Reference no: EM132282542
The formulation and solution of a certain staff-scheduling problem are shown below: MIN M + T + W + R + F + S + N
T + W + R + F + S >= 14
W + R + F + S + N >= 9 M + R + F + S + N >= 8
M + T + F + S + N >= 6
M + T + W + S + N >= 17
M + T + W + R + N >= 15
M + T + W + R + F >= 18 END
Optimal solution found at step: 4 Objective value: 19.0000000
Variable Value Reduced Cost
M 5.000000 .0000000
T .0000000 .0000000
W 11.00000 .0000000
R .0000000 .0000000
F 2.000000 .0000000
S 1.000000 .0000000
N .0000000 .3333333
Row Slack or Surplus Dual Price
2 .0000000 -.3333333
3 5.000000 .0000000
4 .0000000 -.3333333
5 2.000000 .0000000
6 .0000000 -.3333333
7 1.000000 .0000000
8 .0000000 -.3333333
where, M, T, W, R, F, S, N is the number of people starting their five-day work week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday respectively.
a) How many people are required on duty on Thursday?
b) Suppose that part-time helpers are available who will work the three-day pattern, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. That is, if you hire one of them, they will work all three days. These people cost 20% more per day than the ordinary folk who work a five-day week. Let P denote the number of part-timers to hire. Show how to modify the formulation to incorporate this option.
c) Using information from the solution report, what can you say about the (economic) attractiveness of the part-time help?