SCOOP

SCOOP
 US Air Force wanted to investigate the feasibility of
applying mathematical techniques to military budgeting
and planning.
 George Dantzig had proposed that interrelations between activities of a large
organization can be viewed as a LP model and that the optimal program
(solution) can be obtained by minimizing a (single) linear objective function.
 Air Force initiated project SCOOP (Scientific Computing of Optimum
Programs)

NOTE:
SCOOP began in June 1947 and at the end of the same summer,
Dantzig and associates had developed:
1) An initial mathematical model of the general linear programming
problem.
2) A general method of solution called the simplex method.
Example
A School is investigating various ways of
composing the faculty for a proposed new
elementary school. They can hire teachers
and aides. The amount of money the school
district will spend on salaries each year
depends on how many teachers and on how
many aides are hired.
 Variables
 Let t = number of teachers hired
 Let a = number of aides hired
 Let d = number of thousands of dollars spent
annually on faculty salaries
How much money is spent?

The board finds that the annual

teacher salary is $15,000, and the
average aide salary is $10,000.
d = 15t + 10a
School Board Requirements

 The building can

accommodate
no more than 50
faculty
members, total.
 t + a ≤ 50
School Board Requirements
 A minimum of 20
faculty members is
needed to staff the
school.
 t + a ≥ 20
School Board Requirements
 The school cannot be
run entirely by aides,
so there must be at
least 12 teachers.

 t ≥ 12
School Board Requirements
 For the proper
teacher-to-aide ratio,
the number of
teachers must be at
least half the
number of aides.
 t ≥ 1/2a
School Board Requirements
 It is impossible to
hire a negative
number of aides or
teachers!
 t≥0
 a≥0
 Question
 What is the
minimum feasible
cost of staff for the
new College?
 How many
teachers and aides
will we hire?
 Answer
 Did you find that
we would spend a
minimum of
$260,000 per year?
 We can hire 12
teachers and 8
aides!
is a mathematical / OR
technique designed to aid
managers in allocating
scarce resources (such as
labor, capital, or energy)
among competing activities.
 reflects, in the form of a
model, the organization's attempt to
achieve some objective (frequently,
maximizing profit contribution,
maximizing rate of return,
minimizing costs) in view of limited
or constrained resources (available
capital or labor, service levels,
available machine time, budgets)
….technique can be said to
have a linear objective function
that is to be optimized (either
maximized or minimized)
subject to linear equality or
inequality constraints and sign
restrictions on the variables.
The term linear describes the
proportionate relationship of
two or more variables. Thus, a
given change in one variable
will always cause a resulting
proportional change in another
variable.
A company manufacturers
agricultural fertilizers. It is
interested in minimizing costs
while meeting certain specified
levels of nitrogen, phosphate,
and potash by blending together
a number of raw materials.
An investor wants to
maximize his or her rate of
return by investing in stocks
and bonds. The investor can
set specific conditions that
have to be met including
availability of capital.
A company wants the best
possible advertising exposure
among a number of national
magazines, and radio and
television commercials within
its available capital
requirements.
An oil refinery blends
several raw gasoline and
additives to meet a car
manufacturer's
specifications while still
maximizing its profits.
A city wants to maximize
the daytime use of
recreational properties
being proposed for
purchase with a limited
capital available.
 LP is solved in a step-by-
step manner called iterations.
Each step of the procedure is an
attempt to improve on the
solution until the "best answer"
is obtained or until it is shown
that no feasible answer exists.
To formulate a real-life problem as a
linear program is an art in itself. It is
helpful to isolate the essential
elements of the problem as a means
of asking what the clients wants and
what information can be gained from
the data that has been provided.
The first step in
formulating a problem
is to set forth the
objective called the
objective function.
A second element of a problem is that
there are certain constraints on the
company's ability to maximize the total
contribution. These constraints are:
quantity of raw materials available,
1. the level of demand for the products,
2. the equipment productive capacity.
3. So it’s the restrictions that limit the
degree to which a manager can
pursue an objective.
A further element is the time period
being used. The duration may be
either long term or short term.
Although time is an important
element, it is one that has flexibility
so that the time horizon may be
changed as long as the restrictions
are compatible with the periods
under consideration.
The last element is that every product
has a likelihood of being made. These
products are the dependent or decision
variables.
Of course, the likelihood of a variable's
being in the answer may change with the
price or contribution values (usually
profit and the nature of the restraints)
The first stage of solving linear
programming problems is to set forth the
problem in a mathematical form by defining
the variables and the resulting constraints.
Generally, the relationship is fairly simple
using only elementary algebraic notation.
The relationships can be seen by first
identifying the decision variables. To aid in
using algebraic notation, the decision
variables can be represented by symbols
such as X, Y, Z.
 Next, we build the objective
function. If the goal is to maximize
profit, we identify our objective
function as
  Maximize total profit, or
Minimize total loss (cost).
 
