Textile Mill scheduling

QUESTION : WHAT IS THE PROBLEM IN THIS CASE STUDY

The Scottsville Textile Mill produces five different fabrics. Each fabric can be woven on one or more of the mills 38 looms. The sales departments forecast of demand for the next month is shown in Table 9.16, along with data on the selling price per yard, variable cost per yard, and purchase price per yard. The mill operates 24 hours a day and is scheduled for 30 days during the coming month.

The mill has two types of looms: dobbie and regular. The dobbie looms are more versatile and can be used for all five fabrics. The regular looms can produce only three of the fabrics. The mill has a total of 38: 8 are dobbie and 30 are regular. The rate of production for each fabric on each type of loom is given in Table 9.17. The time required to change over from producing one fabric to another is negligible and doEs not have to be considered.

The Scottsville Textile MIll satisfies all demand with either its own fabric or fabric purchased from another mill. Fabrics that can not be woven at the Scottsville Mill because of limited loom capacity will be purchased from another mill. The purchase price of each fabric is also shown in Table 9.16.

TABLE 9.16 MONTHLY DEMAND, SELLING PRICE, VARIABLE COST, AND PURCHASE PRICE DATA FOR SCOTTVILLE TEXTILE MILL FABRICS

Fabric	Demand (yards)	Selling Price ($/yard)	Variable Cost ($/yard)	Purchase Price ($/yard)
1	16,500	0.99	0.66	0.80
2	22,000	0.86	0.53	0.70
3	62,000	1.10	0.49	0.60
4	7,500	1.24	0.51	0.70
5	62,000	0.70	0.50	0.70

TABLE 9.17 LOOM PRODUCTION RATES FOR THE SCOTTSVILLE TEXTILE MILL

Fabric	Loom Rate (yards/hour)
	Dobbie	Regular
1	4.63	-
2	4.63	-
3	5.23	5.23
4	5.23	5.23
5	4.17	4.17

QUESTION : WHAT IS THE PROBLEM IN THIS CASE STUDY