Doc. No.

: RICS-SBE (N)/F003/001
Revised On: 21st Nov 2017

RICS School of Built Environment

Programme Name MBA Construction Management

Course name and Code CM 661 Quantitative techniques for Construction

Name of Course faculty(s) Professor Arun Kumar Ahuja

Type of course work Home assignment – Individual

Assessment weightage 15%

th
Submission date 12 March 2018

Modules 1, 2, 4

Aim of the course work is to develop quantitative skills for decision making process and
to apply discussed concepts and understand methods in more
details by practicing

Learning outcome tested 1. Ability to structure decision making map such as

Decision tree
2. Ability to use Multi-criteria decision making process i.e
Analytical Hierarchical Process and Analytical Network
Process
3. Ability to form and solve application based Linear
Programming problem to optimize the objectives

Modules tested 1, 2, 3

1. Knowledge and understanding of the topic

Numerical based on class discussion will be part of assignment. The essential facts should be accurate
and broad enough in their scope to allow further application.

2. Application and analysis of the topic (subject specific Skill)

Marks will be given as per detailing and accuracy of solution.

3. The structure in terms of logic and coherence

Submissions should have a clear start and a clear end. Information within submissions should also be
logical and well grouped.

4. The use of relevant work examples and/or examples gained from further reading

Suggestions for further reading are contained within the course work and indicated at the end of the
course work. These reading lists are not exhaustive and candidates are encouraged to read further
and reference at the end of the course work using Harvard style of referencing.
Marking scheme

Weightage Total Marks

Demonstrate elementary understanding of subject 20% 5

Demonstrate applicability of models learnt 20% 5

Demonstrate qualitative and quantitative understanding for subject 10% 2.5

critically think and address the context and include in discussion, 10% 2.5
conclusion and recommendation

Final internal assessment 40% 10

Please note all assignments will be hand written and understanding based shall subject to
plagiarism checks

Plagiarism

“Plagiarism is defined as presenting another person’s work as one’s own work. Presentation includes
copying or reproducing it without the acknowledgement of the source.”

Plagiarism involves copying of phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs or longer extracts from
published or unpublished work (including from the Internet) that exceeds the boundaries of the
legitimate cooperation without acknowledgement of the source. Plagiarism could be intentional
(dishonest plagiarism) or non-intentional (negligent plagiarism).

This definition also applies for figures and figure legends and for tables and table legends which you
copy into your text.”

It is mandatory that each course work shall be checked for plagiarism through Turnitin or similar
software before submission. The content which is based on existing published work must come from
properly quoted material and from the references cited section. After checking the accuracy of the
citations and references of such content the plagiarism report should not return similarity index of
more than 15% in any circumstance. However, if the matching text is one continuous block, the index
of 15% could shall be considered plagiarism. Any report with higher than this percentage matching
must be explained by the student. The details of copy rights, professional ethics are given in Plagiarism
Prevention Policy of the University.
Quotations
When using quotations from books, websites or journal articles you should cite the author and the
year of publication then use the quote in quotation marks.

Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is where you encapsulate another person’s original idea, argument or conclusion in your
own words. It is still necessary to attribute those ideas to the author, and you can do this by using the
formatting outlined above for direct quotations, taking care to include the author’s surname and the
year of publication.

Collaboration
We acknowledge that you may undertake joint study with colleagues or as part of a formal training
programme. However, working with another person to write assignments is not acceptable. Your
answers must be your own and in your own words.