Then we write problem constraints
The Decent China Company produces two
products daily; bowls and mugs. The
company has limited amounts of two
resources used in the production of these
products clay and labor. Given these
limited resources, the company desires to
know how many bowls to produce each
day, in order to Maximize profit.
The two products have the following resource
requirements for production and profit per item
produced (i.e., the model parameters).
Product Labor Clay Profit
Hrs/unit Lbs/unit Rs / unit
Plate 1 4 4
Mug 2 3 5

40 hours of labor and 120 pounds of

clay available each day for production.
Formulate this problem as a
linear programming model by
defining each component of
the model separately and then
combining the components
into a single model.
The decision confronting management in this
problem is how many plates and mugs to
produce. As such, there are two decision
variables that represent the number of plates and
mugs to be produced on a daily basis. The
quantities to be produced can be represented
symbolically as,
 
X1 = the number of plates to produce
 
X2 = the number of mugs to produce
The objective of the company is to
Maximize total profit. The company's profit
is the sum of the individual profits gained
from each plate and mug. As such, profits
from plates is determine by multiplying the
unit profit for each plate, Rs. 4, by the
number of plates produced, X1. Likewise,
profit derived from mugs is the unit profit
of a mug, Rs. 5, multiplied by the number
of mugs produced, X2.
Thus, total profit, Z, can be expressed as
  Maximize Z = 4X1 + 5X2
 
where
Z = total profit per day
Rs 4X1 = profit from plates
Rs 5X2 = profit from mugs
By placing the term Maximize in front of the
profit function, the relationship expresses
This problem has two resources used for production,
which are limited, labor and clay. Production of plates
and mugs require both labor and clay. For each plate
produce, one hour of labor is required. Therefore, the
labor used for the production of plates is 1X1 hours.
Similarly, each mug requires two hours of labor; the labor
used for the production of mugs is 2X2 hours. Thus, the
labor used by the company is the sum of the individual
amounts of labor used for each product.
 
1X1 + 2X2
However, the amount of labor
represented "1X1 + 2X2" is
limited to 40 hrs per day, thus,
the complete labor constraint
is
1X1 + 2X2 < 40 hours
Each plate requires 4 pounds of clay, the amount
of clay used daily for the production of plates is
4X1 pounds. Each mug requires three pounds of
clay, the amount of clay used for mugs daily is
3X2. Given that amount of clay available for
production each day is 120 pounds, the material
constraint can be formulated as
 
4X1 + 3X2 < 120 pounds
A final restriction is that the number of
plates and mugs produced be either zero
or a positive value, since it would be
impossible to produce negative items.
These restrictions are referred to as
nonnegative constraints and are expressed
mathematically as
 
X1 > 0, X2 > 0
The complete LP model for this
problem will be

Maximize Z = Rs. 4X1 + 5X2

subject to 1X1 + 2X2 < 40
4X1 + 3X2 < 120
X1, X2 > 0
The actual solution to this
model which achieves this
objective is X1 = 24 plates
and X2 = 8 mugs, with a
corresponding profit of Rs
136.
ALICO produces a cereal SUNFLOWER which they
advertise as meeting the minimum daily
requirements for vitamins A and D. The mixing
department of the company uses three main
ingredients in making the cereal-wheat, oats, and
rice, all three of which contain amounts of vitamin A
and D. Given that each box of cereal must contain
minimum amounts of vitamin A and D, the company
has instructed the mixing department determine how
many ounces of each ingredient should go into each
box of cereal in order to minimize total cost.
Each ingredient has the following vitamin
contribution and requirement per box.
Vitamin Wheat Oats Rice Mgs
Mg/oz Mg/oz Mg/oz Reqd/box

A 10 20 08 100
D 07 14 12 70

The cost of one ounce of wheat is Rs

0.4, oats is Rs 0.6, rice is Rs 0.2
This problem contains three
decision variables for the number
of ounces of each ingredient in a
box of cereal:
 
X1 = ounces of wheat
X2 = ounces of oats
X3 = ounces of rice
The objective is to minimize the
cost of each box of cereal. The
total cost is the sum of the
individual costs resulting from
each ingredient. Thus, the
objective function is

Min Z = Rs. 0.4X1 + 0.6X2 + 0.2X3

In this problem the constraints
reflect the requirements for
vitamin consistency of the
cereal. Each ingredient
contributes a number of
milligrams of the vitamin to the
cereal.
The constraint for vitamin A is

10 X1 + 20 X2 + 8 X3 > 100 milligrams

 
10 X1 = vitamin A contribution (in mg.)
for wheat
20 X2 = vitamin A contribution (in mg.)
for oats
8X3 = vitamin A contribution (in mg.)
for rice
The constraint for vitamin D is

7X1 + 14 X2 + 12X3 > 70 milligrams

 
7X1 = vitamin D contribution (in mg.)
for wheat
14 X2 = vitamin D contribution (in mg.)
for oats
12X3 = vitamin D contribution (in mg.)
for rice
As in the previous problem there
are also nonnegative constraints
indicating that negative amounts
of each ingredient cannot be in the
cereal
 
X1, X2, X3 > 0
Minimize Z = Rs 0.4 X1 + 0.6 X2 + 0.2 X3
 
subject to 10X1 + 20 X2 + 8X3 > 100
7X1 + 14 X2 + 12 X3 > 70
 
X1, X2, X3 > 0
Mr. Majid Khan has Rs. 70, 000 to
invest in several alternatives. The
alternative investments are National
Certificates with an 8.5% return,
Defence Savings Certificates with a
10% return, NIT with a 6.5% return,
and Khas deposit with a return of
13%. Each alternative has the same
time of maturity.
In addition, each investment
alternative has a different
perceived risk thus creating a
desire to diversify. Majid Khan
wants to know how much to
invest in each alternative in
order to Maximize the return.
1. No more than 20% of the total
investment should be in Khas
deposit.
 
