Engineering Commons^™

Simulation-Based Optimisation Model For The Lean Assessment In Sme: A Case Study, Amr Arisha, Amr Mahfouz, John Shea

Conference papers

Due to their space limitation and small production scale, small and medium enterprises (SME) are vulner-able to rapid changes. Lean principles are considered as effective improvement approach to eliminate sys-tem’s waste and inefficiencies. Although much of the academic materials have addressed the lean practic-es into large, global companies, they can still be adjusted to SMEs. Risks are usually associated with lean implementation process due to the drastic required changes in business policies and operations. Simulation can be successfully used to predict the impact of the proposed changes ahead of the implementation which helps to mitigate risks. Integrating simulation with optimization …

Ethnic Difference In Healthcare Delivery, Benny Mathew Varghese

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Quality in healthcare is a very important aspect; this is obtained when there is proper care provided to the patients without any discrimination. The healthcare system in the US can be improved in the fields of patient’s care, the amount of money spent and proper advice, if proper responsibilities are taken. Quality has been improving over the years, but the median by which there is an increase is too small. The other main factor is access to the healthcare system, which has over the year, has not progressed. Studies in healthcare quality should be conducted on a regular base, so …

Economic Analysis Of Continuous Monitoring Of Commercial Truck Tire Pressure Using Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (Tpms) And Rfid Technologies., Afolabi A. Ogunwemimo

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The trucking industry is a major contributor to the US economy. By providing the essential services of transportation and distribution needed in today’s dynamic industry, the transportation industry has evolved into an integral player in various supply chains. The trucking industry is the largest transportation provider for other industries and employs 10.1 million workers in the United States (ATA, 2003).

This research is an analysis of the economic impact of maintaining proper air pressure in the tires of commercial trucks. Various studies have been carried out on understanding the relationship between tire pressure and fuel consumption (National Research Council, 2006). …

Electronic Monitoring Of Hand Hygiene Compliance In An Inpatient Hospital Setting, Christopher M. Masek

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Proper hand hygiene is known to reduce hospital acquired infections. Currently the most widely accepted method used to measure hand hygiene compliance is through direct observation. This method often provides data that may not accurately represent true hand hygiene compliance due to such factors such as the Hawthorne Effect. Perhaps a better approach is to use counting devices to capture hand hygiene opportunities and activities. This thesis focuses on the measurement of hand hygiene activities of all individuals that either work or visit an inpatient medical ward including healthcare workers, patients and visitors at the patient’s bedside for non-isolation patients. …

A Study Of Solder Joint Failure Criteria, Jianbiao Pan, Julie Silk

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

One of the challenges in an experimental study of solder joint reliability is to determine when cracks occur in a solder joint or when a solder joint fails. Cracks in a real solder joint are difficult to identify using an X-Ray system. Cross-sectioning and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a destructive method. A common non-destructive test method is to monitor resistance increase in a solder joint or a daisy-chain. However, no scientific research has been done in establishing the relationship between the crack area of an interconnection and the change in resistance of the interconnection. This paper proposes a method …

Effect Of Gold Content On The Reliability Of Snagcu Solder Joints, Jianbiao Pan, J. Silk, M. Powers, P. Hyland

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Electroplated Ni/Au over Cu is a popular metallization for printed circuit board finish as well as for component leads, especially wire-bondable high-frequency packages, where the gold thickness requirement for wire bonding is high. The general understanding is that less than 3 wt% of Au is acceptable in SnPb solder joints. However, little is known about the effect of Au content on the reliability of SnAgCu solder joints. The purpose of this paper is to determine the acceptable level of Au in SAC305 solder joints. Three different package platforms with different Au thicknesses were assembled on boards with two different Au …

Revised Reference Curves For Bone Mineral Content And Areal Bone Mineral Density According To Age And Sex For Black And Non-Black Children: Results Of The Bone Mineral Density In Childhood Study, Babette S. Zemel, Heidi J. Kalkwarf, Vicente Gilsanz, Joan M. Lappe, Sharon Oberfield, John A. Shepherd, Margaret M. Frederick, Xangke Huang, Ming Lu, Soroosh Mahboubi, Thomas N. Hangartner, Karen K. Winer

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

Context: Deficits in bone acquisition during growth may increase fracture risk. Assessment of bone health during childhood requires appropriate reference values relative to age, sex, and population ancestry to identify bone deficits.

