Operations Research

Sheet (3)
Problem (1):
Manpower Problem: A city hospital has the following minimal daily requirement
for nurses:

Clock time Minimal number of

Period (24 hours day) nurses required
𝟏 6 A.M. to 10 A.M. 2
𝟐 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. 7
𝟑 2 P.M. to 6 P.M. 15
𝟒 6 P.M. to 10 P.M. 8
𝟓 10 P.M. to 2 A.M. 20
𝟔 2 A.M. to 6 A.M. 6

Nurses report to the hospital at the beginning of each period and work for consecutive 8
hours. The hospital wants to determine the minimal number of nurses to be employed so
that there will be sufficient number of nurses available for each period. Formulate LPP. Do
not solve.
Problem (2):
Product Mix Problem: A chemical company produces two products, X and Y. Each
unit of product X requires 3hrs on operation I and 4hrs on operation II, while each unit of
product Y requires 4hrs on operation I and 5hrs on operation II. Total available time for
operations I and II is 20hrs and 26 hrs respectively. The production of each unit of product
Y also results in two units of a by-product Z at no extra cost.
Product X sells at profit of Rs. 10/unit, while Y sells at profit of Rs. 20/unit. By-
product Z brings a unit profit of Rs. 6 if sold; in case it cannot be sold, the destruction cost
is Rs .4 per unit. Forecasts indicate that not more than 5 units of Z can be sold. Formulate
the L.P model to determine the quantities of X and Y to be produced, keeping Z in mind,
so that the profit earned is maximum.
Problem (3):
Production Planning Problem: A company manufacturing air coolers has at present,
firm orders for the next 6 months. The company can schedule its production over the next
6 months to meet orders on either regular or overtime basis. The order size and production
costs over the next six months are as follows:

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 Month 1 2 3 4 5 6
Orders 640 660 700 750 550 650
Cost/unit (₹)
for regular production 40 42 41 45 39 40
Cost/unit (₹)
for overtime production 52 50 53 50 45 43

With 100 air coolers in stock at present, the company wishes to have at least 150 air coolers
in stock at the end of 6 months. The regular and overtime production in each month is not
to exceed 600 and 400 units respectively. The inventory carrying cost for air coolers ₹12
per unit per month. Formulate the L.P model to minimize the total cost.
Problem (4):
A manufacturing company is engaged in producing three types of products: A, B
and C. The production department produces, each day, components sufficient to make 50
units of A, 25 units of B and 30 units of C. The management is confronted with the problem
of optimizing the daily production of the products in the assembly department, where only
100 man-hours are available daily for assembling the products. The following additional
information is available:
Type of Profit Contribution Assembly Time per
Product per Unit of Product Product (hrs)
(Rs)
A 12 0.8
B 20 1.7
C 45 2.5

The company has a daily order commitment for 20 units of products A and a total of 15
units of products B and C. Formulate this problem as an LP model so as to maximize the
total profit.
Problem (5):
An electronic company is engaged in the production of two components 𝐶1 and 𝐶2
that are used in radio sets. Each unit of 𝐶1 costs the company Rs. 5 in wages and Rs. 5 in
material, while each of 𝐶2 costs the company Rs. 25 in wages and Rs. 15 in material. The
company sells both products on one period credit terms, but the company’s labour and
material expenses must be paid in cash. The selling price of 𝐶1 is Rs. 30 per unit and of 𝐶2
it is Rs. 70 per unit. Because of the company’s strong monopoly in these components, it is
assumed that the company can sell, at the prevailing prices, as many units as it produces.
The company’s production capacity is, however, limited by two considerations. First, at
the beginning of period 1, the company has an initial balance of Rs 4,000 (cash plus bank
credit plus collections from past credit sales). Second, the company has, in each period,
2,000 hours of machine time and 1,400 hours of assembly time. The production of each 𝐶1
requires 3 hours of machine time and 2 hours of assembly time, whereas the production of

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each 𝐶2 requires 2 hours of machine time and 3 hours of assembly time. Formulate this
problem as an LP model so as to maximize the total profit to the company.
Problem (6):
The security and traffic force, on the eve of Republic Day, must satisfy the staffing
requirements as shown in the table. Officers work 8-hour shifts starting at each of the 4-
hour intervals as shown below.
Time Number of Officers
Required
0:01 – 4:00 5
4:01 – 8:00 7
8:01 – 12:00 15
12:01 – 16:00 7
16:01 – 20:00 12
20:01 – 24:00 9

How many officers should report for duty at the beginning of each time period in order to
minimize the total number of officers needed to satisfy the requirements? Formulate this
problem as an LP model so as to determine the minimum number of officers required on
duty at beginning of each time period.
Problem (7):
Furniture company manufactures four models of chairs. Each chair requires certain
amount of raw materials (wood/steel) to make. The company wants to decide on a
production that maximizes profit (assuming all produced chair are sold). The required and
available amounts of materials are as follows.
Chair 1 Chair 2 Chair 3 Chair 4 Total available
Steel 1 1 3 9 4,4000 (lbs)
Wood 4 9 7 2 6,000 (lbs)
Profit $12 $20 $18 $40

Formulate this problem as an LP model so as to maximize the total profit.

Problem (8):
A dietitian wants to design a breakfast menu for certain hospital patients. The menu is to
include two items A and B. Suppose that each ounce of A provides 2 units of vitamin C
and 2 units of iron and each ounce of B provides 1 unit of vitamin C and 2 units of iron.
Suppose the cost of A is 4 cents per ounce and the cost of B is 3 cents per ounce. If the
breakfast menu must provide at least 8 units of vitamin C and 10 units of iron, how many
ounces of each item should be provided in order to meet the iron and vitamin C
requirements for the least cost? What will this breakfast cost?

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