Chapter Two

LINEAR PROGRAMMING

Learning objectives:
After pursuing this chapter, you should be able to:
 Define linear programming
 Discuss structure of linear programming model, application

areas, solution methods

 Explain complication and their solution and
 Discuss special cases of LPP

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 Definition of Linear Programming
 A linear programming is a mathematical technique for an
optimal allocation of scarce resources such as materials,
time, money, etc. subject to a set of constraints.

 It is a model that seeks to either maximize or minimize a

linear objective function subject to a set of linear constraints.

 In linear programming the objectives to be maximized

may be profit or revenue, market share, return on
investment, etc. and the objects to be minimized may be
cost, time, distance, etc.

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Characteristics of Linear programming model

The characteristics are grouped into two:

1. Components 2. Assumptions
 The components relate to the structure of the models and the
assumptions revealed the condition under which the model
is valid.
 OR is a problem solving and a decision making science.

 Whenever we have conflicts, uncertainty and complexity in

any situation, OR can help in the end to reduce costs and
improve profits.
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 Components…
 The Environment: OR team must study the
environment involving men, machines, materials,
suppliers, consumers, the government and the public.
 The decision maker and a set of decision variables:
Decision maker is the person who is actually
responsible to take the final decision. OR team must
study the decision maker and his relationship to the
problem at hand and decision variables represent the
unknown quantities to be solved for.

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Conti…

• The Objectives function: It is a mathematical

statement of the problem. In LPM, a single
quantifiable objective must be specified by a decision
maker.
• The set of constraints: The constraints are the
mathematical expressions of the limiting factors.

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 Assumptions of linear programming
Linearity: the linearity requirement is that each decision variables
has a linear impact on the objective function and in each constraint
in which it appears.

Divisibility: this assumption pertains to the potential values of the

decision variables. Non-integer values are acceptable.

Certainty: asserts that all parameters of the problem are fixed

known constants.

Non-negativity: the decision variables can assume either zero or

positive values.
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 Applications of Linear Programming

• Personnel Assignment Problem

• Transportation Problem
• Efficiency on Operation of system of Dams
• Optimum Estimation of Executive Compensation
• Agriculture Applications
• Military Applications
• Production Management
• Marketing Management
• Manpower Management
• Physical distribution
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 Advantages of Linear Programming Techniques

• It helps us in making the optimum utilization

of productive resources.
• The quality of decisions may also be improved
by linear programming techniques.
• Provides practically solutions.
• In production processes, high lighting of
bottlenecks is the most significant advantage
of this technique.

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 Limitations of operation Research

 Large number of cumbersome computation

 Quantification of problems
 Difficult to conceptualized and use by
managers

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 Formulating a Linear programming model

 The formulation of LPM involves the following steps:

Step 1: Define the problem. It involves the determination

of our specific objective. Example: To determine the
quantity of P1 and P2 to be produced/month so as to
maximize profit subject to the set of limiting factors.

Step 2: Identify the decision variables. It involves the

representation of the unknown quantities by letters.
Example: Let X1 and X2 represent the number of units of
products P1 and P2 to be produced/month respectively. 10
Conti…

Step 3: Formulate the objective function. In

formulating the objective function, make sure that
A. All the decision variables are represented in the
objective function.
B. All terms in the objective function must include a
variable.
C. The unit of measurement of all the coefficients in
the objective function must be the same.

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Conti…
Step 4: Formulate the constraints and writing the
completed LPM.
Z = c1X1 + c2X2 + c3X3 + ………+ cnXn
• Subject to the following constraints :

Where aij, bi, and cj are given constants

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Maximization : Example 1
# Assume that Philips corporation produces 2 types of Tv sets

Model A and Model B. The profit realized from model A and B

are Br 300 and 250 respectively. The company wants to produce

and sell 1000 TV sets daily but this is not possible due to some

limitation. This limitations are:

1. There are only 40 hours of labor each day in the production

department.

2. There are only 45 hours of machine time each day.

3. The maximum that can be sold of model A to be sets is 12.

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Conti…

It is known that each set of model A being higher

in quality requires 2 hours of labour and each set
of model B requires only 1 hour of labour. The
machine processing time for 1 unit of model A
and model B are 1 hr and 3 hrs respectively. If
the companies objective is to maximize profit.
Q. Describe the mathematical model of the
situation.

