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Integrating Multiobjective Optimization With The Six Sigma Methodology For Online Process Control, Emad Abualsauod
Integrating Multiobjective Optimization With The Six Sigma Methodology For Online Process Control, Emad Abualsauod
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Over the past two decades, the Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) framework of the Six Sigma methodology and a host of statistical tools have been brought to bear on process improvement efforts in today’s businesses. However, a major challenge of implementing the Six Sigma methodology is maintaining the process improvements and providing real-time performance feedback and control after solutions are implemented, especially in the presence of multiple process performance objectives. The consideration of a multiplicity of objectives in business and process improvement is commonplace and, quite frankly, necessary. However, balancing the collection of objectives is challenging as the objectives are inextricably linked, and, …
Defining A Stakeholder-Relative Model To Measure Academic Department Efficiency At Achieving Quality In Higher Education, Federica Robinson-Bryant
Defining A Stakeholder-Relative Model To Measure Academic Department Efficiency At Achieving Quality In Higher Education, Federica Robinson-Bryant
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In a time of strained resources and dynamic environments, the importance of effective and efficient systems is critical. This dissertation was developed to address the need to use feedback from multiple stakeholder groups to define quality and assess an entity’s efficiency at achieving such quality. A decision support model with applicability to diverse domains was introduced to outline the approach. Three phases, (1) quality model development, (2) input-output selection and (3) relative efficiency assessment, captured the essence of the process which also delineates the approach per tool applied. This decision support model was adapted in higher education to assess academic …
Employing Quality Management Principles To Improve The Performance Of Educational Systems: An Empirical Study Of The Effect Of Iso 9001 Standard On Teachers And Administrators Performance In The Indonesian Vocational Education System, Andreas Kuncoro
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
ISO 9001 has been world widely implemented in both manufacturing and service organizations. A lot of studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of ISO 9001 implementation on the performance of these organizations. Most of these studies show that ISO 9001 implementation realized positive operational improvements and financial success. Building on the merits of successful implementation of ISO 9001 quality management system in manufacturing and service, educational institutions have been attempted to adopt it in their operations. Even though there are studies relating ISO implementation to education, no research has been done to investigate the effects of ISO 9001 …
Investigating The Relationship Between Adverse Events And Infrastructure Development In An Active War Theater Using Soft Computing Techniques, Erman Cakit
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The military recently recognized the importance of taking sociocultural factors into consideration. Therefore, Human Social Culture Behavior (HSCB) modeling has been getting much attention in current and future operational requirements to successfully understand the effects of social and cultural factors on human behavior. There are different kinds of modeling approaches to the data that are being used in this field and so far none of them has been widely accepted. HSCB modeling needs the capability to represent complex, ill-defined, and imprecise concepts, and soft computing modeling can deal with these concepts. There is currently no study on the use of …
Systems Geometry: A Methodology For Analyzing Emergent System Of Systems Behaviors, Christina Bouwens
Systems Geometry: A Methodology For Analyzing Emergent System Of Systems Behaviors, Christina Bouwens
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Recent advancements in technology have led to the increased use of integrated ‘systems of systems’ (SoS) which link together independently developed and usable capabilities into an integrated system that exhibits new, emergent capabilities. However, the resulting SoS is often not well understood, where secondary and tertiary effects of tying systems together are often unpredictable and present severe consequences. The complexities of the composed system stem not only from system integration, but from a broad range of areas such as the competing objectives of different constituent system stakeholders, mismatched requirements from multiple process models, and architectures and interface approaches that are …
Systems Analysis For Urban Water Infrastructure Expansion With Global Change Impact Under Uncertainties, Cheng Qi
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Over the past decades, cost-effectiveness principle or cost-benefit analysis has been employed oftentimes as a typical assessment tool for the expansion of drinking water utility. With changing public awareness of the inherent linkages between climate change, population growth and economic development, the addition of global change impact in the assessment regime has altered the landscape of traditional evaluation matrix. Nowadays, urban drinking water infrastructure requires careful long-term expansion planning to reduce the risk from global change impact with respect to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, economic boom and recession, as well as water demand variation associated with population growth and migration. …
