Engineering Commons^™

Analytical Methodology For Atm Control Panel Design, Donald C. Johnson

Theses

This thesis presents a methodology for control panel design and layout along with a case study of an automated teller machine (ATM). A predictive model of human endurance and fatigue is developed from anthropometric, biomechanical and kinematics research. The layout problem is formulated to assign controls to locations to minimize the fatigue imposed on an operator performing a known set of tasks. A family of optimal and near-optimal layouts are found using conventional algorithms. The final hardware design refinements are suggested by human factors concerns. Ergonomic guidelines are also proposed for software aspects of the design. The methods and guidelines …

Domain Limitations And Interface Requirements For Expert Developed Knowledge Based Systems, Bernard Lee Lewis

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The expanded use of graphical, case-based and object oriented techniques in expert systems creation has made it more practical for domain experts to develop their own applications. This thesis focuses on the elements necessary in an expert/developer interface and looks at various forms and techniques that exemplify such an approach. The spreadsheet metaphor is used for an interface or managed set of interfaces that a domain expert can use in building his own expert system or prototype. criteria are established for such interfaces and recent commercial offerings that make expert-created knowledge-bases more practical are reviewed for techniques that qualify. Approaches …

Computer Aided Process Planning System For Generating Alternative Process Plans, Rao T. Gali

Masters Theses

Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) has a key role in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) as an interface between design and manufacturing. Current CAPP systems treat process planning as a static function, and always generate the same machine and process combinations. Thus, these CAPP systems are inadequate for advanced manufacturing facilities such as Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS). This thesis presents research conducted for the design and development of a CAPP system called Alternative Computer Aided Process Planning (A-CAPP) which generates alternative process plans by interacting with production planning and machine loading functions to satisfy system capacity constraints.

A-CAPP is a variant …

A Robust Approach To Human-Computer Interface Design Using The Taguchi Method, Billie Mitchell Reed

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The application of Dr. Genichi Taguchi's approach for design optimization, called Robust Design, to the design of human-computer interface software is investigated. The Taguchi Method is used to select a near optimum set of interface design alternatives to improve user acceptance of the resulting interface software product with minimum sensitivity to uncontrollable noise caused by human behavioral characteristics.

Design alternatives for interaction with personal micro-computers are identified. Several important and representative alternatives are chosen as design parameters for the Taguchi matrix experiment. A noise field with three human behavioral characteristics as noise factors were chosen as a representative noise array. …

A Modified M/G/1/N System And Its Application, Bernice Annette Figueroa

Theses

We study a single server queueing system with finite buffer, Poisson arrivals and exceptional service requirements for the first customer in each busy period. The system is studied as a Markov Chain and the limiting probability distributions are obtained. The explicit form sorution for the queue length distribution, blocking probability, waiting time distribution as well as the busy period are derived through the Laplace-Stieltjes transform method. These results are then applied to a tandem system with a finite buffer in front of the first station and no intermediate buffer between the two stations. Finally, similar results are obtained for the …

Coordinated Strategic Planning Of Hydroelectric Energy Usage Using Stochastic Dynamic Programming With Decoupled Production Cost Simulation, Duane David Highley

Masters Theses

"The method of Stochastic Dynamic Programming is applied to the problem of Long-term hydrothermal coordination for a five-reservoir system in the Midwest. The model that has been developed will optimize the monthly reservoir elevations to produce the lowest expected energy production cost. The production cost calculations are decoupled from the Dynamic Programming loop, resulting in shorter execution times. Constraints are included for maximum and minimum reservoir elevations, maximum monthly reservoir rise and drop, and maximum and minimum monthly energy production. These constraints help to reduce the state space and shorten execution time. An additional constraint is modeled to control the …

Toward The Development Of Decision Support Tools To Manage The Catis Project Life Cycle, Steven Wayne Mccrary

Doctoral Dissertations

"The American Public Works Administration (1987) states that communities' infrastructures are in need of repair and better management and recommends CATIS (Computer-Assisted Terraspatial Information Systems) as an excellent tool to assist in that endeavor. Small communities have several voids that CATIS technology can fill. This research reports on a life-cycle approach to CATIS adoption that will help small communities to better manage their infrastructure.

It is important for small communities to become aware of the types of systems available and what each system can do. This study presents a straightforward, understandable discussion of CATIS technologies, features, and applications. Justifying the …

Surface Mapping And Automatic Tool Path Generation, Labiche Ferreira

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

With the use of machine vision systems in the manufacturing cycle of a product, the lead time for producing the final product has been substantially reduced. Efforts in the past have aimed at automating the tasks right from the drawing board stage to final production of the product. Such technologies include CAD, CAM, and CAPP. However the task of tool path (NC code) generation has not yet been fully automated. In the current techniques, the user plays a crucial role in the NC code generation process. There is an increasing trend for using machine vision systems in the fabrication of …

An Unsolicited Sociotechnical Intervention In A Public System: A Participatory Action Research Approach, Ely Alfred Dorsey Jr.

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research concerns itself with Participatory Action Research in a hostile setting. The thrust is a sociotechnical one, with the intent being to enhance the capacity of the Wallop Public School System, Wallop, USA, to address its problem of racial disparate treatment of Black children. The potential for Organizational Learning among the school system's senior staff is studied. Some new theory about such hostile interventions is proposed. Also discussed are questions about reliability and construct validity within the context of the multiple role playing that an interventionist has in this setting. The role of the press is reflected in the …

Information Technology And Wealth: Cybernetics, History And Economics, Elin Whitney-Smith

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Capitalism developed where and when it did because there was high information access. There was high information access because of a major advance in information technology--the press. Where the technology was not controlled by the "powers that be" there was economic growth and a shift in the entire social structure. Where it was controlled there was no structural change and there was economic ruin. The development of capitalism is a major step change in economic growth. It is also a major change in the way people organize themselves into groups.

Major step changes in the growth and in the organization …