrix with minimum number of lines drawn to cover all zeros is shown in
Table.
Matrix will all Zeros Covered

The number of lines drawn is 5, which is equal to the order of matrix.

Hence optimality is reached. The optimal assignments are shown in Table.
Optimal Assignment
Therefore, the optimal solution is: