Linear

Programming
Problem Formulation

References
Anderson, Sweeney, Williams: An
Introduction to Management Science, 10th
Ed.; Thomson Asia Pte. Ltd.
Tulsian and Pandey, Quantitative
Techniques Theory and Problems;
Pearson Education
The second reference has numerous examples which could be used for self practice.

The three components of a

decision making problem
Definition of the decision variables of the problem
Identification of the constraints under which the
decision is to be made
Constructing the objective function to be
optimized maximizing contribution to profit or
minimizing costs

General Format of a Model

Maximize or minimize Objective Function
Subject to:
Constraints
And non-negativity of decision variables
Values of the decision variables that satisfy all the constraints
including non-negativity, constitute a feasible solution.
If the feasible solution maximizes the contribution or minimizes
the cost it is an optimum feasible solution.

Linear Programming (LP)

LP applies to optimization models in which the
objective and constraint functions are linear
Linearity implies: proportionality + additivity
Proportionality: the contribution of each decision variable
in the objective function is proportional to its value. So are
the requirements in the constraints
Additivity: the total contribution of the variables in the
objective function is the sum of individual contributions of
each. So are the requirements in the constraints.

Linear and Programming

Mathematically, a linear function is one in
which each variable appears as a separate
term and is raised to the first power
The word programming means choosing a
course of action, i.e. planning activities in
a manner that achieves some optimal result
within the constraints of resources

Problem Formulation
Problem formulation or modeling is the process of
translating the verbal statement of a problem into a
mathematical statement.
Formulating models is an art that can only be
mastered with practice and experience
The accuracy and value of the conclusions arrived at
depends on how well a model represents the real
situation

Formulation of an LPP
Identify the Decision Variables of interest to the decision
maker and express them as x1, x2, x3,
Ascertain the Objective of the decision maker
Ascertain the Cost (in case of minimization) or the Profit
(in case of maximization) per unit of each decision variable
On the basis of the above data, write down the Objective
Function, Z, as a linear function of the decision variables

LPP Formulation (contd.)

Ascertain the Constraints representing the maximum
availability (of resources) or the minimum commitment
(demands, targets etc.) or equality
Write the constraints in terms of decision variables as less
than or equal to (<=) type inequality or greater than or
equal to (>=) type inequality or equal to (=) type
equality; all constraints shall be linear
Note that maximum availability leads to a <= type and
minimum commitment gives a >= type inequality

Formulation (contd.)
Add non-negativity restriction as under:
xj >= 0; j = 1, 2, n
Non-negativity constraints are a general feature
of all LPPs

The Mathematical Formulation

The Mathematical Formulation looks like:
Maximize (or Minimize) Z = c1x1 + c2x2 +
Subject to constraints:
a11x1 + a12x2+ <= b1 (Maximum availability)
a21x1 + a22x2+ >= b2 (Minimum commitment)
a31x1 + a32x2+ = b3 (Equality)

x1, x2, >= 0 (Non-negativity restriction)

A wide range of LP Problems

Product Mix Problems (e.g. 1, 2, 3)

Make or Buy Decision Problems (e.g. 4)
Choice of Alternatives Problems
Sales Budget Problems
Production Budget Problems
Purchase Budget Problems
Portfolio Mix Problems (e.g. 5)
Advertising Problem

Range of LP Problems (contd.)

Capital Mix Problems

Diet Problems
Nutrition Problems
Blending Problems
Trim Problems
Transportation Problems
Assignment Problems
Job Scheduling Problems

Example 1
A garment manufacturer has a production line making two
styles of shirts. Style I needs 200 g of cotton thread, 300 g
of dacron thread and 300 g of linen thread. Corresponding
requirements of style II are 200g, 200g and 100g. The net
contributions are Rs. 19.50 for style I and Rs. 15.90 for
style II. The available inventory of cotton thread, dacron
thread and linen thread are, respectively, 24 kg, 26 kg and
22 kg.
The manufacturer wants to determine the number of each
style to be produced with the given inventory. Formulate
the LPP model.

Step 1: Objective Function

Decision variables: These are the numbers of each style to
be produced:
Number of style I shirts, say x1
Number of style II shirts, say x2

Objective of the decision maker: Maximise total

contribution, given that the contribution per unit is Rs. 19,50
for x1 and Rs. 15.90 for x2
Hence the objective function is:
Max: Z = 19.50 x1 + 15.90 x2

Step 2: Constraints
Availability of cotton thread: Style I needs 200 g and style
II needs 200 g. 24,000 g is available. The corresponding
constraint is
200 x1 + 200 x2 <= 24,000
Availability of dracon thread: Style I needs 300 g and style
II needs 200 g. 26,000 g is available. The corresponding
constraint is
300 x1 + 200 x2 <= 26,000
Availability of linen thread: Style I needs 300 g and style II
needs 100 g. 22,000 g is available. The corresponding
constraint is
300 x1 + 100 x2 <= 22,000

Step 3: Non-negativity
Since the number of shirts cannot be negative, add
the non-negativity restriction x1, x2 >= 0 and
complete the LP formulation.
-------------------------------------------------------------Note: For the time being we ignore another restriction on
x1 and x2 that they be integers. If that restriction is also
added we write:
x1, x2 >=0 and integers. Then this becomes an Integer
LP or ILP, which we will see later.

