TRIM LOSS. The Cleveland Sprinkler Company buys 3/4-inch Schedule 40 PVC pipes, which come in 10-foot lengths, and cuts them into the 30-inch, 42-inch, and 56-inch lengths it requires for its...

TRIM LOSS. The Cleveland Sprinkler Company buys 3/4-inch Schedule 40 PVC pipes, which come in 10-foot lengths, and cuts them into the 30-inch, 42-inch, and 56-inch lengths it requires for its projects. The following table gives the number of pieces of each on hand and the current requirements for each of the three lengths. Any cut of less than 30 inches is considered waste (trim loss) and is discarded. The company would like to purchase enough pipe to satisfy its requirements while minimizing its total trim losses.

Hint: The 10-foot (120 inches) pipes can be cut into several variations (e.g., four 30-inch lengths, two 30-inch lengths, and one 42-inch length with 18 inches of trim loss; one 30-inch length and two 42-inch lengths with 6 inches of trim loss; etc). The decision variables are the number of pipes cut into each of these configurations