FUZZY PRODUCTION PLANNING-MODEL FOR FRESH TOMATO PACKING

A fuzzy mathematical program is formed when the strict requirements wi thin a mathematical program (objective coefficients, right-hand-side v alues, inequality conditions, etc.) are fuzzified. In general, such fu zzifying is appropriate for situations where the values or conditions are subjects of perception. In tomato packing, uncertain elements attr ibuted to human perception are quite common. Such elements include har vest time, tomato packing rate, and shortage cost. In this paper, we f irst provide an LP formulation to determine the production schedule fo r a fresh tomato packinghouse. Then the corresponding fuzzy elements a re fuzzified into a fuzzy model which is solved using an auxiliary mod el (mixed 0-1 LP). Using real-life data, we compare the cost obtained from the LP to that from the fuzzy model. It is found that the cost fr om the former is substantially higher. We observe that the rigid requi rements in the LP results in an unrealistic optimal solution, while th e fuzzy programming seeks to realize a desirable solution (as perceive d by the user) by relaxing some resource restrictions. It is further o bserved that such opportunistic relaxation of constraints to achieve a better solution is typical of decision-making behavior in tomato pack ing.