WHAT IS OPERATIONS RESEARCH? The concept of OR was formally introduced In England during WWII.

It was developed by a team of British scientists with the objective of determining the best utilization of war material. After the war, the concept of OR was adapted to improve productivity and efficiency in the civilian sector. The cornerstone of OR mathematical modeling. Caution: Though the solution of mathematical model provides a basis for making a decision, intangible factors such as human behavior must be accounted for before making the final decision. Case 1: A businessman has a 5-wk business commitment between Cebu (CE) and Manila (MLA). You fly out of Manila on Monday and return on Wednesday. A regular round trip ticket cost P 4,000, but a 20% discount is granted if the dates of the ticket span a weekend. A one-way ticket in either direction costs 75% of the cost of a round trip ticket. How should you buy the tickets for the five week period? Answer the following questions: 1. What are the decision alternatives? 2. Under what restrictions is the decision made? 3. What is an appropriate objective criterion for evaluating the alternatives? Consider three alternatives: 1. Buy five regular MLA-CE-MLA 2. Buy one MLA-CE, four CE-MLA-CE that span weekends and one CE-MLA 3. Buy one MLA-CE-MLA to cover Monday of the first week and Wednesday of the last week and four CE-MLA-CE to cover the remaining legs. Restriction/s: Leave on Monday and return on Wednesday of the same week Objective criterion: total airfare costs of the 5-wk trip Alternative 1: Alternative 2: Alternative 3: 5 x 4000 = 20,000 .75 x 4000 + 4 x .8 x 4000 + .75 x 4000 = 5 x .8 x 4000 =16,000 18,800

The above example illustrates the three major components of OR: alternatives, objective and constraints. Case 2: Consider forming a maximum area rectangle out of a piece of wire of length L inches. What should be the width and height of the rectangle? The numbers of alternatives are infinite in contrast with the first case which has finite alternatives. The length and width of the rectangle can assume infinite possibilities. By defining the width and height as algebraic variables, we can let: h height of the rectangle in inches w width of the rectangle in inches The restrictions of this situation based on the definition of the variables can be expressed as: 1. length of the wire = perimeter of the rectangle 2. width and height cannot be negative Translated algebraically: 1. 2w + 2h = L 2. w 0; h 0 The objective of the problem: maximize the area of the rectangle. By defining z = area of the rectangle, the complete OR model now becomes:

Maximize Subject to:

z = wh 2w + 2h = L w, h 0

Using differential calculus, the optimal solution of this model is w = h = L/4. In general, the first crucial step in any OR model is the definition of the alternatives or decision variables of the problem. These decision variables are used to construct the objective function and the constraints of the model. Maximize or minimize objective function Subject to: Constraints

A solution of the model is feasible if it satisfies all the constraints. It is optimal, if in addition to being feasible, it yields the best (maximum or minimum) value of the objective function. Though OR models are designed to optimize a specific objective criterion subject to a set of constraints, the quality of the resulting solution depend on the accuracy of the model in representing the real system. In case 1, if we are not able to identify all the dominant alternatives for purchasing the tickets the resulting solution is only optimum relative to the choices represented in the model in short the solution is suboptimal. Conclusion: The optimum solution of the model is best only for that model. If the model happens to represent the real system reasonably well, then its solution is optimum also for the real situation. Problem1: (Group seatwork) Carding, Narda, Eduardo and Valentina are standing on Bambang side of the Bocaue river and wish to cross to the Binang side using a banca. The banca can hold at most two individuals at a time. Carding being the most athletic can cross the river in 1 minute. Narda, Eduardo and Valentina would take 2.5 minutes and 10 minutes respectively. If two people are in the banca, the slower person dictates the crossing time. The objective is for all individuals to be on the Binang side of the river in the least possible time. a. Identify at least two feasible plans for crossing the river (the banca is the only mode of transportation and it cannot be shuttled empty) b. Define the criterion for evaluating the alternatives and the constraints. c. What is the smallest time for moving all four individuals to the other side of the river? Problem 2: Individual assignment to be submitted next meeting (use yellow pad) In a baseball game, Cholo is the pitcher and Tristan is the batter. Suppose that Cholo can throw either a fast or curve ball at random. If Tristan correctly predicts a curve ball, he can maintain a .500 batting average, else if Cholo throws a curve ball and Tristan prepares for a fast ball, his batting average is kept down to .200. On the other hand, if Tristan correctly predicts a fast ball, he gets a .300 batting average else his batting average is only .100. a. Define the alternatives for this situation b. Define the objective function for the problem and discuss how it differs from the familiar optimization (maximization or minimization) of a criterion. SOLVING THE OR MODEL In OR, there is no single general technique that solves all mathematical models that arise. The type and complexity of the mathematical model dictate the nature of the solution method. In case 1, ranking of the cost of plane tickets was simply used to arrive at the solution while in case 2, differential calculus was use to solve the problem. Some of the more known OR techniques are:

