Transcript LEGO MY SIMPLEX - Foundation Coalition

LEGO MY SIMPLEX
(Pendegraft, 1997)
Directions

You (Teams,groups of students usually no more than 4) are
invited to produce two different products, Tables and Chairs
(see Fig. 1, next slide), using the parts received in a bag.

You will work with two different products: the COMMERCIAL
(bright colors) and MILITARY (camouflage colors), made
identically but with different selling prices. One half of the class
will produce military products and the other half, commercial
(public) products.
Products: Tables and Chair
From Pendegraft, 1997
Tables require two large blocks and two small blocks.
The chair requires one large and two small blocks.
The question

Each team has 30 minutes to
determine the optimal number of tables
and chairs taking account the
respective prices and cost given in
table I (next slide).
Data – Table I
Table I
Lego simplex data
Product:
Client:
Raw material:
Tables and chairs
Commercial (bright colors)
Military (camouflage)
large blocks - total available 6
small blocks - total available 8
Public
Selling price:
Costs:
Table
Chair
Large block
Small block
Military
$57
$37
$8
$5
$61
$41
$8
$5
Salwa A., Ronald W. Experiential learning activities in Operations .Intl. Trans. in Op. Res. 6 (1999) 183-197 )
Debriefing
The game can then extend to cover analysis such as:
Task
Purpose
Technique
Develop a mathematical
model and solve it using
excel software
Find the best product basket and compare
it with the results found empirically in class
Simplex/Solver
Model debugging
Find errors and weakness in the model
Re-optimization
Final managerial decision
on resource allocation
Make appropriate division of organizational
resources between activities under study
and other important activities
Shadows prices
Evaluate estimates of
model parameters
Determine crucial estimates that may affect
optimal solution for further study
Sensitivity analysis
Evaluate trade-offs
between model parameters
Determine the best trade-offs
Parametric linear
programming
Reference



Pendegraft, N., 1997. Lego My Simplex.
OR/MS Today 24, 8.
Salwa A., Ronald W. Experiential learning
activities in Operations .Intl. Trans. in Op.
Res. 6 (1999) 183-197 )
Hillier, F. S.; Lierberman, G. J. Introduction to
Operations Research. McGraw-Hill, 1990,
(Chapter 4)