Operations Research (OR)

Management Science (MS)

Introduction of OR and
Mathematical Modeling

GBT: COR, Material Science

Pulchowk Campus, IOE,TU
Date: 2075.02.04
 Introduction: OR

OR is a branch of mathematics that deals with the

application of scientific methods and techniques
to decision making problems as well as with the
establishment of the best or optimal solutions.

The first formal activities of OR were initiated in

England during World War II, when a team of British
scientists set out to make scientifically based decisions
regarding the best utilization of war materials, logistics.
 Introduction: OR
After the war, the ideas advanced in military operations
were adapted to improve efficiency and productivity in
the civilian sector.

OR is known as Management Science in business field,

which is applied to make strategic business decisions.
Institute for Operations Research and Management
Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society to
promote and use OR/MS in solving managerial problem.
It publishes journals – Management Science, Operations
Research and Interfaces.
 Some Definitions of OR
1. Scientific approach to decision making that involves
the operations for organized systems. OR is
concerned with optimal decision making and
modeling of deterministic and probabilistic systems
that originate from real life – Hillier & Lieberman,
Introduction to OR, 7th Ed., 1996

2. OR is the application of scientific methods to

decision problems. It has found wide use and
acceptance in all areas of business, government
and industry – Saul L. Gass, College of Business &
Management, University of Maryland, 1979.
 Some Definitions of OR
3. The use of analytic methods adapted from
mathematics for solving operational and business
problems – Computer Dictionary, Charles J. Sippl and
Charles P. Sippl, Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc., 1978.

4. A scientific method of providing executive

department with a quantitative basis for decisions
making operations under their control. – Morse &
Kimball, Methods of Operations Research, Columbia
University Press for office of Naval Research, 1943 (9th
printing, 1963).
Some Definitions of OR
5. A branch of applied mathematics wherein the
application is to the decision making process –
Donald Gross, Department of Operations Research, The
George Washington University, 1979

6. OR is the study of how to form mathematical models

of complex engineering and management
problems and how to analyze them to gain
insight about possible solutions. - Ronald L.
Rardin, Optimization in Operations Research,
prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998
 Braches and Applications of OR
DISCIPLINES METHODS & THEORIES
Physical Sciences Decision Theory
Mathematics Mathematical
Political Sciences Programming
Queuing Theories
Social Sciences Scheduling Theory
Business Administration Reliability Theory
Industrial Engineering Probability & Statistics
Behavior Science Stochastic Process
Economics Simulation
Inventory Theory
Computer Science Network Theory
... ...
 Applications/Benefits of OR
1. Scheduling airline crews: American Airlines has been
using for scheduling 16,000 flight attendants, 2,300
flight segments, and 500 aircrafts.
2. Poultry production: Sadia Concordia, Brazil uses OR in
processing over 300 million chickens and 11 million
turkeys a year.
3. Search for hidden treasure: Central America drowned in
1857 near South Carolina USA, with 3 tons of gold,
which was found using OR.
4. Human Resource Management: Work shift scheduling,
labor-management, personnel selection & evaluation,
recruitment and promotion, material handling etc.
Applications/Benefits of OR
5. Marketing and transportation: Advertising budget
allocation, new product sales analysis, distribution
planning, fleet management etc.
6. Production: Inventory planning and control, product
mix analysis, facility layout etc.
7. Education: Library management, classroom assignment,
Routine etc.
8. Health Care: Nurse scheduling, blood distribution
9. Natural Resources: Hydroelectric system management,
mining project evaluation, water pollution control,
energy planning, crisis management, and more...
OR Process & Research Techniques
The Process:
1. Problem identification 2. Solution generation
3. Solution testing 4. Results dissemination
5. Results utilization
The Techniques:
1. Systematic data collection
2. Qualitative techniques
3. Quantitative techniques
4. Surveys, experiments, focus groups ….
OR: A Collaborative Approach
Managers:
responsible for decision parameters and desired
outcomes
Researchers:
responsible for recommending and implementing
research techniques
Workers:
responsible for working in companies or in
societies obeying the provided rules
 OR: Decision Making
Every industrial organization faces multifaceted
problems to identify best possible solution to their
problems.

OR aims to help the executives to obtain optimal

solution with the use of OR techniques with scientific
approach.
It helps in national planning and budgeting.
It also helps the decision maker to improve his creative
and judicious capabilities, analyze and understand the
problem situation leading to better control, better co-
ordination, better systems and finally better decisions.
Mathematical Modelling
• A mathematical model is a description of a system
using mathematical concepts and language.
• The process of developing a mathematical model is
called mathematical modelling.

• A mathematician, an engineer and a physicist must

work together in most of the cases of
mathematical modelling, for example in the area
of fluid mechanics.
Mathematical Modelling
• Different branches of mathematics are used in physics,
chemistry, biology, economics to solve the related
problems.
• However, it is not always easy to make mathematical
equations of the problem in all cases.
• To perform mathematical modelling, it requires
technique, skill and imaginations as well.