1. Linear programming which is designed for models with strict linear objective and constraint functions 2. Integer programming in which variables assume integral values 3. Dynamic programming in which original models can be decomposed into smaller subproblems 4. Network programming in which the problem can be modeled as a network 5. Nonlinear programming in which the functions of the models are not linear Some mathematical models may be so complex that is impossible to solve them by any of the available optimization algorithms so that it may be more reasonable to abandon the search for optimal solution and simply seek a good solution using heuristics or rule of thumb. QUEUING AND SIMULATION MODELS Queuing and simulation deal with the study of waiting lines. These are not optimization techniques but rather they determine measures of performance of waiting lines such as average waiting time in queue, average waiting time for service and utilization of service facilities. Queuing models utilize probability and stochastic models to analyze, waiting lines, and simulation estimates the measures of performance by imitating the behavior of the real system. The main difference between simulation and queuing is that queuing models are purely mathematical and subject to specific assumptions that limit the scope of application. Simulation, on the other hand, is flexible and can be used to analyze practically any queuing situation. However, the process of developing simulation models is very costly in terms of time and resources and the execution of simulation models is usually slow even on the fastest computer. ART OF MODELING It is a rare occurrence in OR that exact representation of real world is achieved such as in case 1. Majority of applications in OR involve varying degree of approximations. In the figure below, the assumed real world is abstracted from the real world by concentrating on the dominant variables that control the behavior of the real system. The model now becomes an abstraction of the assumed real world and expresses mathematical functions that represent the behavior of the assumed system. Consider Tyko Mfg Co where a variety of plastic containers are produced. When a production order is issued to production department, necessary raw materials are acquired from the warehouse or procured from suppliers. Once the production batch is completed, the sales department takes charge of distributing the products to the customers. The determination of the size production batch will be in the forefront of the questions that need to be addressed. Further analysis will reveal that the following variables have a direct bearing on the size of production batch: 1. Production capacity expressed in terms of available machine and labor hours 2. Available stock of raw materials, delivery schedules from suppliers and warehouse limitations 3. Sales forecast, capacity of distribution facilities, effectiveness of the advertisement campaign and the effect of competition. Doing a first level of abstraction will define the boundaries of assumed real world which can be approximated by two dominant variables: production rate and consumption rate. Being able to define these two dominant variables will make the second level of abstraction easier. At the end, the OR level that may be developed will concentrate on minimizing total cost of inventory. MORE THAN JUST MATHEMATICS Though mathematics is the cornerstone of OR, we should be cautioned that it is not always necessary to jump into using mathematical models when simpler approaches could be explored. It is not farfetched to encounter commonsense solution through simple observations. The following situations will support this argument:

1. Responding to complaints of slow elevator service in a large office building, the situation was initially perceived to be a waiting line problem that may require the use of mathematical queuing analysis or situation. However, after studying the behavior of the people voicing the complaint, the psychologist on the OR team suggested installing a full-length mirrors at the entrance of the elevators. Miraculously, the complaints disappeared as people were kept occupied watching themselves and others while waiting for the elevator. 2. In a study of the check-in facilities at a large British airport, a US-Canadian consulting team used queuing theory to investigate and analyze the situation. Part of the recommendations is the use of well-placed signs to urge passengers who were within 20 minutes from departure time to advance to the head of the queue and request immediate service. The solution was not successful because the passengers being mostly British were used to very strict queuing behavior hence very reluctant to move ahead of the line. 3. In a steel mill, ingots are first produced from iron ore and then used to produce various types of steel bars and beams. The manager of the facility noticed a long delay between the time ingots are produced and their transfer to the next phase (where end products are manufactured). Ideally, the next phase should start after the ingots leave the furnaces to reduce the reheating cost. Initially the problem was perceived as a line balancing situation to be resolved by either by reducing the output production of the furnaces or by increasing the capacity of the next process. However, as part of understanding the problem, the OR team used simple charts to summarize the output of the furnaces during three shifts of the day and discovered that even thought the third shift started at 11:00 PM, most of the production took place between the hours of 2:00 AM and 7:00 AM only. Further investigation revealed that third-shift operators preferred to get long rest periods at the start of the shift and then make up for lost production during morning hours. The problem was solved by leveling out the production of ingots through out the shift. Group work: Make your own conclusion for each of the above situation and the prescribed solution. PHASES OF AN OR STUDY 1. Problem definition involves defining the scope of the problem under investigation. This function should be carried out by the entire OR team. The end result of the investigation is to identify three principal elements of the decision problem: description of decision alternatives, determination of the objective of the study and specification of the limitations under which the modeled system operates. 2. Model construction entails translating the problem definition into mathematical relationships. If the resulting model fits into one of the standard mathematical models such as linear programming, a solution is usually attainable. Alternatively, if the mathematical relationships are too complex to allow the determination of analytic solution, the OR team may opt to simplify the model and use heuristic approach. 3. Model situation is the simplest of all OR phases because it entails the use of well-defined optimizing algorithm. An important aspect of this phase is sensitivity analysis. It deals with obtaining additional information about the behavior of the optimum solution when the model undergoes some parameter changes. 4. Model validity checks whether or not the proposed model does what it is supposed to do ie, does the model predict adequately the behavior of the system under study? 5. Implementation of the solution of a validated model involves translation of the result into operating instructions issued in understandable form to the individuals who will administer the recommended system.