A Retrospective Analysis And Field Study Of Nanotechnology Related Ergonomic Risk In Industries Utilizing Nanomaterials, Wanda Greaves-Holmes
A Retrospective Analysis And Field Study Of Nanotechnology Related Ergonomic Risk In Industries Utilizing Nanomaterials, Wanda Greaves-Holmes
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The National Science Foundation estimates that two million skilled nanotechnology workers will be needed world wide by 2015 – one million of them in the United States (2001). In the absence of scientific clarity about the potential health effects of occupational exposure to nanoparticles, guidance in decision making about hazards, risk, and controls takes on new importance. Currently, guiding principles on personal protective equipment for workers who come in contact with nanomaterials have not been standardized universally. Utilizing the NASATLX, this dissertation investigates the adequacy and shortcomings of research efforts that seek to determine whether or not occupational exposure to …
Critical Success Factors For Evolutionary Acquisition Implementation, Brig J. Bjorn
Critical Success Factors For Evolutionary Acquisition Implementation, Brig J. Bjorn
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Due to extensive challenges to the efficient development and fielding of operationally effective and affordable weapon systems, the U.S. employs a complex management framework to govern defense acquisition programs. The Department of Defense and Congress recently modified this process to improve the levels of knowledge available at key decision points in order to reduce lifecycle cost, schedule, and technical risk to programs. This exploratory research study employed multiple methods to examine the impact of systems engineering reviews, competitive prototyping, and the application of a Modular Open Systems Approach on knowledge and risk prior to funding system implementation and production. In-depth …
An Approach For Measuring The Confidentiality Of Data Assured By The Confidentiality Of Information Security Systems In Healthcare Organizations, Shawn Michael Gallaher
An Approach For Measuring The Confidentiality Of Data Assured By The Confidentiality Of Information Security Systems In Healthcare Organizations, Shawn Michael Gallaher
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Because of the expansion in health information technology and the continued migration toward digital patient records as a foundation for the delivery of healthcare services, healthcare organizations face significant challenges in their efforts to determine how well they are protecting electronic health information from unauthorized disclosure. The disclosure of one’s personal medical information to unauthorized parties or individuals can have broad-reaching and long-term impacts to both healthcare providers and consumers. Although several classes and types of methodologies exist for measuring information security in general, a number of overarching issues have been identified which prevent their adaptation to the problem of …
Multi-Vehicle Dispatching And Routing With Time Window Constraints And Limited Dock Capacity, Ahmed El-Nashar
Multi-Vehicle Dispatching And Routing With Time Window Constraints And Limited Dock Capacity, Ahmed El-Nashar
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (VRPTW) is an important and computationally hard optimization problem frequently encountered in Scheduling and logistics. The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) can be described as the problem of designing the most efficient and economical routes from one depot to a set of customers using a limited number of vehicles. This research addresses the VRPTW under the following additional complicating features that are often encountered in practical problems: 1. Customers have strict time windows for receiving a vehicle, i.e., vehicles are not allowed to arrive at the customer’s location earlier than the lower limit of …
Evaluating Human-Robot Implicit Communication Through Human-Human Implicit Communication, Andrew Xenos Richardson
Evaluating Human-Robot Implicit Communication Through Human-Human Implicit Communication, Andrew Xenos Richardson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) research is examining ways to make human-robot (HR) communication more natural. Incorporating natural communication techniques is expected to make HR communication seamless and more natural for humans. Humans naturally incorporate implicit levels of communication, and including implicit communication in HR communication should provide tremendous benefit. The aim for this work was to evaluate a model for humanrobot implicit communication. Specifically, the primary goal for this research was to determine whether humans can assign meanings to implicit cues received from autonomous robots as they do for identical implicit cues received from humans. An experiment was designed to allow …
An Index To Measure Efficiency Of Hospital Networks For Mass Casualty Disasters, Maria Bull Torres
An Index To Measure Efficiency Of Hospital Networks For Mass Casualty Disasters, Maria Bull Torres
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Disaster events have emphasized the importance of healthcare response activities due to the large number of victims. For instance, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, in 2005, and the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001, left thousands of wounded people. In those disasters, although hospitals had disaster plans established for more than a decade, their plans were not efficient enough to handle the chaos produced by the hurricane and terrorist attacks. Thus, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) suggested collaborative planning among hospitals that provide services to a contiguous geographic area …
Multiobjective Design Optimization Of Gas Turbine Blade With Emphasis On Internal Cooling, Narasimha Nagaiah
Multiobjective Design Optimization Of Gas Turbine Blade With Emphasis On Internal Cooling, Narasimha Nagaiah
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In the design of mechanical components, numerical simulations and experimental methods are commonly used for design creation (or modification) and design optimization. However, a major challenge of using simulation and experimental methods is that they are timeconsuming and often cost-prohibitive for the designer. In addition, the simultaneous interactions between aerodynamic, thermodynamic and mechanical integrity objectives for a particular component or set of components are difficult to accurately characterize, even with the existing simulation tools and experimental methods. The current research and practice of using numerical simulations and experimental methods do little to address the simultaneous “satisficing” of multiple and often …
Design Of The Layout Of A Manufacturing Facility With A Closed Loop Conveyor With Shortcuts Using Queueing Theory And Genetic Algorithms, Vernet Michael Lasrado
Design Of The Layout Of A Manufacturing Facility With A Closed Loop Conveyor With Shortcuts Using Queueing Theory And Genetic Algorithms, Vernet Michael Lasrado
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
With the ongoing technology battles and price wars in today's competitive economy, every company is looking for an advantage over its peers. A particular choice of facility layout can have a significant impact on the ability of a company to maintain lower operational expenses under uncertain economic conditions. It is known that systems with less congestion have lower operational costs. Traditionally, manufacturing facility layout problem methods aim at minimizing the total distance traveled, the material handling cost, or the time in the system (based on distance traveled at a specific speed). The proposed methodology solves the looped layout design problem …
Improving Throughput And Predictability Of High-Volume Business Processes Through Embedded Modeling, Joseph S. Dekeyrel
Improving Throughput And Predictability Of High-Volume Business Processes Through Embedded Modeling, Joseph S. Dekeyrel
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Being faster is good. Being predictable is better. A faithful model of a system, loaded to reflect the system's current state, can then be used to look into the future and predict performance. Building faithful models of processes with high degrees of uncertainty can be very challenging, especially where this uncertainty exists in terms of processing times, queuing behavior and re-work rates. Within the context of an electronic, multi-tiered workflow management system (WFMS) the author builds such a model to endogenously quote due dates. A WFMS that manages business objects can be recast as a flexible flow shop in which …
The Development Of A Human Centered Methodology For The Identification Of Communication Needs And The Assessment Of Hand-Held Communication Devices Used To Support Communication Flow In High Consequence Emergency Management, Mohammad Imraan Jeelani
The Development Of A Human Centered Methodology For The Identification Of Communication Needs And The Assessment Of Hand-Held Communication Devices Used To Support Communication Flow In High Consequence Emergency Management, Mohammad Imraan Jeelani
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Communication has been identified as a critical component in the outcome of emergency response. Post-mortems of “what went wrong” in disaster responses often point toward breakdown in communication between first responders, those directing rescue efforts, and the general population as one of the primary impediments to rendering timely aid and communicating adequate safety and weather information. Due to the high resilience, relatively low costs, and advanced features of modern hand-held communication devices, these devices are in a position to drastically improve communication flow during emergency management situations. Due to the lack of official implementation of these devices and the lack …
Modeling And Characterization Of Acute Stress Under Dynamic Task Conditions, Angel M. Millan
Modeling And Characterization Of Acute Stress Under Dynamic Task Conditions, Angel M. Millan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Stress can be defined as the mental, physical, and emotional response of humans to stressors encountered in their personal or professional environment. Stressors are introduced in various activities, especially those found in dynamic task conditions when multiple task requirements must be performed. Stress and stressors have been described as activators and inhibitors of human performance. The ability to manage high levels of acute stress is an important determinant of successful performance in any occupation. In situations where performance is critical, personnel must be prepared to operate successfully under hostile or extreme stress conditions; therefore training programs and engineered systems must …
A Framework For Quantifying Sustainability Of Lean Implementation In Healthcare Organizations, Haitham Ahmed Bahaitham
A Framework For Quantifying Sustainability Of Lean Implementation In Healthcare Organizations, Haitham Ahmed Bahaitham
