Assignment problem

• It a special case of the transportation

problem in which the objective is to assign
a number of origins to the equal number of
destinations at a minimum cost or
maximum profit. The assignment is to be
made of one-to-one basis.
• assignment problem which occurs when
each supply is 1 and each demand is 1. In
this case, the integrality implies that every
supplier will be assigned one destination
and every destination will have one
supplier. The costs give the charge for
assigning a supplier and destination to
each other.
• Consider m laborers to whom n tasks are assigned. No laborer can
either sit idle or do more than one task. Every pair of person and
assigned work has a rating. This rating may be cost, satisfaction,
penalty involved or time taken to finish the job. There will be N2
such combinations of persons and jobs assigned. Thus, the
optimization problem is to find such man- job combinations that
optimize the sum of ratings among all. Thus m=n.
• The formulation of this problem as a special case of transportation
problem can be represented by treating laborers as sources and the
tasks as destinations. The supply available at each source is 1 and
the demand required at each destination is 1.The cost of assigning
(transporting) laborer i to task j is cij.
• It is necessary to first balance this problem by adding a dummy
laborer or task depending on whether m<n or m>n, respectively. The
cost coefficient cij for this dummy will be zero.
• The problem is to find Xij , where
Xij = 1,if the ith labour is assigned to jth
task
= 0 ,if the ith labour is not assigned
to jth task
• Minimize
Σ  Xijcij
Subject to
Σ Xij = 1 i=1,2,……………,n
Σ Xij = 1 j=1,2,…………….,n
Xij =0 or 1
 Assignment Problems
• Hungarian method
Step 1
In a given matrix subtract the smallest element in each
row from every element of that row and do the same in
the column.
Step2 In the reduced matrix obtain from step 1,
subtract the smallest element in each column from
every element of that column
• Step 3 Make the assignment for the reduced
matrix obtained from step 1 and step 2
(all the zeros in rows/columns are either marked
(□) or (x) and there is exactly one assignment in
each row and each column. In such a case
optimum assignment policy for the given
problem is obtained.
If there is row or column with out an assignment
go to the next step.
• Step 4 Draw the minimum number of vertical and
horizontal lines necessary to cover all the zeros in the
reduced matrix obtained from step 3 by adopting the
following procedure.
• (i) mark(√) all rows that do not have assignments
• (ii) Mark (√) all columns (not already marked) which have
zeros in the marked rows
• (iii) Mark (√) all rows (not already marked) that have
assignments in marked columns
• (iv) Draw straight lines through all unmarked rows and
marked columns
• Step 5 If the number of lines drawn are equal to
the number of rows or columns, then it is an optimum
solution ,otherwise go to step 6
• Step 6 Select the smallest element among all the
uncovered elements. Subtract this smallest element from
all the uncovered elements an add it to the element
which lies at the intersection of two line. Thus we obtain
another reduced matrix for fresh assignments.
• Step 7 go the step 3 and repeat the procedure until the
number of assignment become equal to the number of
rows or columns. In such a case, we shall observe that
row/column has an assignment. Thus, the current
solution is an optimum solution.
 Example
• Consider the problem of assigning five machines to five
locations at which these machines are to be installed.
Material handling costs in Rs per hr is given

Machin 1 2 3 4 5
es/locati
ons
M1 8 4 2 6 1
M2 0 9 5 5 4
M3 3 8 9 2 6
M4 4 3 1 0 3
M5 9 5 8 9 5
• Assign the machines to locations such that
the total material handling cost is
minimum.
• Also find the total minimum material
handling cost.
 EXAMPLE
• A manufacturer of dies for the automotive component industry
utilises a job shop structure. During a planning horizon, the
manufacturer needs to first five jobs to the five machines that are in
one section of the factory. The table below has details on the
processing time of the jobs in each of these machines if assigned.
Use the assignment method to solve the loading problem.

