Case Report for Operations Research

Presented to the Economics Department of

De La Salle University - Manila

November 4, 2015
CASE 4: Problem faced by the Lasallian Community
Reducing Waiting Time Through Operations Research:
The Case of the Andrew Hall Elevators

I.

Introduction
The Br. Andrew Gonzales Hall is one of the many buildings that can be found inside the

De La Salle University campus. It is a 21-floor building that houses not only several classrooms
but also faculty offices, such as the English, Law, and Engineering Departments, speech
laboratories, a chapel, a library, study halls, and a moot court. These classrooms are where
general education classes are usually held, which are taken by the freshmen. Moreover, this
building is also the hub of the university's College of Education and College of Law. Therefore,
this makes Br. Andrew Gonzales Hall, one of the most heavily populated buildings, if not the

most, in the campus. With the recent influx of students at the start of the school year, this poses a
problem to the students and faculty at present, and also for the succeeding years.
Br. Andrew Gonzales Hall houses four elevators for students and guests, and one elevator
for faculty, as well as two staircases. These four elevators are not being optimized to meet the
students' needs, most especially during the peak times of classes. During the fifteen-minute
period before these time blocks, the lobby of the building is usually flocked with students lining
up to go to their respective classrooms and to go down to the lobby. The university has made
efforts to implement different elevator schemes, however, it is still not optimal. Therefore, the
researchers aim to determine the elevator scheme that will minimize the waiting time of students
for them to be able to maximize the fifteen-minute break period.
II.

Statement of the Problem

With Br. Andrew Gonzales Hall housing several classrooms and facilities, the lobby

tends to be congested both with students and faculty. The researchers would like to indicate two
main points as to why this is a pressing problem for the Lasallian community:
1) Opportunity cost: time spent waiting for the elevator can be otherwise spent doing
more productive things such as attending class and studying; and
2) Negative externalities: long lines, which lead to student congestion on the ground floor
(and more often than not leads to heat, then sweaty students then unpleasant smells).

Why are there wait times?

The capacity does not match demand, there are more students than the elevator can
accommodate given peak times, and capacity or demand is not well managed, which means that
elevator sequencing may not be the optimal (i.e which elevator services what floors). By
capacity, we mean the maximum rate at which a resource can deliver a service. Therefore, the
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main objective of this research is to minimize the average waiting time of all students and faculty
at a certain peak time block before being transported to their designated floors, given constraints.
Moreover, the researchers aim to establish the optimal elevator scheme that can minimize the
waiting time of both students and faculty of the university.

III.

Model Description and Data Specification

A. Model Description

Quantitative Analysis Technique: Linear Programming

The chosen quantitative analysis technique for this problem is linear programming.
Linear programming is a mathematical modeling technique that can be used to allocate scarce or
limited resources to fulfill a criterion of optimality. Identification of the problem solvable by
linear programming is critical since there are many quantitative techniques that may be more
appropriate for the problem that you are trying to solve.

B. Description of Data and Data Sources

Data is obtained by observing the student traffic at the ground floor for 45 minutes. We
will label this time block 1 (T1). Specifically, 12:45PM to 01:30PM time slot. Classes start at
1:00PM. The first 30 minutes will allow us see the progression of congestion and the last 15
minutes will give us the volume of students who will still be left on the ground floor after the
bell rings. This strategy will also give us the maximum waiting time each block of students
should wait for before students get late for class.

IV.

Linear Programming Application

Linear programming uses linear algebraic relationship to represent a firms decision

given an objective that is subject to resource constraints. As stated by Render et. al. (2011), a
linear programming problem requires: an objective function; constraints; alternative; and
mathematical relationships are linear. We then apply this to the Andrew Elevator problem
presented.

A. Objective Function and Constraints

Objective: To minimize the average time all students using the Andrew Elevators at a certain
time block (T1) get transported to their designated floors.
Constraints:
There are four elevators in the Andrew Gonzales Hall.
Elevator 1 needs to transport x number of students, x numbers of students for Elevator
2, x number of students for Elevator 3, and x number of students for Elevator 4.
It takes x time for Elevator 1 to transport number of students to their designated floors,
x time for Elavator 2, x time for Elevator 3, and x time for elevator 4.
The maximum capacity of Elevator 1, 2, 3, 4 given a 45 minute block are x, x, x, x,
respectively.
Average transportation time for each elevator to transport all students should not exceed
x minutes for Elevator 1, x minutes for Elevator 2, x minutes for Elevator 3, and x
minutes for Elevator 4.

B. Assumptions
1) The 4 elevators are being used strictly by students only, since there is a separate elevator
for the faculty, administrators, and staff.
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2) *non-negativity/positive/whole numbers*
3)

C. Quantitative Variables
1) Average waiting time per elevator (Objective Function)
This is the average waiting time for each elevator to transport all of its load to all floors;
it is computed by accounting for the waiting of each block of students for every trip
made, divided by the total number of trips made.
2) Maximum capacity of elevators/number of students per elevator (Constraint)
This is the number of students that the elevators can service per time block. It includes
the total number of students that can be accommodated by the elevator before the bell
rings.
3) Maximum waiting time before the student will be late for class (Constraint)
4) Average time the elevator is able to transport students (Constraint)
This is the amount of time that the elevator can load and unload students in a certain
floor.
5) Floors served by elevators 1 and 2 (since both elevators serve the same floors) and
elevators 3 and 4.
6) Floors where classes are held.

V.

Qualitative Variables
Also called categorical variables, these variables are not quantifiable but can affect the

performance of the elevators. We include these so we can have a better view of our solutions.

1) The current elevator sequencing may not be optimal (note that each elevator in the
Andrew building has limited floors to which it can transport students).
2) In the case that the previous class of a student has been dismissed late (considering that
the class is not conducted in Andrew Building), the student will be late for his/her class in
the Andrew building (contributing to the crowd even if he/she does not want to).
3) Instances where security guards, especially during rush hours, operate the elevator.
4) Elevators going down are sometimes operated by security guards for them to immediately
reach the ground floor and not make any other stops.
5) Students sometimes hold the elevator for their friends/colleagues to be able to catch the
ride.

VI.

Linear Programming Formulation

VII.

Optimal Solution

VIII.

Recommendations

IX.

References