Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Implementation Of Critical Path Method And Critical Resource Diagramming Using Arena Simulation Software, Jamie Ehresman Gunter

Masters Theses

A relatively new resource management tool, which considers both time and resource requirements, is Critical Resource Diagramming (CRD). CRD is a simple extension to the CPM technique developed for resource management purposes. It is a graphical tool used mainly for resource scheduling.

The purpose of this study is to use the Arena simulation software and CRD to solve problems. This will be accomplished by setting up an example problem in the simulation program, Arena, and the CRD approach will be used as a deterministic and probabilistic problem.

The Arena output results for the deterministic parts of the example were compared …

Developing A Lean Based Model For A Hospital Pharmacy Environment, Jason North

Masters Theses

Lean strategies have become necessary in healthcare due primarily to two factors: a demand for efficiency and a need to reduce medical error. The case for the necessity of a lean program is based on trends of increasing costs and decreasing revenues resulting from government intervention. Profit margin per patient has been reduced, and therefore more patients per time period must be seen in order to meet profitability goals. Preventable medical error is shown to be a leading cause of death.

Current research in the area of hospital and healthcare efficiency proves that a parallel exists between healthcare efficiency today …

Causal Analysis Of Fatal Trenching Accidents, John Patrick Wagner

Masters Theses

A study was performed by the Construction Industry Research and Policy Center at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville to identify causation for U.S. trench collapse fatalities in the construction industry that occurred during the years 1997-1999. Of the 1217 fatality case files analyzed, 44 were categorized as trench collapse fatalities. The 44 trench collapse case files were analyzed and the contributed factors of the fatalities were identified in an effort to determine the causation of collapses. The results of the study showed a large number of trenches without any type of protective devices being used. The findings of the fatal …

A Computer Modeling Approach Using Critical Resource Diagramming Network Analysis In Project Scheduling, Vincent Gilles Delgado

Masters Theses

The problem of resource constrained project scheduling (RCPSP) continues to be an important topic in project management. Different scheduling processes have been introduced to solve cases of RCPSP. