At a disaster and emergency relief operation, volunteers are needed 24 hours a day to support many activities such as search and rescue, first aid and basic medical services, and preparation of food and shelters. The operation manager is considering two different work schedules for the volunteers. The first schedule includes six 4-hour shifts, and the second schedule includes eight 3-hour shifts. The accompanying tables also show the estimated number of volunteers needed during each shift.

Under the first schedule, each volunteer would work two consecutive shifts for eight hours, and under the second schedule, each volunteer would work two consecutive shifts for six hours. Volunteers may be asked to start their schedules on any shift. The operation manager needs to choose and implement only one of the two work schedules. Use the appropriate optimization technique to analyze the two work schedules and make a recommendation to the operation manager.

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Four-hour shifts 8 a.m.-12 p.m. 12 p.m.-4 p.m. 4 p.m.-8 p.m. 8 p.m.-12 a.m. 12 a.m.-4 a.m. 4 a.m.-8 a.m. Three-hour shifts 8 a.m.-11 a.m. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 2 p.m.-5 p.m. 5 p.m.-8 p.m. 8 p.m.-11 p.m. 11 p.m.-2 a.m. 2 a.m.-5 a.m. 5 a.m.-8 a m Number of volunteers needed 4 6 11 00 8 5 4 Number of volunteers needed 3 5 7 6 6 67 5 5 4 3