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Due to the remarkable positive effect of lean adoption in various firms in the manufacturing sector, it has been adopted by several organizations within the healthcare industry. Although the rate of adopting lean by hospitals in the developed countries is slower than it should be, it proved to be effective in helping healthcare organizations maintain or even improve their quality of care while containing their related costs. However, such adoption did not take place until the beginning of the new millennium. And with such adoption, it has been accompanied with major challenges related to proper lean implementation, sustainability of achieved …
Development Of A Cognitive Work Analysis Framework Tutorial Using Systems Modeling Language, Wilfred Henry Wells
Development Of A Cognitive Work Analysis Framework Tutorial Using Systems Modeling Language, Wilfred Henry Wells
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
At the present time, most systems engineers do not have access to cognitive work analysis information or training in terms they can understand. This may lead to a disregard of the cognitive aspect of system design. The impact of this issue is system requirements that do not account for the cognitive strengths and limitations of users. Systems engineers cannot design effective decision support systems without defining cognitive work requirements. In order to improve system requirements, integration of cognitive work requirements into the systems engineering process has to be improved. One option to address this gap is the development of a …
A Model To Integrate Sustainability Into The User-Centered Design Process, Adrienne Shevonne Brown
A Model To Integrate Sustainability Into The User-Centered Design Process, Adrienne Shevonne Brown
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
With concerns for the environment becoming more prevalent in business and the government, it is increasingly important to re-evaluate and update processes to include sustainability considerations early in the design process. In response to this charge, this research effort was designed to integrate sustainability factors into the usercentered design process. The results of this research highlight the benefits of sustainability requirement planning, as well as those derived from integrating sustainability into the current user-centered design model
A Methodology To Stabilize The Supply Chain, Alfonso Sarmiento
A Methodology To Stabilize The Supply Chain, Alfonso Sarmiento
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In today's world, supply chains are facing market dynamics dominated by strong global competition, high labor costs, shorter product life cycles, and environmental regulations. Supply chains have evolved to keep pace with the rapid growth in these business dynamics, becoming longer and more complex. As a result, supply chains are systems with a great number of network connections among their multiple components. The interactions of the network components with respect to each other and the environment cause these systems to behave in a highly nonlinear dynamic manner. Ripple effects that have a huge, negative impact on the behavior of the …
An Interval Based Approach To Model Input Uncertainty In Discrete-Event Simulation, Ola Batarseh
An Interval Based Approach To Model Input Uncertainty In Discrete-Event Simulation, Ola Batarseh
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The objective of this research is to increase the robustness of discrete-event simulation (DES) when input uncertainties associated models and parameters are present. Input uncertainties in simulation have different sources, including lack of data, conflicting information and beliefs, lack of introspection, measurement errors, and lack of information about dependency. A reliable solution is obtained from a simulation mechanism that accounts for these uncertainty components in simulation. An interval-based simulation (IBS) mechanism based on imprecise probabilities is proposed, where the statistical distribution parameters in simulation are intervals instead of precise real numbers. This approach incorporates variability and uncertainty in systems. In …
Knowledge Management Determinants Of Continuance Behavior: Evaluating The Air Force Knowledge Now Knowledge Management System, Eric Tucker
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Knowledge management (KM) encompasses the set of capabilities, processes, tools, and techniques for the most effective use of knowledge by an organization. The goal of KM is to improve the organization's ability to create, transfer, retain, and apply knowledge. Knowledge management is a goal that many organizations seek to achieve. Organizations apply their strategies, plans, and implementation to achieve KM. Organizations use technology to implement their KM strategy. For some, this approach has worked well; however, for others, the results have fallen short. KM shortcomings revolve around employees' infrequent use of the technology. This research seeks to understand what influences …
Enterprise Business Alignment Using Quality Function Deployment, Multivariate Data Analysis And Business Modeling Tools, Diala Gammoh
Enterprise Business Alignment Using Quality Function Deployment, Multivariate Data Analysis And Business Modeling Tools, Diala Gammoh
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation proposes two novel ideas to enhance the business strategy alignment to customer needs. The proposed business alignment clock is a new illustration to the relationships between customer requirements, business strategies, capabilities and processes. To line up the clock and reach the needed alignment for the enterprise, a proposed clock mechanism is introduced. The mechanism integrates the Enterprise Business Architecture (EBA) with the House of Quality (HoQ). The relationship matrix inside the body of the house is defined using multivariate data analysis techniques to accurately measure the strength of the relationships rather than defining them subjectively. A statistical tool, …
