Tutorial 3 - Exercises + Blanks (Chapter 3 - Location Planning)

Operations Management
3. Tutorial: Chapter 3 – Location Planning – Exercises + Blanks
Exercise 1: Manhattan Distances
The RoboTec Inc. plans to locate two canteens on their plant ground with several industrial
and office buildings. The canteens should be located in such a way that the employees walk
minimal distances to get their food during lunch. The following table shows the number of
employees per building and the position of the building on the plant ground.

Building Coordinates Employees
j aj bj wj
1 8 11 79
2 6 6 53
3 2 5 35
4 13 9 48
5 4 2 67
6 14 13 24

a) Describe the mode of operation of the heuristic for the determination of good locations
for multiple locations at any place. Which problem can occur during the usage of a
heuristic?

, b) Locate both canteens A and B by applying this heuristic und use the initial solution
(xA, yA) = (3, 7) and (xB, yB)=(8, 7). Calculate with Manhattan distances.


Step 1:


Step 2:

Building Coordinates Employees Distance to Canteen A Distance to Canteen B

j aj bj wj d(3,7) d(8,7)

1 8 11 79

2 6 6 53

3 2 5 35

4 13 9 48

5 4 2 67

6 14 13 24



Step 3:
First Iteration: Canteen A First Iteration: Canteen B
Building Location Employees Cumulated Building Location Employees
j aj wj j aj wj Cumulated




Building Location Employees Building Location Employees
j bj wj Cumulated j bj wj Cumulated




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