Solution of Example 1
Let x1 = number of style I shirts
x2 = number of style II shirts
Max: Z = 19.50 x1 + 15.90 x2 (contribution)
s.t

200 x1 + 200 x2 <= 24,000 (cotton)

300 x1 + 200 x2 <= 26,000 (dacron)
300 x1 + 100 x2 <= 22,000 (linen)
x1, x2 >= 0 (non-negativity)

Example 2
An animal feed company must produce 200 kg of a
mixture consisting of ingredients A and B daily. A
costs Rs. 3 per kg and B costs Rs. 8 per kg. Not
more than 80 kg of A can be used and at least 60
kg of B must be used.
The company wants to know how much of each
ingredient should be used to minimize cost.
Formulate the LPP.

Step 1: Objective Function

Decision variables: Qty of each ingredient used:
Quantity of ingredient A, say A kg
Quantity of ingredient B, say B kg
Objective of the decision maker: Minimise cost,
given that cost per unit is Rs. 3 for A; Rs. 8 for B.
Hence the objective function is:
Min: Z = 3A + 8B

Step 2: Constraints
Committed output is 200 kg of the mixture. The
corresponding constraint is
A + B = 200
Not more than 80 kg of A can be used. The
corresponding constraint is
A <= 80
At least 60 kg of B must be used. The
corresponding constraint is
B >= 60

Step 3: Non-negativity
Since the decision variables cannot be
negative, add the non-negativity restriction
A, B >= 0 and complete the LP formulation.
-----------------------------------------------------Note that we do not have any integer restrictions
on the decision variables in this case.

Solution to Example 2
Min: Z = 3A + 8B
s.t
A + B = 200
A
<= 80
B >= 60
A, B >= 0

Example 3
A farmer has a 125 acre farm. He produces radish, mutter
and potato. Whatever he raises is fully sold. He gets Rs. 5
per kg for radish, Rs. 4 per kg for mutter and Rs. 5 per kg
for potato. The average yield per acre is 1500 kg for
radish, 1800 kg for mutter and 1200 kg for potato.Cost of
manure per acre is Rs. 187.50, Rs. 225 and Rs. 187.50 for
radish, mutter and potato respectively. Labour required per
acre is 6 mandays each for radish and potato and 5 man
days for mutter. A total of 500 mandays of labour is
available at the rate of Rs. 40 per manday.
Formulate this as an LPP model to maximise the profit.

Step 1: Objective Function

Decision variables: acreage for each produce:
Acres for radish, say r
Acres for mutter, say m
Acres for potato, say p

Objective of the decision maker: Maximise profit,

given that, profit per acre is:
(5*1500 -187.5 6*40) for radish
(4*1800 225 - 5*40) for mutter
(5*1200 187.5 6*40) for potato

E.g.: Profit per acre for Radish

Earning per acre
Each acre yields 1500 kg. Each kg sells for Rs. 5.
Hence earning per acre = Rs. 1500*5
Cost per acre
Manure = Rs. 187.50
Labour = 6 mandays @ Rs, 40 per manday.
Hence cost per acre is Rs. (187.50 + 6*40)
Profit = Earning cost = Rs. (1500*5 187.5 6*40)

Step 2: Constraints
Availability of land = 125 acres. The
corresponding constraint is
r + m + p <= 125
Availability of labour = 500 mandays. The
corresponding constraint is
6r + 5m + 6p <= 500

Step 3: Non-negativity
Since the decision variables cannot be
negative, add the non-negativity restriction
r, m, p >= 0 and complete the LP
formulation.

Solution to Example 3
Let r, m, p be the no of acres used for radish, mutter and
potato respectively.
Max (5*1500 -187.5 6*40) r +
(4*1800 225 - 5*40) m +
(5*1200 187.5 6*40)p
s.t

r +
m+
6r +
5m +
r, m, p >= 0

p <= 125 (Land constraint)

6 p <= 500 (Mandays constraint)
(non-negativity)

Example 4
Jindal manufactures a type of
sofa set containing seven
components: one sofa, two
centre tables and four chairs.
These can either be
manufactured in-house or
sub-contracted as per the data
given in the table:

Per component

Sofa

Direct Material

Rs.
1,000

Direct Labour
hours
Sub-contract
price

Table

Chair

Rs.
500

Rs.
550

Rs.
100 Rs. 50 Rs. 10
Rs.
2,500

Rs.
1,000

Rs.
750

Sales of sofa sets are 8,000 per period, each selling for Rs.7,500. A capacity
constraint of 500,000 direct labour hours obliges the company to subcontract some components.
The variable overheads vary with direct labour hours at Rs. 2 per hour. Fixed
costs are Rs. 1,750,000 per period and labour costs Rs. 5.50 per hour.
Formulate LPP to minimise costs.

