Decision Maths

Linear Programming

Linear Programming
Decision making is a process that has to be carried out in many areas

of life.
After the Second World War a group of American mathematicians
developed some mathematical methods to help with decision making.
They produced mathematical models that turned the requirements,
constraints and objectives of a project into algebraic equations.
Linear programming is the process of solving these equations by
searching for an Optimal Solution.
The optimal solution is the maximum or minimum value of a required
function.
Linear programming methods are some of the most widely used
methods employed to solve management and economic problems, they
can be applied to a variety of contexts, with enormous savings in
money and resources.
First we are going to look at how to turn problems into algebraic
equations.

Problem
A company makes two types of garden shed, A and B.
Both types require processing in two departments.
Department 1 is where machines are used to produce the wood

to the required lengths.

Department 2 is where the craftsmen work on and produce the
shed.
Shed A requires 2 hours of machine time and 5 hours of
craftsman time. When sold it will earn 60 profit.
Shed B requires 3 hours of machine time and 5 hours of
craftsman time. When sold it will earn 84 profit.
Each day there are 30 hours of machine time and 60 hours of
craftsman time available.
We want to find out how many of each shed we need to make
each day in order to maximise our profit.

Problem
All of this can be summarised in a table.

Type Of Shed

Machinery

Craftsmen

Profit

60

84

Total Time

30

60

Problem
The first step in formulating a linear programming

problem is to determine which quantities you need to

know to solve the problem.
These are called the Decision variables.
The second is to decide what the Constraints are in
the problem.
What is it that will hold up production and prevent
products being made.
The third step is to decide what the objective to be
achieved is.
The function of the decision variables that is to be
optimised is called the objective function.

Problem - Step 1
Step 1 Decide on the Decision variables.
In this case it is clear that what we want to know is

how many of each type of shed to make.

Let x = Number of Shed A made.
Let y = Number of Shed B made.

Problem Step 2
Step 2 Decide on the Constraints.
Consider the work that needs to be done in the machine room.

Type Of Shed

Machinery

Craftsmen

Profit

A(x)

60

B(y)

84

From the table we can see that each day there are 30 hours available for work.
60 require 2x hours.
Total
One ofTime
shed A requires 2 30
hours. So x shed A`s must
Using a similar idea for shed B you can get total time for y shed B`s will be 3y.

From this table it is now easy to write down the algebraic equations.

Problem Step 2
Now the total work done in the machine room on both sheds cannot

exceed 30 hours in one day.

Therefore we can formulate the algebraic equation.
2x + 3y 30
The other constraint in this problem is the work that needs to be
completed in the craft shop.

Type Of Shed

Machinery

Craftsmen

Profit

A(x)

60

B(y)

84

Total Time

30

60

The work in the craft room cannot exceed 60 hours.

So 5x + 5y 60

Problem Step 2
Non-Negativity constraints
In addition to the two constraints that we have just

looked at, it is obvious that both x and y must be

positive numbers.
Now the whole problem can be written like so:

2x + 3y 30
5x + 5y 60
x 0, y 0

Problem Step 3
Step 3 decide on the objective function.
The whole problem is about selling sheds.
We need to know how many of each of the sheds to sell

to make maximum profit.

Type Of Shed

Machinery

Craftsmen

Profit

A(x)

60

B(y)

84

Total Time

30

60

This gives us the function 60x + 84y = P

Where P stands for profit.

Final - Problem
The original problem can now be summarised in

algebraic form.
Maximise the profit function.

P = 60x + 84y
Subject to the constraints
2x + 3y 30
5x + 5y 60
x 0, y 0

Question 1
Allwood PLC plans to make two kinds of table.
For table A the cost of the materials is 20, the

number of person-hours needed to complete it is 10

and the profit, when sold, is 15.
For table B the cost of materials is 12, the number
of person-hours needed to complete it is 15 and the
profit, when sold, is 17.
The total money available for materials is 480 and
the labour available is 330 person-hours.
Formulate this as a linear programming problem.

Answer 1
X = number of type A tables
Y = number of type B tables
Type Table

Materials

Person-Hours Profit

A(x)

20

10

15

B(y)

12

15

17

Total Time

480

330

Maximise Z = 15x + 17y

Subject to 20x + 12y 480

10x + 15y 330

x 0, y 0

Question 2
To ensure that her family has a healthy diet Mrs Brown

decides that the familys daily intake of vitamins A, B and C

should not fall below 25 units, 30 units and 15 units
respectively.
To provide these vitamins she relies on two fresh foods
and .
Food provides 30 units of vitamin A, 20 units of vitamin B
and 10 units of vitamin C per 100g.
Food provides 10 units of vitamin A, 25 units of vitamin B
and 40 units of vitamin C per 100g.
Food costs 40p per 100g and food costs 30p per 100g.
How many grams of food and food should she
purchase daily if the food bill is to be kept to a minimum?
Formulate this as a linear programming problem.

Answer 2
x = (hundred) grams of
y = (hundred) grams of

Cost

30

20

10

40p

10

25

40

30p

25

30

15

Minimise

Subject to

C = 40x + 30y
30x + 10y 25
20x + 25y 30
10x + 40y 15
x 0, y 0

Question 3
A chair supplier makes three types of wooden chairs. Each type is
manufactured in a four-stage process. The company is able to obtain all
the raw materials it needs. The available production capacity during the
60-hour production working week is as follows:
Weekly capacity in number of chairs
Process

Chair A

Chair B

Chair C

400

600

900

1800

400

300

200

900

600

600

400

450

It is assumed that there are 60 hours of labour available for each

process. The profits on each of the three types of chair are 15, 20
and 25 respectively. Formulate this as a linear programming problem,
given that the profit is to be maximised.

Answer 3

X = number of type A made

Y = number of type B made
Z = number of type C made
Minutes production per Chair

Process

Chair A

Chair B

Chair C

3600

12

3600

18

3600

3600

Profit

15

20

25

Maximise
P = 15x + 20y + 25z

Subject to

9x + 6y + 4z 3600
2x + 9y + 12z 3600
18x + 4y + 6z 3600
6x + 9y + 8z 3600
x 0, y 0, z 0