OM300-100: HW5

DUE 5:00 pm Sunday, July 24th

Use template for HW5 uploaded on BBlearn and submit only this template (do
not attach multiple documents). Write all your comments on the same template.
Problem 1 (50 points) :
Howie Jones owns and operates Blue Ridge Hot Tubs, a company that sells two models of hot
tubs: the Aqua-Spa and the Hydro-Lux. Howie purchases prefabricated fiberglass hot tub shells
and installs common water pumps and the appropriate amount of tubing into each hot tub. Every
Aqua-Spa requires a pump, 12 hours of labor and 16 feet of tubing; every Hydro-Lux requires 2
pumps, 16 hours of labor and 8 feet of tubing. Demand for these products is such that each
Aqua-Spa produced can be sold to generate a profit of $275, and each Hydro-Lux produced can
be sold to generate a profit of $250. The company expects to have 450 pumps, 91 workers, and
3,080 feet of tubing available during the next weeks production cycle. Determine the optimal
number of Aqua-Spas and Hydro-Luxes to produce to maximize profit assuming all employees
work their 40 hours with no overtime.
a. What are the objective function, decision variables, and constraints for this optimization
problem? (10 Points)
b. Develop an Excel spreadsheet and use Excel-Solver to find an optimal solution for this
problem. (30 Points)
c. Describe the optimal solution in words. (10 Points)
Problem 2 (50 points) :
A company has three manufacturing plants (in Atlanta, Tulsa, and Springfield) that produce a
product that is then shipped to one of four distribution centers A, B, C, or D. The three plants
can produce 15, 22, and 15 truckloads of product each week, respectively. Distribution centers
A & B need 12 truckloads of product each week and Distribution centers C & D need 13
truckloads of product each week. The shipping costs per truckload between the plants and
distribution centers are given in the table. The company needs to determine how much to ship
from each plant to each distribution center, and would like to minimize total shipping costs.
Plant
Atlanta
Tulsa
Springfield

A
$ 800
$1100
$ 600

Distribution Center
B
C
$1300
$400
$1400
$600
$1200
$800

D
$ 700
$1000
$ 900

d. What are the objective function, decision variables, and constraints for this optimization
problem? (10 Points)
a. Develop an Excel spreadsheet and use Excel-Solver to find an optimal solution for this
problem. (30 Points)
b. Describe the optimal solution in words. (10 Points)