Referencing
You may detail the style of referencing here as per RICS SBE

Instructions

1. Plagiarism is a serious offence. In case of any plagiarism detected, penalty will be imposed
leading to zero mark.
2. Course work and reports should be solved by the individual/group.
3. Course work and reports should be submitted on time and submission after deadline will be
marked zero.
4. Name, student identification and title of the course work to be written clearly and legibly

Grading of Course work

Qualitative
Performance description
Value

• Clearly demonstrates a highly creative, critical and thought- provoking

understanding of the topic.
• Novel and complex problems are solved with reference to theory and
practice.
• Provides clear evidence of originality and independence of thought and
with an exceptional ability to develop highly systematic and logical or
80% and Above
insightful argument, solution or evaluation.
(Outstanding)
• Demonstrates exceptional ability in the appropriate use of the relevant
literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques etc., to
analyze and synthesize the given problem.
• Shows an exceptionally high level of clarity, focus and strength in
communication.
• The writing perfectly accomplishes the objectives of the assignment.
• Clearly demonstrates a persuasive, critical and thorough understanding of
the topic.
• Some evidence of novel and complex problems solved with reference to
theory and practice.
• Provides evidence of independence of thought and clearly demonstrates
75 – 79% the ability to develop a highly systematic and logical or Insightful
(Excellent) argument, solution or evaluation of the problem.
• Demonstrates excellence in the appropriate use of the relevant literature,
theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques etc., to analyze and
synthesize the given problem.
• Shows a high level of clarity, focus and strength in communication.
• The writing perfectly accomplishes the objectives of the assignment.
 • Clearly demonstrates a well-developed, critical and comprehensive
understanding of the topic.
• Provides some evidence of independence of thought and clearly
demonstrates the ability to develop a systematic and logical or insightful
argument, solution or evaluation of the given problem.
68 – 74%
• Demonstrates a high degree of competence in the appropriate use of the
(Good)
relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques,
etc., to analyze and synthesize the given problem.
• Shows clarity, focus and strength in communication
• Accomplishes the goals of the assignment with an overall effective
approach.

• Demonstrates a systematic and substantial understanding of the topic.

• Demonstrates the ability to develop a systematic argument or solution to
the given problem.
60 – 67%
• Demonstrates a significant degree of competence in the appropriate use
(Above
of the relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools,
Average)
techniques etc., to analyze and synthesize the given problem.
• Provides evidence of clarity and focus in communication.
• Minimally accomplishes the goals of the assignment.

• Provides evidence of a systematic understanding of the key aspects of the

topic.
• Demonstrates the ability to present a sufficiently structured argument or
solution to the given problem.
52 – 59%
• Demonstrates an acceptable degree of competence in the appropriate use
(Average)
of the relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools,
techniques etc., to analyze and synthesize the given problem
• Provides evidence of effective communication.
• Minimally accomplishes the majority of the goals of the assignment.

• Provides evidence of some understanding of key aspects of the topic and

some ability to present an appropriate argument or solution to the given
problem.
45 -51% • Demonstrates some competence in the appropriate use of the relevant
(Satisfactory) literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques, etc. to
analyze and synthesize the given problem.
• Provides some evidence of effective communication.
• Minimally accomplishes the majority of the goals of the assignment
• Demonstrates limited competence in the appropriate use of the relevant
literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques, etc. to
40 – 44%
analyze and synthesize the given problem.
(Border Line)
• Provides limited evidence of effective communication.
• Fails to accomplish the majority of the goals of the assignment
Less than 40%
Work that is unacceptable. Erroneous/wrong, missing, extremely
(Fail)
 Name and Signature of Course Coordinator/ Course faculty

Professor Joseph V Thanikal

Course work brief

Context:

Q1. A refrigeration company has six plants located in different parts of a city. Every year, it is
necessary for each plant to be completely overhauled. The overhauling is carried out in two stages A
and B, and each stage requires a crew of workmen with completely different skills. The work on
stage B can start only when stage A is completed. A plant has to be closed for the entire period of its
overhauling. The present schedule of the overhaul of the six plants is as follows:

Time required by crew in days

Plant P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6

Crew A 6 6 4 6 5 8

Crew B 4 2 10 5 3 6

a) Determine the optimal sequence.

b) If down-time of any of the six plants cost Rs. 800 per day for a plant, idle time for crew A
cost Rs. 250 per day, and idle time for crew B cost Rs. 430 per day, Which of the two
schedules, the present one and the one determined in (a) will be more economical? What
are their respective cost?