 Decision variables:
The nos of sofas, tables, chairs made / bought:
sm, sb, tm, tb, cm, cb.
The table on the next slide calculates the cost per unit of
each decision variable (objective function coefficients)
Hence the objective function is:
Min 1750 sm +2500 sb + 875 tm + 1000 tb + 625 cm + 750 cb
Constraints:

Demand for sofas: sm + sb = 8000

Demand for tables: tm + tb = 16,000
Demand for chairs: cm + cb = 32,000
Direct labour hours: 100 sm + 50 tm + 10 cm <= 500,000

Non-negativity: sm, sb, tm, tb, cm, cb >= 0

Solution to example 4
Sofa

Table

Chair

DM cost

1000

500

550

DL cost

550

275

55

Var O/H

200

100

20

Cost of "make"

1750

875

625

Cost of Buy

2500

1000

750

Minimise 1750 sm + 2500 sb + 875 tm + 1000 tb + 625 cm + 750 cb

Subject to:
sm + sb = 8000 (demand for sofas)
tm + tb = 16,000 (demand for table)
cm + cb = 32,000 (demand for chairs)
100 sm + 50 tm + 10 cm <= 500,000 (direct labour available)
sm, sb, tm, tb, cm, cb >= 0 (non-negativity)

Example 5
A mutual fund has Rs. 2 million
available for investment in
Government bonds, blue chip
stocks, speculative stocks and
short-term bank deposits. The
annual expected return and the
risk factor are as shown:

Investment

Return Risk factor

%
(0- 100)

Bonds

14

12

Blue Chip

19

24

Speculative

23

48

Short-term

12

The fund is required to keep at least Rs. 200,000 in short-term deposits

and not to exceed an average risk factor of 42. Speculative stocks must
not exceed 20% of the money invested. Formulate the LPP maximizing
expected annual return.

 Decision variables:
Amounts invested in Government bonds, blue chip stocks,
speculative stocks and short-term bank deposits :
x1, x2, x3 and x4.
Objective: Maximise returns given that the return per Re. for
the investments are 0.14, 0.19, 0.23, 0.12
Hence the objective function is:
Max 0.14 x1 + 0.19 x2 + 0.23 x3 + 0.12 x4
Constraints: (See next slide for calculations)

Amount available: x1 + x2 + x3 + x4.<= 2,000,000

At least 200,000 in STD:
x 4 >= 200,000
Average risk factor: 30x1+18x2-6x3+36x40
Limit on speculative stock: 0.2 x 1 + 0.2 x2 0.8 x3 + 0.2 x4 0

Non-negativity: x1, x2, x3, x4 >= 0

Solution to Example 5
Let x1, x2, x3, x4 be the amounts invested.
Average risk factor =
(12 x1+24 x2 + 48 x3 + 6 x4)/(x1+ x2+ x3+ x4) 42.
This gives 30x1+18x2-6x3+36x40.
Also x3 0.2 (x1+ x2+ x3+ x4) ---- Maximum limit on speculative stock
This gives: 0.2 x1 + 0.2 x2 0.8 x3 + 0.2 x4 0
Hence the LPP formulation is as follows:
Max: 0.14 x1+ 0.19 x2+ 0.23 x3+ 0.12 x4
s.t: 30x1+18x2-6x3+36x40 (Avg Risk factor)
0.2 x1 + 0.2 x2 0.8 x3 + 0.2 x4 0 (limit on speculative stock)
x1 + x2+ x3 + x4 2,000,000
x4 200,000
x1, x2, x3, x4 0 (Non-negativity)

Example 6
The vitamins V and W are found in two different
foods, F1 and F2. The respective prices per unit of
each food are Rs. 3 and Rs. 2.5. One unit of F1
contains 2 units of vitamin V and 3 units of vitamin
W. One unit of F2 contains 4 units of vitamin V and
2 units of vitamin W. The daily requirements of V
and W are at least 60 units and 75 units
respectively.
Formulate an LPP to meet the daily requirement of
the vitamins at minimum cost

 Decision variables:
Quantity of foods F1 and F2 required be x1 and x2.
Objective: Minimise cost given that the costs per
unit of F1 and F2 are Rs. 3 and Rs. 2.5 respectively
Hence the objective function is:
Minimise 3 x1 + 2.5 x2
Constraints:
Requirement of V: 2x1 + 4 x2 60
Requirement of W: 3x1 + 2 x2 75

Non-negativity: x1, x2, x3, x4 >= 0

Solution to Example 6
Let x1 and x2 be the quantities of F1 and F2.
Minimise: 3x1 + 2.5 x2
s.t: 2x1 + 4 x2 60 (Min requirement of V)
3x1 + 2x2 75 (Min requirement of W)
x1 , x2 0