Develop a production schedule to produce the exact production requirements by varying the workforce size for the following problem.
The monthly forecasts for Product X for January, February, and March are 930, 1,550, and 1,220, respectively. Safety stock policy recommends that half of the forecast for that month be defined as safety stock. There are 22 working days in January, 19 in February, and 21 in March. Beginning inventory is 550 units.
Storage cost is $6 per unit per month based on ending inventory level, standard pay rate is $4 per hour, hiring and training cost is $280 per worker, layoff cost is $380 per worker, and worker productivity is 0.1 unit per hour. Assume that you start off with 47 workers and that they work 8 hours per day.