Q2. Find the sequence that minimizes the total elapsed time required to complete the following
jobs. Each job is processed in the order ACB.

Jobs J1 J2 J3 J4 J5 J6

Time on machine 12 8 7 11 10 5
A

Time on machine 7 10 9 6 10 4
B

Time on machine 3 4 2 5 2 4
C
Q3. Two jobs A and B, are to be processed on 6 machines. The sequence of machines and the
processing times are given in the following table:

Job A Machine M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6
Sequence

Time 6 4 5 3 4 2
(hours)

Job B Machine M1 M3 M5 M4 M2 M6
Sequence

Time 4 8 4 3 6 4
(hours)

What is the minimum time in which both the jobs can be completed?

Q4. A readymade garments manufacturer has to process 7 items through two stages of production,
viz. cutting and sewing. The time taken by each of these items at different stages are given in
appropriate units.

Item Processing Time

Cutting Sewing Processing time

1 5 2 10

2 7 6 12

3 3 7 11

4 4 5 13

5 6 9 12

6 7 5 10

7 12 8 11

Find the order in which these items are to be processed so as to minimize the time taken to process
all the items through all the three stages?

Q5. A book binder has one printing press, one binding machine and the manuscripts of a number of
different books. The time required to perform the printing and binding operations for each book are
shown as follows:

Book 1 2 3 4 5 6
 Printing 30 120 50 20 90 100
time
(hours)

Binding 80 100 90 60 30 10
time
(hours)

Determine the order in which the books should be processed in order to minimize the total time
required to turn out all the books?

Q6. The GOFERBROKE COMPANY owns a tract of land that may contain oil. A consulting geologist
has reported to management that she believes there is 1 chance in 4 of oil. Because of this prospect,
another oil company has offered to purchase the land for $90,000. However, Goferbroke is
considering holding the land in order to drill for oil itself. The cost of drilling is $100,000. If oil is
found, the resulting expected revenue will be $800,000, so the company’s expected profit (after
deducting the cost of drilling) will be $700,000. A loss of $100,000 (the drilling cost) will be incurred
if the land is dry (no oil).

Develop the payoff table. Use Maximax to arrive at decision.

Q7. Using the same problem of Q1. Use MINIMAX Regret criteria to arrive at a decision.

Q8. A property owner wants to sell his 2bhk property and is faced with a choice of: A large-scale
investment (A) to improve her flat. This could produce a substantial pay-off in terms of increased
revenue net of costs but will require an investment of RS. 14,00,000. After extensive market
research it is considered that there is a 40% chance that a pay-off of Rs. 25,00,000 will be obtained,
but there is a 60% chance that it will be only Rs. 8,00,000. A smaller scale project (B) to re-decorate
her premises. At Rs.5,00,000 this is less costly but will produce a lower pay-off. Research data
suggests a 30% chance of a gain of Rs.10,00,000 but a 70% chance of it being only Rs. 5,00,000.
Continuing the present operation without change (C). It will cost nothing, but neither will it produce
any pay-off. Clients will be unhappy and it will become harder and harder to rent the flats out when
they become free.

Q9. Extel has developed a new computer chip that will enable it to begin producing and marketing a
personal computer. Alternatively, it can sell the rights to the computer chip for $15 million. If the
company chooses to build computers, the profitability of the venture depends upon the company’s
ability to market the computer during the first year. It has sufficient access to retail outlets that it
can guarantee sales of 10,000 computers. On the other hand, if this computer catches on, the
company can sell 100,000 machines. For analysis purposes, these two levels of sales are taken to be
the two possible outcomes of marketing the computer, but it is unclear what their prior probabilities
are. The cost of setting up the assembly line is $6 million. The difference between the selling price
and the variable cost of each computer is $600.

Develop a decision analysis formulation of this problem by identifying the alternative actions, the
states of nature, and the payoff table.

