A jewellery company makes rings (R) and necklaces (N).
The resources available to the company have been analysed and two constraints have been identified:
Labour time 3R + 2N ≤ 2,400 hours
Machine time 0·5R + 0·4N ≤ 410 hours
The management accountant has used linear programming to determine that R = 500 and N = 400.
Which of the following is/are slack resources?
(1) Labour time available
(2) Machine time available
If the values for R and N are substituted into the constraints:
Labour required = (3 x 500) + (2 x 400) = 2,300 hours which is less than what is available so there is slack.
Machine time required = (0·5 x 500) + (0·4 x 400) = 410 hours which is exactly what is available and so there is no slack.