UEMT 3113 OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND
OPTIMIZATION
Introduction to Operations Research
UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN(UTAR)
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND MATERIAL ENGINEERING
LEE KONG CHIAN FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE
INTRODUCTION
It had its early roots in World
War II and is flourishing in
business and industry with the
aid of computer. Today OR is a
dominant and indispensable
decision-making tool.
INTRODUCTION
• Operations Research is a scientific approach to decision making
that seeks to best design and operate a system, usually under
conditions requiring the allocation of scare resources.
• Scientific study of operations for the purpose of making better
decisions.
• It is a discipline that deals with application of advanced analytical
methods to facilitate better decisions.
• It represents the study of optimal resource allocation.
INTRODUCTION
In simple terms, it is described as
“the science of better”
TERMINOLOGY
• The British/Europeans refer to “Operational Research", the
Americans to “Operations Research" - but both are often
shortened to just "OR".
• Another term used for this field is “Management Science"
("MS"). In U.S. OR and MS are combined together to form
"OR/MS" or "ORMS".
• Yet other terms sometimes used are “Industrial
Engineering" ("IE") and “Decision Science" ("DS").
OPERATIONS RESEARCH
This Situation Provides
➢ More complete data
➢ Consideration of all available options
➢ Careful predictions of outcomes and estimates of risk
➢ The latest decision tools and techniques
HISTORY
HISTORY
✓ Operational Research has been existed as a science since
1930‘s.
✓ But as a formal discipline Operational Research originated by
the efforts of military planner during World War II .
✓ The analytical study of military problems was undertaken to
provide scientific basis for decisions to improve military
operations.
HISTORY
✓ In the decade after World War-II the techniques began to be applied more widely in
problems of business, industries and society.
✓ As the complexity and specialization in an organization increase, it becomes more and
more difficult to allocate the available resources to the various activities. OR plays a
critical role to solve those problems.
✓ Since the time Operations Research has expanded into a field widely used in industries
ranging from petro-chemical to airlines, finances, logistics and government.
✓ Now it has become an area of active academic and industrial research.
OPERATIONS RESEARCH
➢In Industry ➢ People
➢Agriculture ➢ Machine
➢Business ➢ Material
➢Government ➢ Money management
➢Defense fields
➢ Plant location
➢Transportation
➢ Route
HISTORY
✓ The techniques of Operations Research have been applied
and proven in many industries under different names.
✓ For instance:-
- ‘Lean’ in manufacturing.
- ‘Supply Chain’ in logistics (e.g. Alibaba’s smart logistic
platform) and
- ‘Yield Management’ in airlines.
.
Optimization is a word
that comes to mind first
in operations research.
METHODOLOGY OF OPERATION RESEARCH
7 Steps of Problem Solving
Step 1 : Formulate the Problem
Organization’s problem is defined by the OR
analysts. Defining the problem includes specifying
the organization’s objectives and the parts of the
organization (or system) that must be studied before
the problem can be solved.
METHODOLOGY OF OPERATION RESEARCH
7 Steps of Problem Solving
Step 2 : Observe the System
Next, the data are collected to estimate the
values of parameters that affect the
organization’s problem. These estimates are
used to develop and evaluate a mathematical
model of the organization’s problem.
METHODOLOGY OF OPERATION RESEARCH
Step 3 : Formulate a Mathematical Model
of the Problem
Then, the analysts develops a mathematical model of
the problem. Many mathematical techniques that can
be used to model systems are described.
➢ Decision variables
➢Objective function
➢Constraints of the problem
➢Non negativity condition
METHODOLOGY OF OPERATION RESEARCH
Step 4 : Verify the model and use
the model for Prediction
The analyst tries to determine if the
mathematical developed is accurate
representation of reality. To determine how
well the model fits reality, one determines how
valid the model is for the current situation.
METHODOLOGY OF OPERATION RESEARCH
Step 5 : Select a suitable alternative
Given a model and a set of alternatives, the
analyst chooses the alternative that best meets the
organization’s objectives.
METHODOLOGY OF OPERATION RESEARCH
Step 6 : Present the results and
conclusions of the study
The analyst presents the model and the
recommendations to the decision making individual
or group. In some situations, one might present
several alternatives and let the organization choose
the decision makers choose the one that best meets
their needs.
If the recommendations does not meet the
requirement, the analyst need to return to step 1, 2,
and 3.
METHODOLOGY OF OPERATION RESEARCH
Step 7 : Implement and Evaluate
recommendation Situation
If the decision maker has accepted the study, the analyst
aids in implementing the recommendations. The system
must be constantly monitored to ensure that the
recommendations are enabling decision maker to meet their
target. Implement
the Procedure
Procedure
ADVANTAGES OF THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL
Experimenting with models (compared to experimenting with the
real situation):
❖ Requires less time.
❖ Is less expensive.
❖ Requires less human capital.
VARIOUS TECHNIQUES/METHODS
1. Linear Programming Problem (LP)
2. Transportation Problem (TP)
3. Assignment problem (AP)
4. Dynamic Programming (DP)
5. Nonlinear Programming (NP)
6. Simulation
7. Critical Path Method (CPM)/ Program Evaluation Review Technique
(PERT)
8. Integer Programming (IP)
CONCLUSION
Operation research ensures the effective working of
organizations by providing solution to their various problems