Q10. A contractor is trying to decide whether to bid for a certain contract or not. They estimate that
merely preparing the bid will cost £10,000. If their company bid then they estimate that there is a
50% chance that their bid will be put on the "short-list", otherwise their bid will be rejected.
Once "short-listed" the company will have to supply further detailed information (entailing costs
estimated at £5,000). After this stage their bid will either be accepted or rejected.

The company estimate that the labour and material costs associated with the contract are £127,000.
They are considering three possible bid prices, namely £155,000, £170,000 and £190,000. They
estimate that the probability of these bids being accepted (once they have been short-listed) is 0.90,
0.75 and 0.35 respectively.

What should the company do and what is the expected monetary value of your suggested course of
action?

Q11. Solve the following LP problem with Graphical Method

Minimize Cost = 2X + 3Y

Subject to X + 3Y ≥ 100

8X + 2Y ≥ 180

3X + 2Y ≥ 130

Y ≤ 75

X, Y ≥ 0

Q12. A project proposal needs to be prepared for a mixed used development towards housing and
retail area. The housing area would consist of efficiency apartments, duplex and single family homes.
Maximum demand by potential renters is estimated to be of 600 efficiency apartments, 400
duplexes and 350 single family homes, but the number of duplexes must equal at least 60% of the
number of efficiency apartments and single homes. Retail space is proportionate to the number of
home units at the rates of at least 12 sqft, 18 sqft and 20 sqft for efficiency, duplex, and single family
units respectively. However, land availability limits, rental space to no more than 10000sft. The
monthly rental income is estimated at Rs.25000, Rs.35500 and Rs.50000 for efficiency, duplex and
single family units respectively. The retail space rents for Rs.5500 per sft.
a. Please write the Objective Function

b. Identify the constraints

c. Arrive at an optimal solution for the LP model developed using simplex method to determine the
optimal retail space area and the number of residences

d. Write the Dual Problem for this LP Problem

Q13. A manufacturing firm has discontinued production of certain unprofitable product-line. This
has created considerable excess production capacity. The management is considering devoting this
excess production capacity to one or more than three products P1, P2 and P3. The available capacity
on the machines which might limit the output is summarized in the following table:

Machine type Available time in hours

Milling machine 300
Lathe 200
Grinder 100

The number of machine hours required for each unit of the respective products are given below:

Productivity (in machines hours per unit)

Machine type Product P1 Product P2 Product P2
Milling machine 9 3 4
Lathe 5 4 -
Grinder 3 - 2

The unit profit is ₹.20, ₹.6 and ₹.8 for product P1, P2 and P3 respecSvely.

a) What should be the product mix to maximize the profit?

b) What should be the product mix to maximize the product if the potential to the Product P3 is
exactly 25 units?

c) What should be the product mix if at least 25 units of Product P3 are to be manufactured?

d.) Write the duality of the problem.

Q14. A company manufactures two types of products P1 and P2. Each product requires lathe and
milling machine. The processing time per unit of P1 on lathe is 5 hours and milling is 4 hours. The
processing time per unit of P2 on lathe is 10 hours and milling is 4 hours. Maximum hours of lathe
and milling machine available is 60 and 40 hours respectively. Profit for selling one unit of P1 is 6 INR
and for one unit of P2 is 8 INR respectively. Formulate LPP and solve using graphical method.
Perform sensitivity analysis for OFC and RHS of constraints.
Q15. A lumber mill can produce pallets of high quality lumber. Its lumber capacity is limited by its
kiln size. It can dry 200 mbf per day. Similarly, it can produce a maximum of 600 pallets per day. In
addition, it can only process 400 logs per day through its main saw. Quality lumber sells for $490 per
mbf, and pallets sell for $9 each. It takes 1.4 logs on average to make one mbf of lumber, and four
pallets can be made from one log. Of course, different grades of logs are used in making each
product. Grade 1 lumber logs cost $200 per log, and pallet-grade logs cost only $4 per log.
Processing costs per mbf of quality lumber are $200 per mbf, and processing costs per pallet are only
$5. How many pallets and how many mbf of lumber should the mill produce?

Write an LPP for above problem and solve.