In: Statistics and Probability
Cell | x | y | Demand |
Fabrication | 1.0 | 4.0 | 12 |
Paint | 1.0 | 2.0 | 24 |
Subassembly 1 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 13 |
Subassembly 2 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 7 |
Assembly | 4.0 | 4.0 | 17 |
Let us consider again the data from the LaRosa tool bin location problem discussed in Section 14.3.
Suppose we know the average number of daily trips made to the tool bin from each production station. The average number of trips per day are 12 for fabrication, 24 for Paint, 13 for Subassembly 1, 7 for Subassembly 2, and 17 for Assembly. It seems as though we would want the tool bin closer to those stations with high average numbers of trips. Develop a new unconstrained model that minimizes the sum of the demand-weighted distance defined as the product of the demand (measured in number of trips) and the distance to the station.
Solve the model you developed in part (a). Comment on the differences between the unweighted distance solution given in Section 14.3 and the demand-weighted solution.