ISE 421 Operations Research 2 Exam 2 Sample

  1. The industrial engineer is planning the replacement of a paper bag making machine. The machine was bought 3 years ago and the planning horizon is 5 years. The policy of the company prohibits the removal of any machine that is 3 years old or younger unless it is the end of the planning horizon, but it must be replaced when it reaches the age of 5 years. The price of an identical machine 100,000 riyals. The annual operating costs of the machine, the salvage values, and the annual revenues as a function of the age of the machine are:
    Age Revenue Operating cost Salvage value
    0 20,000 200 -
    1 19,000 600 80,000
    2 18,500 1,200 60,000
    3 17,200 1,500 50,000
    4 15,500 1,700 30,000
    5     10,000

    Find the dynamic programming model of this problem and use it to find the best replacement policy.

  2. In a manufacturing process, the packaging stage is the last operation. The demand for the production is uncertain, but it is only known with a probability. The industrial engineer wants to find how many temporary packagers are required to be hired every month for the coming 3 months. He has found that the costs and profits associated with the hiring of the temporary workers are the most critical. Hence, he has decided that the best measure of the best decision will be the one that will maximize the net income, which is defined as profit minus unused worker cost minus hiring cost minus any shortage cost. Shortage happens when the demand for packagers exceed the hired packagers.
    The demand for packagers during the following months with their probabilities are:
    Month 1:
    Packagers Probability
    2 0.3
    3 0.5
    4 0.2

    Month 2:

    Packagers Probability
    5 0.1
    6 0.6
    7 0.3

    Month 3:

    Packagers Probability
    1 0.2
    2 0.7
    3 0.1

    The cost of unused worker is 3,000 riyals per month. The hiring cost has a fixed cost component of 1,500 riyals and a variable cost component of 2,000 riyals per packager. Each packager can generate a monthly profit of 6,000 riyals. Any shortage costs the company 1,500 riyals in lost sales.
    Write a dynamic programming model for this problem and use it to find the most economical number of packagers that have to be hired every month.

  3. Saudi Air Suspensions Co produces three types of air suspensions for small, medium, and large cars. The production capacity of the plant is limited by 8 machines. The number of machines required for the production of the suspension types and the unit revenues are
    Suspension type Number of Machines Unit revenue (100 riyals)
    1 4 5
    2 3 4
    3 2 2

    The production has been set up so that the production quantity will be repeated every hour. The industrial engineer needs to find which of the suspension types to produce and how many. Find the optimal production mix using dynamic programming.

Instructor: Dr Muhammad Al-Salamah