Formulation of a Linear Programming Problem

To formulate any Linear Programming Problem, we need the following:

a) Decision Variables—the quantities that we want to know or we need to solve for.

b) Objective—the “objective” defines the purpose for which we will undertake any
activity (for business , the purpose of production can be Maximization of Profit,
Minimization of cost or time etc)
c) Constraints—they are the conditions that will put a limit to what can be done .
(example: if you go for shopping with Rs 100 in your pocket , that means you
cannot buy anything which costs more then Rs 100. since the money in your
pocket is limiting you to shop beyond a point it is a constraint)

1) A company manufactures two products P and V, steel requirement for P and V are
400gm/unit and 350 gm/unit. Both P and V are machined on a lathe which takes
85 minutes and 50 minutes respectively, and are then processed on a grinder
which requires 55 minutes and 30 minutes respectively. Each unit of P consumes
20 minutes of polishing time.
A total available machine time is 1450 hours, and total steel available is 250 kg.
30% of total machine time is for lathe, 50% is for grinding and rest time for polishing.

Unit profit contribution of profit is Rs. 40 for P and Rs. 30 for V.

Formulate a linear Problem to maximize profit

Solution:

Step 1: Finding the decision variables

The decision variables are those values that we need to find so as to make a decision

In the above mentioned problem, I need to know how many P’s and how V’s should I
produce??

Let the number of P’s be x

Number of V’s be y

Step 2: Determining the Objective of the Problem

We want to make a calculation and find out the number of P’s and V’s to make, so
that we can maximize the profit (objective of the problem)

Profit per unit for P = Rs. 40

Profit for “x” units= Rs. 40x ---------------(1)
Profit per unit for V = Rs. 30
 Profit for “y” units = Rs. 30y ---------------(2)

Total Profit = Profit from “x” units of P + Profit from “y” units of V
= (1) + (2)
= 40x + 30y --------------- (MAXIMISE)

Step 3: Determining the Constraints

Constraints
There are 2 constraints
a) Machine-time constraint (because the available machine time decides how much
we can produce, i.e. we cannot keep producing once the machines are off or time
is over)
b) Raw material constraint (once you have used all the raw material, you will have to
stop the production)

Raw Material Constraint

If 1 unit of P consumes 400gms steel and 1 unit of V consumes 350gms of steel , then
“x” units of P will consume = 400x
“y” units of V will consume = 350y
Total consumption = 400x + 350y
As mentioned the total amount of steel is 250kg (250,000gms), hence the total steel
consumed CANNOT exceed 250kgs!!

400x + 350y <= 250,000 -------------------------(3) Process

Time Constraints Lathe Machine
Total Lathe time available = 30 % of total machine time
= 30 % of 1450 hrs Grinding
1 unit of P requires 85 minutes
“x” units requires 85x minutes ------------------- (4) Polishing
1 unit of V requires 50 minutes
“y” units requires 50y minutes --------------------(5)

Total = (4) + (5)

= 85x + 50y

Since the total lathe time CANNOT exceed 445 hrs (30 % of total machine time)

85x + 50y <= 445*60 minutes ------------------(6)

Similarly in case of Grinding

Time taken by 1 unit of P= 55 minute
Time taken by “x” units of P = 55x ------------------------(7)
Time taken by 1 unit of V = 30 minutes
Time taken by “y” units of V = 30y

Total time taken on grinding machine = 55x + 30y

Since the Time taken on grinding machine CANNOT exceed 725 hrs (50 % of total
machine time)

55x + 30y <= 725 --------------------------(8)

For Polishing,

20x <= 290 (20% of total Machine time) ------------------------ (9)

Now as given,

A company cannot produce more of P then V

P< V  x<y -------------------(10)

Step 4: Non negativity Constraints

i.e. x ,y >= 0 ------------------ (11)

since the problem now has all the things mentioned above:
1) Objective Function
2) Constraints (3), (6), (8), (9) and (10)
3) Non-negativity condition (11)

The problem is ready to be solved.

Problems for practice:

1) A company manufactures 3 types of parts which use precious metals- gold and
platinum , Due to shortage of these precious metals, the government regulates the
amount that may be used per day.
Product Platinum requirement Gold requirement Profit per unit
per unit (in grams) per unit (in grams)
A 2 3 500
B 4 2 600
C 6 4 1200
Daily Allotment of platinum and gold are 160 grams and 120 grams respectively.
How should the company divide the supply of scarce resources so as to maximize
profit??

(HINT: we want to find how many A’s, B’s and C’s should we produce??)