Creative Thinking and Problem Solving

Mathematical Modelling: Imaginations

Imagination is more important

than knowledge,
for knowledge is limited
whereas imagination
embrace the entire world,
stimulating progress giving
birth to evolution.
- Albert Einstein
Mathematical Modelling: Getting Facts
Steps of Mathematical Modelling
1. Identify the real problem.
What is the problem asking for ?
2. Identify the problem variables.
What do we need to find out ?
3. Construct appropriate relations between the
variables.
What are we given ? What do we already know ?
What is the relation between known and unknown
quantities or data ?
Steps of Mathematical Modelling
4. Create a model that adequately describes the
problem.
Taking measurements, collecting data.
Deciding on mathematical techniques to be used.
Using the appropriate technology.
Estimating the values of parameters within the
model that cannot be measured or calculated.
5. Obtain the mathematical solution.
mathematical techniques, write a program,
computer simulation?
 Steps of Mathematical Modelling
6. Interpret the mathematical solution.
What does the mathematical answer means in
context of the original problem?
7. Test the validity and the effectiveness of the
model. Compare with reality.
Validity: Do your answers make sense? Do predictions
agree with real data? Do the values have correct
sign? Correct units? Correct size? Are they linear
(non-linear, exponential, logarithmic etc) ?
Effectiveness: Could a simpler model be used? Have you
found a right balance between greater precision
(i.e. greater complexity) and simplicity?
Steps of Mathematical Modelling
8. Present the results. Write a report.
Who will be reading the report? how detailed it
need to be? How to get the right balance between
all the important facts and still be clear and
concise?
A clear introduction is essential. Explain your
variables and methodology clearly in the main
part of the report. Clearly define the problem
statement, variables, methods explaining the
mathematical model. Clearly interpret the solution
and draw the appropriate conclusions.
Steps of Mathematical Modelling
Things to keep in mind when learning about
mathematical modelling:
Learning to apply mathematics is different
from learning mathematics. It is because "pure"
mathematics is usually perceived as a list of
specific procedures, techniques, theorems and
rules, whereas "applied" mathematics is used for
solving a wide range of real world problems,
many of which do not seem mathematical in
nature.
There are no precise set of rules on how to
create a model.
Schematic view: Modeling or Optimization Process

Assumptions, data/variables
Real-world Mathematical
problem simplifications
model

Make sense! ok.

Methods
No! change the model
or optimization
and assumptions
algorithms

Solution of the Solution of

real-world Interpretations
problem
the model
or validations
Mathematical Modeling: Teamwork
Mathematical modeling seeks to gain an understanding
of science through the use of mathematical methods and
computers.
Examples of Mathematical Modelling
1. The product of age of father and son is 800. Find their
ages if the son is 20 years younger than the father.

Solution: Setting a model:

Let x is the age of the son (identifying variable), then
x(x + 20) = 800 (Finding the relation)
Solving, we get
x = 20 and x = - 40 (Analysis of the problem)
Since x = - 40 is not possible, we get x = 20
(Interpretation and validations)
Examples of Mathematical Modelling
2. Linear Programming (LPP) - Blending problem:
The final product of a company has a requirement that
it must weigh exactly 150kgs. The two raw materials
used in the manufacturing of this product are A with a
cost of Rs. 2 per unit and B with a cost of Rs 8 per unit.
At least 14 units of B and no more than 20 units of A
must be used. Each unit of A weighs 5 kg and each unit
of B weighs 10kg. Formulate the problem in
mathematical model to find how much of each type of
raw materials should be used for each unit of the final
product so that the cost is minimized.
Examples of Mathematical Modelling
Formulation: Let units of raw material A and
units of raw material B be used for each item of
the final product.
As the cost per unit of A is Rs. 2, the cost of
unit of A is 2 . Similarly, the cost of units of
B at the rate of Rs. 8/unit is Rs. 8 .
Denoting the total cost invested on each of the
item of the final product by z, the total cost to be
minimized is given by

This is called objective function

Examples of Mathematical Modelling
Next, the weight of each item of the final product is
kgs which must weigh exactly 150kgs,
and hence
i.e.,

Since no more than 20 units of A is to be used,

we have

And since at least 14 units of B must be used,

we have
Examples of Mathematical Modelling
Finally, since and are the number of units to be
used to blend, they must be non-negative numbers,
i.e., ,

Thus, we have to find the value of and that

satisfy the linear system
Minimize
subject to
Examples of Mathematical Modelling
In this LPP formulation, (1) is called objective function, (2)-
(4) are called problem constraints (functional constraints)
and (5) represents the non-negative decision variables.
• If a solution satisfies all constraints, then it is called
feasible solution, whereas if it violates at least one
constraint, then it is called infeasible.
• The best feasible solution, the one that optimizes the
objective function, is called optimal solution.
• The Linear programming problem (LPP) with 2 variables
can be solved by graphical method. The LPP
containing 3 or more variables can be solved by
Simplex Method.
Examples of Mathematical Modelling

3. Modelling of Industrial Problem using ODE:

Problem: A tank contains initially 100 gallons of brine

holding 150 pounds of dissolved salt in solution.
Salt water containing 1 pound of salt per gallon
enters the tank at the rate of 2 gallons per minute,
and the brine flows out at the same rate. If the
mixture is kept uniform by stirring, find the
amount of salt in the tank at the end of one hour.
Examples of Mathematical Modelling

Solution: Let y be the number of pounds of salt in

the tank at the end of t minutes, then dy/dt is
the rate of change of amount of salt at time t.
The rate of entering the salt is 2 pounds per
minute and there is a loss of (2/100)y pounds of
slat per minute. Thus the rate of change of
quantity of salt in time t is

where initial conditions are y = 150 when t = 0.

Examples of Mathematical Modelling

Solving this initial value problem (CW: solve!),

we get

At t = 1 hour = 60 minutes,
y = 115.06 pounds.

Hence the amount of salt in the tank at the end of

one hour is 115.06 pounds