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T.T. Narendran
Department of Management Studies Indian Institute of Technology Madras

TTN DoMS, IIT Madras, 17-Apr-13

Example Problem No. 8 :

A furniture shop manufactures tables and

chairs.

The

operations

take

place

sequentially in two work centers.

The associated profits and the man hours

required by each product at each work center

are shown in the table below :

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Furniture Shop

Tables

Chairs

Available man hours

Profit / unit Work Center-I Work Center-II

8 4 2

6 2 4 60 48

Formulate a linear programme to determine the optimal number of tables and chairs to be

manufactured so as to maximize the profit.

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Solution to Example Problem No.8

The following linear programme is formulated

This problem can be solved graphically. The following figure shows the constraints ;
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The shaded region is the feasible solution set to the problem

X2

A(0,12) B(12,6) O(0,0) X1 C(15,0)

50

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Before we indicate the procedure to

solve this problem, a few concepts are

introduced.

TTN DoMS, IIT Madras, 17-Apr-13

Convex Set:
If there exists a set in which a straight line joining any two points in the set is also contained in the set, then such a set is called a convex set

TTN DoMS, IIT Madras, 17-Apr-13

The extreme of a convex set will always lie

at a corner point. This property is used for

determining the solution to the given linear

programme.

The expression

TTN DoMS, IIT Madras, 17-Apr-13

A series of parallel lines for various assumed values of Z can be drawn. These are called Isoprofit lines. The profit Z along each line is the same.
The value of Z is seen to increase as the isoprofit lines move farther away from the origin. The corner point through which the last isoprofit line passes, gives the optimal solution.

In the figure OABC, the corner points are evaluated as follows:

TTN DoMS, IIT Madras, 17-Apr-13

Iso Profit Line

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X2

A(0,12) B(12,6) O(0,0) X1

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C(15,0)

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Z0 = 0 ZA = 72

ZB = 132
ZC = 120

For the given problem, the optimal solution

occurs at corner point B (12,6) i.e., X1 = 12, X2 = 6 with the corresponding profit of 132 which is the maximum.
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Note: The graphical method, obviously, can

solve problems with just two variables. The need, however, is for a method that can solve problems of realistic size. For this purpose, there exists a method called the Simplex Algorithm developed by George.B. Dantzig.

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A few basic concepts must be learnt before the algorithm is introduced.

Basic Solution: Consider the following set of equations :

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There are four variables and two equations. Hence this cannot be solved as simultaneous equations. However, it is possible to find a set of solutions called basic solutions which are obtained as follows

In the given system of equations, if we set the 'extra'

variables = 0, we can solve for the remaining variables.

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For instance, if we set We get This is called a basic solution. We can see that there are as many as solutions. . Of these, the solutions that also satisfy the non-negativity condition are called basic feasible solutions

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In general, if we have a system of m

equations with n variables (where n > m),

we can obtain basic solutions by setting

(n - m) variables = 0 and solving for the remaining variables.

There will be

basic solutions

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Canonical form :
If there exists a system of equations such that each equation has one variable with coefficient of 1 in that equation and a coefficient of 0 in all the other equations, such a system is said to be in Canonical form. The given system is seen to be in Canonical

form since

satisfy this condition.

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Other Definitions :
The variables that are set = 0 are called non basic variables while the remaining variables are called basic variables. Now let us consider the same example:

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Remove the inequalities and rewrite the constraints as equations by introducing 'slack variables' are shown below

This is a system of two equations with four variables. Choose the variables in canonical form, i.e., as the basic variables for the initial solution. Rewrite the equations, expressing the basic variables in terms of non-basic variables.
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Both the non basic variables have positive coefficients in the objective function and hence have the potential to increase the value of Z .

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Let us now consider making X1 a basic variable. To do this, one of the existing basic variables must

become non basic since there can be only two basic

variables at any stage. To find out which variable is to be replaced, we find the maximum possible value for X1 in equations (1) and (2).

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Of these, only the lower value will satisfy both the constraints. Hence

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When we examine for the maximum possible value of X2 in (3) and (4), we see that X3 displaces X4 as basic variable.

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Here, the coefficients of both the nonbasic variables in the objective function are negative. Hence, there is no further scope for increasing the value of Z. So the final solution is

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T.T. Narendran
Department of Management Studies Indian Institute of Technology Madras

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Simplex Algorithm : Tabular form

The algorithm explained above can be

implemented in a tabular form for greater working convenience. This form is also easier for coding and automation purposes. The key features of the tabular form are as follows:
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Each variable is represented as column.

The corresponding coefficients appear in the boxes of the table. CB = Coefficient of Basic Variable in the objective function

It can be seen that the tabular form is just another way of representing the same set of equations used above

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The solution at this stage reads as

X3 = 60, X4 = 48, Z = 0

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In the row Cj Zj , the positive coefficients for the non basic variables X1 and X2 indicate that the value of Z will increase if one of these variables becomes a basic variable.
We choose X1to become the basic variable.

This requires one of the existing basic variables to become non basic.
In other words, X1is the entering variable. We have to find the departing variable.
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Now, evaluate the ratio bi / aij for all aij >0 in this column.
The ratios are

60 / 4 = 15 and 48 / 2 = 24
The minimum ratio determines the departing variable. Hence, in this case X3 is the departing variable. The coefficient 4 corresponding operation is called the pivot. to this

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The next table is obtained by performing the following operations. In the 'basis' column X1 replaces X3.
Divide the pivotal row (4 2 1 0 | 60) by the pivot (4). 15) We get (1 0 |

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To get the X4 row, do the following : Multiply the new row just obtained by the coefficient in the pivotal column (2). We get (2 1 0 | 30) Subtract corresponding elements from the old X4 row. That is

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This constitutes the new X4 row in the table. The Cj Zj row is evaluated as follows :
Zj = CB aij

For example,

Z2 = 8 () + 0 (3) = 4 and
C2-Z2 = 6-4 = 2

In this manner, all the values of Cj Zj are computed

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At the end of this iteration, the solution

reads as X1 = 15, X4 = 18, Z = 120, Since the X2 column in the Cj Zj row shows a positive value, we now bring in X2 as the entering variable. Proceeding as before, we find 18 / 6 = 3 is less than 15 / () = 30
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Therefore, 3 is the pivot and X4 is the departing variable.

The next table is obtained using the same steps described earlier

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Now the solution reads X1 = 12, X2 = 6, Z = 132

The coefficients of the non basic variables in the Cj Zj row are all non positive. Therefore, there is no further scope for increasing the value of Z.
Hence the algorithm stops at this stage. The given solution is the optimal solution
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The steps involved in the simplex algorithm

are given below :
Rewrite inequalities as equations using slack variables. Set up L.P in tabular form. Determine the entering variable as one with a positive Cj Zj coefficient ; Generally, the variable with the maximum Cj Zj is chosen as the entering variable though this is not a strict criterion.
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Determine the departing variable as the row in which the aij coefficient yields the minimum positive bi / aij (aij >0). The aij corresponding to the departing variable is called the pivot. In order to obtain the next table, perform the following steps.
Divide the pivotal row throughout by the pivot.
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Multiply this new row by coefficients in the pivotal column and subtract the product from the corresponding old row;
Repeat this process till the table is complete. Check if there is any Cj Zj > 0. If so, repeat steps (3) - (7). If not, read off the optimal solution from the last table.

TTN DoMS, IIT Madras, 17-Apr-13