The Design And Development Of An Additive Fabrication Process And Material Selection Tool, Andrew Palmer
The Design And Development Of An Additive Fabrication Process And Material Selection Tool, Andrew Palmer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In the Manufacturing Industry there is a subset of technologies referred to as Rapid Technologies which are those technologies that create the ability to compress the time to market for new products under development . Of this subset, Additive Fabrication (AF), or more commonly known as Rapid Prototyping (RP), acquires much attention due to its unique and futuristic approach to the production of physical parts directly from 3D CAD data, CT or MRI scans, or data from laser scanning systems by utilizing various techniques to consecutively generate cross-sectional layers of a given thickness upon the previous layer to form 3D …
New Heuristics For The 0-1 Multi-Dimensional Knapsack Problems, Haluk Akin
New Heuristics For The 0-1 Multi-Dimensional Knapsack Problems, Haluk Akin
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation introduces new heuristic methods for the 0-1 multi-dimensional knapsack problem (0-1 MKP). 0-1 MKP can be informally stated as the problem of packing items into a knapsack while staying within the limits of different constraints (dimensions). Each item has a profit level assigned to it. They can be, for instance, the maximum weight that can be carried, the maximum available volume, or the maximum amount that can be afforded for the items. One main assumption is that we have only one item of each type, hence the problem is binary (0-1). The single dimensional version of the 0-1 …
Dod Acquisition Workforce Education: An Sba Education Case Study, Richard Davenport
Dod Acquisition Workforce Education: An Sba Education Case Study, Richard Davenport
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A Department of Defense (DoD) M&S education task force is in the process of studying the Modeling and Simulation (M&S) education of the acquisition workforce. Historically, DoD acquisition workforce education is not referred to as education, but rather what the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) refers to as "practitioner training, career management, and services." The DAU is the organization primarily responsible for training the DoD acquisition corps in conjunction with service schools and strategic partners in the civilian sector. DAU programs primarily focus on program management, contracting, and management of logistics across the system life cycle. Further, the examples and cases …
Data Entry Error In Mobile Keyboard Device Usage Subject To Cognitive, Environmental, And Communication Workload Stressors Present In Fully Activated Emergency Operations Centers, Samiullah Durrani
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The diversity and dynamic nature of disaster management environments necessitate the use of convenient, yet reliable, tools for technology. While there have been many improvements in mitigating the effects of disasters, it is clearly evident by recent events, such as Hurricane Katrina that issues related to emergency response and management require considerable research and improvement to effectively respond to these situations. One of the links in a disaster management chain is the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC is a physical command center responsible for the overall strategic control of the disaster response and functions as an information and communication …
Presence-Dependent Performance Differences Between Virtual Simulations And Miniature Worlds, Andre Huthmann
Presence-Dependent Performance Differences Between Virtual Simulations And Miniature Worlds, Andre Huthmann
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of simulation is to avoid reality-based constraints by the implemen-tation of a synthetic model. Based on this advantage, interactive simulations have conquered all areas of applications from acquisition, and training, to research. Simulation results are transferred in many ways into reality and conclusions are drawn from the simulation to the application. Many anecdotal observations on human-in-the-loop simulations have shown a significant difference in actor behavior between simulations and reality-based applications. It seems that the factors that makes simulation so attractive, namely the absence of constraints and especially of imminent danger for persons and equipment, influence the behavior and …
Physical Ergonomic And Mental Workload Factors Of Mobile Learning Affecting Performance Of Adult Distance Learners: Student Pers, Rochelle Jones
Physical Ergonomic And Mental Workload Factors Of Mobile Learning Affecting Performance Of Adult Distance Learners: Student Pers, Rochelle Jones
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Distance education is the fastest growing educational modality because of advances information technology has made over the past 25 years. Adult learners have become the fastest growing population in distance education. Adult learners, through technical tools and devices they use on the job, have become more digitally literate and mobile, making the ability to access class work on the go a necessity. Mobile learning or m-learning (learning that uses wireless, portable, mobile computing, and communication devices) is becoming an extension of distance learning, providing a channel for students to learn, communicate, and access educational material outside the traditional classroom environment. …