2. The amount invested in Defense
Savings Certificates should not
exceed the amount invested in
the other three alternatives.
3. At least 30% of the investment
should be in NIT and Defense
Savings Certificates.
 
4. The ratio of the amount invested
in National Certificates to the
amount invested in NIT should
not exceed one to three.
Amount invested (in Rupees)

X1 = in national certificates
X2 = in Defense Savings Cert
X3 = in NIT
X4 = in Khas deposit
 Maximize Z = Rs (.085) X1
+(.100) X2+(.65)X3+(.130)X4

The Return from the investment in

National Cert. =.085 X1
Defense Savings =.100 X2
NIT =.065 X3
Khas Deposit =.130 X
No more than 20% of the
total investment should
be in Khas deposit

X4 < 14, 000

The amount invested in
Defense Savings Certificates
should not exceed the
amount invested in the other
three alternatives.

X2 < X 1 + X 3 + X 4
At least 30% of the
investment should be in
NIT and Defense
Savings Certificates.

X2 + X3 > 21, 000

 The ratio of the amount invested
in National Certificates to the
amount invested in NIT should
not exceed one to three
3X1 < X3
 
X1 + X2 + X3 + X4 = 70, 000
 X4 < 14, 000
 
X2 < X 1 + X3 + X 4
 
X2 + X3 > 21, 000
 
3X1 < X3
 
X + X + X + X = 70, 000
X1, X2, X3, X4 > 0
 Maximize Z = .085X1 + .100X2 + .065X3 + .130X4
 
Subject to X4 < 14, 000
X2 - X1 - X3 - X4 < 0
X2 + X3 > 21, 000
3X1 - X3 < 0
X1 + X2 + X3 + X4 = 70, 000
 
X1, X2, X3, X4, > 0
United Chemical Company produces a
chemical mixture for a customer in 1, 000 -
pound batches. The mixture contains three
ingredients - zinc, mercury, and potassium.
The mixture must conform to formula
specifications (i.e., a recipe) supplied by the
customer. The company wants to know the
amount of each ingredient to put in the
mixture that will meet all the requirements of
the mix and minimize total cost.
The mixture must contain at least

• 200 lbs. of mercury

• 300 lbs. of zinc
• 100 lbs. of potassium
The cost per pound for mercury
is Rs 4; for zinc, Rs 8; and for
potassium, Rs 9.
X1 = the number of lbs. of
mercury in a batch.
X2 = the number of lbs. of
zinc in a batch.
X3 = the number of lbs. of
potassium in a batch.
Minimize Z = Rs 4X1 + 8 X2 + 9 X3
 
where 
4X1 = the cost of mercury
8X2 = the cost of zinc
9X3 = the cost of potassium
in each batch
Specifications indicate that the
mixture must contain at least
• 200 lbs. of mercury,
• 300 lbs. of zinc,
• 100 lbs. of potassium,
The whole mixture relates to a
1000-lb. batch. The sum of all
ingredients must equal 1, 000 lbs
Minimize Z = 4X1 + 8 X2 + 9 X3
 
subject to X1 > 200
X2 > 300
X3 > 100
X1 + X2 + X3 = 1, 000
X,X,X >0
3x + 5y =15
3x + 5y <15
x > 0, y >0
STEP 1: Consider all the constraints. Taking
the equality relationship, plot all the straight
lines in a graph and get feasible solution
space satisfying the inequality. Usually we get
a bounded solution space.
 
STEP 2: Assign an arbitrary value for the
objective function. Plot the straight line to
represent the objective function, with the
arbitrary value for Z.
STEP 3: Move the objective line parallel in the
appropriate direction in the solution space to
maximize and in the opposite direction to
minimize the objective function under
consideration.
 
STEP 4: In this process, the moving objective
line may meet an extreme point (or corner point)
beyond which we cannot proceed as this
violates the constraints. Note the co-ordinates of
this extreme point which will give maximum or
minimum value of the objective function.
Maximize Z = 4x + 7y
 
Subject to
x < 40
y < 30
x + y < 60
 
x, y > 0
 x < 40

x + y < 60

y < 30
EXAMPLES
The simplex method is based on the
following fundamental properties:
 
Property 1:The collection of feasible
solutions constitutes a convex set.
 
Property 2: If a feasible solution exists, a
basic feasible solution exists where the
basic feasible solution corresponds to the
extreme points (corner points) of the set
of feasible solutions.
Property 3: There exists only a
finite number of basic feasible
solutions.
 
Property 4: If the objective
function possesses a finite
maximum or minimum, then at
least one optimal solution is a
basic feasible solution.