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Example 2

# A firm that assembles computers and computer equipment is

about to start production of two new micro-computers (Type 1
and Type 2).
Each type of micro-computer will require assembly time,
inspection time and storage space. The amounts of each of this
resources that can be devoted to the production of
microcomputers is limited. The manager of the firm would like to
determine the quantity of each micro- computer to produce in
order to maximize the profit generated by sales of this Micro-
computers. In order to develop 2 suitable model of the problem,
the manager has met with the design and manufacturing
personnel. As a result of these meetings, the manager has
obtained the following information:

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 Conti…
Type 1 Type 2

Profit 60 50

Assembly time 4 10
Inspection time 2 1
Storage space/unit 3 3

The manager has also acquired information on the availability

of the company resources. This daily amount are

Resource Amounts available

Assembly time 100 hours
Inspection time 22 hours
Storage space 39 cubic feet

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Conti…

The manager also met with the firms marketing

manager and learn that the demand for Micro-computer
was such that whatever combination of these two types
of Micro-computers produced all of the outputs can be
sold.
Q:Formulate the Linear Programming Model.

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Exercise-1

# A firm produces products, A & B, each of which requires two

resources, namely raw materials and labour. Each unit of
product A requires 2 & 4 units and each unit of product B
requires 3 & 3 units respectively of raw materials and labour.
Every day at least 60 units of raw materials and at most 96
units of labour must be used. If the unit profit contribution of
product A is Br. 40/unit, product B is Br. 35/unit determine the
number of units of each of the products that should be made
each day to maximize the total profit contribution.

Question 1: Describe the mathematical model of the situation.

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Minimization case

• General format
Min.C = c1 x1+c2x2+ … + Cn xn
S t:
a11 x1 + a12 x2+ … + a1n xn ≥ b1
a21 x1 + a22 x2+ … + a2n xn ≥ b2
. . . .
. . . .
am1 x1 + am2 x2+ … + amn xn ≥ bn
x1, x2 …., xn ≥ 0
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Minimization Example -1

# A dietician is preparing a diet consisting of 2 foods

A and B. each unit of food A contains 20 grams of
proteins, 12 grams of fat and 15 grams of
carbohydrates and costs Br 4. Each unit of food B, 30
grams of protein, 6 grams of fat and 15 grams of
carbohydrates and costs Br 3. The diet being prepared
must contain the following minimum requirements of
at least 60 grams of protein, at least 24 grams of fat
and at least 30 grams of carbohydrates.
Q. Formulate the mathematical Model

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Minimization Example -2
# Two machines (1 and 2) produces two grades of
tyres A and B. In 1 hr of operation, machine I
produces 20 units of grade A and 40 units of grade B
tyres. Whereas, machine 2 produces, 30 units of
grade A and 40 unis of grade B tyres. The machines
are required to meet the production schedule. At
least 1400 grade A and 1200 units of grade B tyres.
The cost of operating machine I is Br 50/hr and the
cost of operating machine 2 is Br 80/hr.

Q. Formulate the linear programming model

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 Solutions to linear programming problems

There are two methods for solving linear

programming problems:
A. The geometric approach - Graphic method
B. The simplex approach - Algebric method

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Geometric method(Graphic method)

Geometric approach is applied when there are

only two decision variables.
Steps in the graphic method
Step 1: Form a mathematical model of the
problem. This step deals with the expression of
the completed LPM.
Step 2: Graph each of the constraints and identify
its region. Here it is the conversion of the
inequalities into equalities.
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Conti…

Step 3: Determine the region or area that contains all

the points that satisfy the entire set of constraints.
Then,
• Determine the values of the decision variables at
each of the corner points. This can be done either
by observation or by solving 2 equations
simultaneously.
• Substitute the values of the decision variables at
each corner point into the objective function to
compute its value.
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Conti…

• Step 4: select the one with the highest or

lowest value of the objective function
depending on the optimization case and make
an interpretation.
• If the objective function is maximization, we
can select the highest value. When it is
minimization, we may select the lowest value.

