IE 303.

1
Fall 2014
HW Assignment I (individual) due Friday 30.9.2014, in class
You are required to send your model (GAMS, XPRESS or Excel) code to
the TA (halil.bayrak@bilkent.edu.tr).
1. An operator needs to be assigned to each of the six machines in a workshop. Six
workers have been pre-selected. Everyone has undergone a test of her productivity on every
machine. The Table below lists the productivities in pieces per hour. The machines run
in parallel, that is the total productivity of the workshop is the sum of the productivities
of the people assigned to machines (M1 stands for machine 1, M2 for machine 2 and so
on).
Workers
1
2
3
4
5
6

M1
13
18
20
23
28
19

M2
24
25
20
26
33
36

M3
31
30
27
28
34
25

M4
19
15
25
18
17
27

M5
40
43
34
37
38
45

M6
29
22
33
30
20
24

a. The objective is to determine a pairing person-machine that maximizes the total

productivity. Formulate the problem as one of the network optimization problems discussed in class and solve it with the modeling system of your choice (GAMS, XPRESS or
Excel solver). Attach model output.
b. If the machines work in series, the least productive worker on the machine she
has been assigned to determines the total productivity of the workshop. How would you
modify the model of a. to account for this change. Such problems are called Maximin
or bottleneck problems. Again solve the model, and compare with a.

2. A company produces a commodity in two shifts (regular working and overtime) to meet
known demands for the present and future. Over the next four months the production
capacities and demands (in thousands of units producible) are

Regular working
Overtime
Demand

January
106
53
84

February
157
73
190

March
133
72
305

April
155
82
203

The cost of production of each unit is 1 if done in regular time or 1.5 if done in overtime.
Units produced can be stored before delivery at a cost of 0.30 per month per unit. The
problem is how much to produce each month to satisfy present and future demand. The
unit costs in this problem arise from a combination of production and storage costs, e.g.,

production in January by overtime working for delivery in March gives a unit cost of 1.5
(production) +0.6 (storage for two months) = 2.1, while production in January in regular
working for delivery in January gives a unit cost of 1 only.
1. Complete the unit cost table based on the above example. Remember that it is
impossible to produce for demand of an earlier month.
2. Can you formulate the problem as a network optimization problem? What kind of
network optimization problem is it? Solve the model in GAMS or another system.
Hint: You might have to use inequality constraints in flow conservation equations.