In constrast to "ordinary" sensitivity analysis in linear programming, the tolerance approach considers simultaneous and independent changes in the objective function coefficients and in the right-hand side terms. This approach yields a maximum tolerance percentage such that, as long as selected...

This paper examines issues in building decision support models for budgeting nursing workforce requirements in a hospital. We determine regular-time, overtime, and agency workforce levels for various skill classes in a budget cycle. We introduce a family of eight models ranging from a...

This paper examines an important scheduling problem resulting from a new process for continuously casting steel. A master slab caster produces slabs which are wider than customer needs, and therefore, these must be ripped longitudinally at least once before they can be processed to a...

This paper reports a real-life application of linear programming to corporate policy making. The model used in the study was designed to analyze the company's marketing and production policies. The model structure is unique, incorporating features of product mix, sequencing and blending models....

In this study we formulate a multi-regional single time period linear goal programming model for agricultural planning in a developing economy. In addition to specifying different levels of input and output for each activity, we describe explicit crop interdependencies which account for...

Average variable costs are not directly defined for multiple products produced in complex production settings. An activity analysis model can be used for basic cost measurement and for building a linear programming model of manufacturing operations. The model can then be used not only to compute...

The efficient operation of a beef cattle feedlot is governed by the purchase and selling weights and prices of the animals and by the feeding system used. The optimal feeding system will involve feeding least cost rations to animals at every stage in the production process. A method is described...

In this paper we consider a certain aggregate production planning model. This model permits regular and overtime production and allows for backordering of goods for a number of periods. Although the discussed model can be formulated as a linear programming problem a special (noniterative) method...

The attainment and enforcement of air quality standards is a complicated process. A crucial element in this process is the measurement of ambient air quality. The selection of locations for a limited number of monitors and their sampling frequencies is an important problem in the design of a...

An embedded network within a linear program is, roughly speaking, a subset of constraints that represent conservation of flow. We examine three broad classes of heuristic techniques---row-scanning deletion, column-scanning deletion, and row-scanning addition---for the extraction of large...