Objective: The objective of this study was to provide revised and extended reference curves for bone mineral content (BMC) and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) in children.

Design: The Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study was a multicenter longitudinal study with annual assessments for up to 7 yr.

Setting: The study was conducted at five clinical centers in the United States.

Participants: Two thousand fourteen healthy children (992 …

Supply Chain And Logistics Technology Investment In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Edward Sweeney

Practitioner Journals

No abstract provided.

Selection Of Temperature Measuring Sensors Using The Analytic Hierarchy Process, Shadi Mohammad Al-B'Ool

Systems Science and Industrial Engineering Faculty Scholarship

This study presents an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method to objectively select the best temperature sensor from among different alternative sensors in a certain industrial application. The underlying decision method based on AHP methodology, ranks temperature sensors with different features with a score resulting from the synthesis of relative preferences of each alternative with respect to the others at different levels considering independent evaluation criteria and sub-criteria. At each level, relative preferences of each candidate alternative with respect to the upper immediate level are calculated from pair-wise comparisons among the candidate alternative sensors with respect to a selected application. Pair-wise …

Reducing Selection Bias In Case-Control Studies From Rare Disease Registries, J. Alexander Cole, John S. Taylor, Thomas N. Hangartner, Neal J. Weinreb, Pramod K. Mistry, Aneal Khan

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: In clinical research of rare diseases, where small patient numbers and disease heterogeneity limit study design options, registries are a valuable resource for demographic and outcome information. However, in contrast to prospective, randomized clinical trials, the observational design of registries is prone to introduce selection bias and negatively impact the validity of data analyses. The objective of the study was to demonstrate the utility of case-control matching and the risk-set method in order to control bias in data from a rare disease registry. Data from the International Collaborative Gaucher Group (ICGG) Gaucher Registry were used as an example.

Methods: …

Influence Of Process Parameters On Health Outcome, Vijaya K. Musunuru

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the recent years, healthcare organizations have realized that quality in providing service is critical for their survival in this competitive world. This increased attention to service quality has forced many health care providers to reevaluate their systems to stay in business. The main purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis “Process Quality predicts the Product quality (patient satisfaction) in the healthcare domain”. The objective of this study was three- fold. The first objective is to analyze historical data both on patient satisfaction and on provider attributes to yield process parameters for a particular area in a hospital. …

Evolving A Summer Engineering Camp Through Assessment, Katherine Chen, Lizabeth Schlemer, Heather Scott Smith, Teana Fredeen

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

EPIC (Engineering Possibilities in College) is a one-week summer program for high school students (entering 9th-12th grades) to learn about engineering and experience hands-on labs in a university atmosphere. It's an opportunity for students to explore the different types of engineering available at many universities. The aim of EPIC is to expand the College of Engineering mission to K-12 students: "To educate students for careers of service, leadership and distinction in engineering or other fields by using a participatory, learn by doing, ‘hands-on’ approach".

The Inside-Out Classroom: A Win-Win Strategy For Teaching With Technology, Daniel J. Waldorf, Lizabeth Schlemer

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

As costs of higher education soar and many universities face uncertain funding models, institutional pressures have increased to improve instructor efficiency. At the same time, U.S. industry leaders and leading educators have called for improvements in engineering education based on more interactive, hands-on student learning experiences. Although many efforts have been made to take advantage of technology to either improve student learning or to maintain student learning while increasing instructor efficiency, few approaches have been shown to improve both learning and efficiency. A teaching method is proposed to improve student learning and increase student satisfaction while also addressing the instructors’ …

Design Projects With Out-Of-Town Companies, Lizabeth Schlemer

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The capstone design class in the industrial engineering department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) includes projects with companies. The projects are large ambiguous facilities design problems that allow students to incorporate many aspects of the IE curriculum. For the past 15 years students have been participating in these projects with local companies. Over the past several years, companies from out of town (200 miles to the north in Mountain View or 200 miles to the south in Oxnard) have participated. These out of town companies have presented certain logistical issues, but they have proven to …