Machine 1 Machine 2 Machine 3 Machine 4 Machine 5

Job 1 15 17 16 22 18

Job 2 16 19 20 19 16

Job 3 19 20 17 19 20

Job 4 17 23 22 18 14

Job 5 20 19 24 16 17
 Example
• A department has four subordinates and four tasks are to be
performed. The subordinates differ in efficiency and the tasks differ in
their intrinsic difficulties. The estimate of time ( in man-hours) each
man would take to perform each task is given by:

Subordin A B C D
ate/task
1 18 26 17 11
2 13 28 14 26
3 38 19 18 15
4 19 26 24 10
• How should the tasks be allotted to men so as to optimize the total
man-hours?
• A city corporation has decided to carry out road repairs on main four arteries
of the city. The government has agreed to make a special grant of Rs 50
lakh towards the cost with a condition that the repairs are done at the lowest
cost and quickest time. If the conditions warrant, a supplementary token
grant will also be considered favorably. The corporation has floated tenders
and five contractors have sent in their bids. In order to expedite work, one
road will be awarded to only one contractor.
• Find the best way of assigning the repair work to the contractors and the
costs.
• If it is necessary to seek supplementary grants, what should be the amount
sought? Which of the 5 contractors will be unsuccessful in his bid?

Cost of Repairs (Rs. Lakh)

Contractors/ R1 R2 R3 R4
Road
C1 9 14 19 15
C2 7 17 20 19
C3 9 18 21 18
C4 10 12 18 19
C5 10 15 21 16
 EXAMPLE
The following information is available regarding four different jobs to be
performed and about the clerks capable of performing the jobs:
Clerks Jobs (Time taken in hours)
A B C D
I 4 7 5 6
II - 8 7 4
III 3 - 5 3
IV 6 6 4 2

Clerk II cannot be assigned to job A and clerk III cannot be assigned to

job B. Find the optimum assignment schedule. Also find the total time
taken to perform the jobs. Also find whether the given problem has
more than one optimal assignment schedule.
 Unbalanced assignment problem

• There are four machines W, X,Y and Z. Three jobs are to be

assigned to the 3 machines out of total 4 machines. The cost of
assignment (in Rs.) is given below. Find out the optimal assignment.

W X Y Z

A 18 24 28 32

B 8 13 17 18

C 10 15 19 22
 Unbalanced assignment problem
Job/ A B C D E F
machine

1 13 13 16 23 19 9

2 11 19 26 16 17 18

3 12 11 4 9 6 10

4 7 15 9 14 14 13

5 9 13 12 8 14 11
• Here the cost of processing any jobs on
any machine is given. The assignment of
jobs to machines must be on a one-to-one
basis. Assign the jobs to machines so
that the total cost is minimum. Find the
minimum total cost.
 The maximum assignment
• Whenever the assignment problem deal
with maximization of an objective function,
the problem may be to assign persons to
jobs n such a way that the expected profit
is maximized. Such problem may be
solved by first reducing it to a minimization
problem by subtracting every element of
the given cost matrix from the highest
element.
• A company has 5 jobs to be done. The following matrix
shows the return in Rs. Of assigning ith machine to the
jth machines so as to maximize the total expected profit:

Machines
M1 M2 M3 M4 M5
A 9 3 4 2 10
Jobs
B 12 10 8 11 9
C 11 2 9 0 8
D 8 0 10 3 7
E 7 5 6 2 9
 Travelling Salesman Problem
• A machine operator processes five types of items on his machine each week,
and must choose a sequence for them. The setup cost per change depends on
the item presently on the machine and the setup to be made according to the
following table: To item
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5
A1 - 2 5 7 1
From A2 6 - 3 8 2
item A3 8 7 - 4 7
A4 12 4 6 - 5
A5 1 3 2 8 -

• If he processes each type of item once and only once each week, how should
he sequence the items on his machine in order to minimize the total setup
cost?
 EXAMPLE
A salesman has to visit five cities A,B,C,D,E. The distances ( in
hundred miles) between the five cities are as follows:
To
A B C D E
A - 7 6 8 4
From B 7 - 8 5 6
C 6 8 - 9 7
D 8 5 9 - 8
E 4 6 7 8 -

Determine the optimal sequence in which every city must be

visited once.