We saw that the natural way to model SureStep’sbacklogging model, with IF functions, leads to anonsmooth model that Solver has difficulty handling.Another version of the problem is also difficultfor Solver. Suppose SureStep wants to meet alldemand on time (no backlogging), but it wants tokeep its employment level as constant across timeas possible. To induce this, it charges a cost of $1000each month on the absolute difference between thebeginning number of workers and the number afterhiring and firing—that is, the absolute differencebetween the values in rows 17 and 20 of the originalspreadsheet model. Implement this extra cost in themodel in the natural way, using the ABS (absolutevalue) function. Using demands of 6000, 8000, 5000,and 3000, see how well Solver does in trying to solvethis nonsmooth model. Try several initial solutions,and see whether Solver gets the same optimal solutionfrom each of them.
We saw that the natural way to model SureStep’s
backlogging model, with IF functions, leads to a
nonsmooth model that Solver has difficulty handling.
Another version of the problem is also difficult
for Solver. Suppose SureStep wants to meet all
demand on time (no backlogging), but it wants to
keep its employment level as constant across time
as possible. To induce this, it charges a cost of $1000
each month on the absolute difference between the
beginning number of workers and the number after
hiring and firing—that is, the absolute difference
between the values in rows 17 and 20 of the original
spreadsheet model. Implement this extra cost in the
model in the natural way, using the ABS (absolute
value) function. Using demands of 6000, 8000, 5000,
and 3000, see how well Solver does in trying to solve
this nonsmooth model. Try several initial solutions,
and see whether Solver gets the same optimal solution
from each of them.
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