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 Methods of finding graphical solutions

• There are basically two methods that can be

applied widely to find the optimal solution
through graphical method

1. Objective function approach

2. Extreme point approach

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 Steps in the Objective function approach

1. Graph the constraint

2. Identify the feasible solution space
3. Set the objective function equal to some amount
divisible by each of the objective function co-efficient.
This will yield integer values for X1 and X2 and thus,
simplify plotting the line. Now, determine the optimal
point by moving away from the origin(for a maximum
problem or moving towards the origin(for a
minimization problem parallel to the objective
function line.)
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 Conti…
4. After identifying the optimal point, determine which 2
constraints intersect there. Solve their equations
simultaneously to obtain the mix of X1 and X2 at the optimum.
5. Substitute the values obtained in the previous step into the
objective function to determine the value of the objective
function at the optimum.

Extreme point approach

• Is based on the truth that the optimal solution occurs at the
corner points.

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Definitions of some terms

Solution - any specification of the values for decision

variable among (x1, x2… xn) is called a solution.
Feasible solution - is a solution for which all constraints are
satisfied.
Infeasible solution - is a solution for which at least one
constraint is not satisfied.
Feasible region - is a collection of all feasible solutions.

Optimal solution - is a feasible solution that has the most

favorable value of the objective function.
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Conti…
• Most favorable value - is the largest value if the
objective function is to be maximized, whereas it is the
smallest value if the objective function is to be
minimized.
• Multiple optimal solution - More than one solution with
the same optimal value of the objective function.
• Unbounded solution - If the value of the objective
function can be increased or decreased indefinitely such
solutions are called unbounded solution.
• Corner point feasible solution - is a solution that lies at
the corner of the feasible region.

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Example 1: A firm makes two product X and Y and has a total
production capacity of 9 tones per day. Both X and Y requires the
same production capacity. The firm has a permanent contract to
supply at least 2 tones of X and 3 tones of Y per day to another
company. Each tones of X require 20 machine of hour of production
of time and each tones of Y require 50 machines hours of production
time. The daily maximum possible number of machine hours is 360.
All of the firms output can be sold. The profit made is birr 80 tones of
X and Birr 120 per tones of Y.

Q. Formulate this problem as an LP model and solve by using

graphical method to determine the production schedule that yield the
maximum profit

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Conti…

Exercise-1: A manufacturer of furniture makes two

products: chairs and tables. Processing of this product is
done on two machines A and B. A chair requires 2 hours
on machine A and 6 hours on machine B. A table requires
5 hours on machine A and no time on machine B. There
are 16 hours of time per day available on machine A and
30 hours on machine B. Profit gained by the manufacturer
from a chair and a table is Br 2 and Br 10 respectively.
What should be the daily production of each of two
products? And find the optimal value through extreme
pinot method.
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Exercise-2 : Solve the equations through graphical
method

Max Z = 80x1 + 55x2

S t: 4x1+ 2x2 ≤ 40
2x1 + 4x2 ≤ 32
x1 ≥ 0 , x 2 ≥ 0

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Example-2(Min)
Solve the equations through graphical method
Minimize Z = 10x1 + 4x2
S t: 3x1 + 2x2 ≥ 60
7x1 + 2x2 ≥ 84
3x1 +6x2 ≥ 72
x1 ≥ 0 , x 2 ≥ 0

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 Special cases in graphical method

1. Multiple optimal solution

Example 1: Solve by using graphical method
Max Z = 4x1 + 3x2
Subject to: 4x1+ 3x2 ≤ 24
x1 ≤ 4.5
x2≤ 6
x1 ≥ 0 , x 2 ≥ 0

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2. No Optimal Solution

Example 1: Solve graphically

Max Z = 3x1 + 2x2
S t: x1+ x2 ≤ 1
x1+ x2 ≥ 3
x1≥ 0 , x2 ≥ 0

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3. Unbounded Solution
Example1: Solve by graphical method
Max Z = 3x1 + 5x2
Subject to: 2x1+ x2 ≥ 7
x1+ x2 ≥ 6
x1+ 3x2 ≥ 9
x1 ≥ 0 , x2 ≥ 0
The values of objective function at corner points are 35, 28, 21
and 27. But there exists infinite number of points in the
feasible region which is unbounded. The value of objective
function will be more than the value of these four corner
points i.e. the maximum value of the objective function occurs
at a point at ∞. Hence the given problem has unbounded
solution. 37
The simplex method