Recording Of Elevated Temperature Fatigue Crack Growth Data By Dcpd System, N. Ramachandran, N. Arakere, Tarun Goswami

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

The growth of "long" fatigue cracks, in α-β titanium alloy forging, subjected to cyclic stresses, is studied in this paper. The fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) data were recorded at room temperature, 350, 450, 550 and 650°F using the Direct Current Potential Difference (DCPD) technique. The DCPD method, used in this investigation, was found to record and correlate the potential difference in terms of crack growth rate (da/dN) and Mode I stress intensity factor range satisfactorily. Various factors related to error minimization and calibration equations for compact tension specimens have been elaborated. Also discussed were the means to enhance the …

Effect Of Gold Content On The Reliability Of Snagcu Solder Joints, Jianbiao Pan, Julie Silk, Mike Powers, Patrick Hyland

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Electroplated Ni/Au over Cu is a popular metallization for PCB finish as well as for component leads, especially wire-bondable high frequency packages, where the gold thickness requirement for wirebonding is high. The general understanding is that less than 3 wt% of Au is acceptable in SnPb solder joints. However, little is known about the effect of Au content on the reliability of SnAgCu solder joints. The purpose of this study is to determine the acceptable level of Au in SAC305 solder joints. Three different package platforms with different Au thicknesses were assembled on boards with two different Au thicknesses using …

Improving Compressed Air Energy Efficiency In Automotive Plants: Practical Examples And Implementation, Nasr Alkadi, J. Kelly Kissock

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The automotive industry is the largest industry in the United States in terms of the dollar value of production [1]. U.S. automakers face tremendous pressure from foreign competitors, which have an increasing manufacturing presence in this country. The Big Three North American Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)-General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler-are reacting to declining sales figures and economic strain by working more efficiently and seeking out opportunities to reduce production costs without negatively affecting the production volume or the quality of the product. Successful, cost-effective investment and implementation of the energy efficiency technologies and practices meet the challenge of maintaining the …

Optimal Production Planning For A Multi-Product Closed Loop System With Uncertain Demand And Return, Jianmai Shi, Guoqing Zhang, Jichang Sha

Mechanical, Automotive & Materials Engineering Publications

We study the production planning problem for a multi-product closed loop system, in which the manufacturer has two channels for supplying products: producing brand-new products and remanufacturing returns into as-new ones. In the remanufacturing process, used products are bought back and remanufactured into as-new products which are sold together with the brand-new ones. The demands for all the products are uncertain, and their returns are uncertain and price-sensitive. The problem is to maximize the manufacturer's expected profit by jointly determining the production quantities of brand-new products, the quantities of remanufactured products and the acquisition prices of the used products, subject …

Estimating Industrial Building Energy Savings Using Inverse Simulation, Franc Server, J. Kelly Kissock, Dan Brown, Steve Mulqueen

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Estimating energy savings from retrofitting existing building systems is traditionally a time intensive process, accomplished by developing a detailed building simulation model, running the model with actual weather data, calibrating the model to actual energy use data, modifying the model to include the proposed changes, then running the base and proposed models with typical weather data to estimate typical energy savings. This paper describes a less time-intensive method of estimating energy savings in industrial buildings using actual monthly energy consumption and weather data. The method begins by developing a multivariate three-parameter changepoint regression model of facility energy use. Next, the …

Perspectives On Quality Coordination And Assurance In Global Supply Chains, Ling Li, John N. Warfield

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

The 2007 recall of Berko Electric Toe-Space Heaters made in the US, the recall of backpack blowers made in Japan, the recalls of toys and pet food produced in China have exposed the potential of global supply chain disruptions. This product recall storm leads to the issue of quality assurance in global supply chain management. Product recalls indicate that manufacturing companies are particularly vulnerable to ensure quality when they source via a global supply chain with poor visibility. Obviously, a supply chain cannot afford this kind of sourcing and supply structure that threatens the supply-chain integrity. This special issue on …