 Is an iterative (repetitive) algebraic process that

moves automatically from one basic feasible solution
to another, improving the situation each time until an
optimal solution is reached.
 It is applicable for maximization problems with all
less than or equal to constraints.
 We use an algebraic method called the simplex
method, which was developed by George B.
DANTZIG (1914-2005) in 1947 while on assignment
with the U.S. Department of the air force.
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Conti…

The simplex method examines the extreme points in a

systematic manner, repeating the same set of steps of the
algorithm until the optimal solution is reached. It is for this
reason that it is also called the iterative method.
 Slack Variables
 “A mathematical representation of surplus resources.” In
real life problems, it’s unlikely that all resources will be
used completely, so there usually are unused resources.
Slack variables represent the unused resources between
the left-hand side and right-hand side of each inequality.

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Basic and Non-basic Variables

 Basic variables are selected arbitrarily with the restriction

that there be as many basic variables as there are equations.
The remaining variables are non-basic variables.
x1+2x2+s1=32
3x1+4x2+s2 =84
 This system has two equations, we can select any two of the
four variables as basic variables. The remaining two
variables are then non-basic variables. A solution found by
setting the two non-basic variables equal to 0 and solving for
the two basic variables is a basic solution. If a basic solution
has no negative values, it is a basic feasible solution.
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Use the following steps to solve the linear programming

Step 1: Convert each inequality in the set of

constraints to an equation by adding slack variables.
Step 2: Create the initial simplex tableau.
Step 3: Select the pivot column. (The column with
the “most negative value” element in the last row.)
Step 4: Select the pivot row. (The row with the
smallest nonnegative result when the last element in
the row is divided by the corresponding in the pivot
column.)
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 Conti…
Step 5: Use elementary row operations calculate new values for
the pivot row so that the pivot is 1 (Divide every number in the
row by the pivot number.)

Step 6: Use elementary row operations to make all numbers in

the pivot column equal to 0 except for the pivot number. If all
entries in the bottom row are zero or positive, this the final
tableau. If not, go back to step 3.

Step 7: If you obtain a final tableau, then the linear

programming problem has a maximum solution, which is given
by the entry in the lower-right corner of the tableau.

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Pivot

• Pivot Column: The column of the tableau

representing the variable to be entered into the
solution mix.
• Pivot Row: The row of the tableau
representing the variable to be replaced in the
solution mix.
• Pivot Number: The element in both the pivot
column and the pivot row.

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Simplex Tableau

• Most real-world problems are too complex to

solve graphically.
• They have too many corners to evaluate, and
the algebraic solutions are lengthy. A simplex
tableau is a way to systematically evaluate
variable mixes in order to find the best one.

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EXAMPLE: Maximization
3F furniture Company produces tables and chairs.
Each table takes four hours of labor from the
carpentry department and two hours of labor from
the finishing department. Each chair requires three
hours of carpentry and one hour of finishing. During
the current week, 240 hours of carpentry time are
available and 100 hours of finishing time. Each
table produced gives a profit of $70 and each chair a
profit of $50. How many chairs and tables should be
made?

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EXAMPLE-1: Minimization

Use the penalty (Big-M) method to solve the

following problem.
Minimize Z = 5X1 + 3x2
S t: 2x1 + 4x2 ≤ 12
2x1 + 2x2 = 10
5x1 + 2x2 ≥ 10
x1, x2 ≥ 0

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Exercise- 1: Minimization
A product is manufactured by blending three different raw
materials. The finished product should meet certain quality
requirements. Given the following data what is your
recommendation with regard to quantity for raw materials to be
blended, which will meet the quality requirements with minimum
cost. Quality Contribution to Minimum quality
characteristics quality requirements
A B C

1 3 0 1 10
2 5 1 2 15
3 1 2 0 8
Cost of raw 2 5 3
materials per unit
(in Birr)

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Exercises with mixed constraint
1. Zmax= 3 x1 +9x2+4 X3
Subject to: x1 + x2 + X3 < 40
2 x1 +4 x2 +7 X3 > 60
3 x1 +5 x2 +9 X3 = 30
x1 x2, X3 > 0
2. Zmin= x1 +2 x2 +4 X3
Subject to: 3 x1 + x2 +4 X3 < 600
2 x1 +4 x2 +2 X3 > 480
2 x1 +3 x2 +3 X3 = 540
x1, x2, X3 > 0 48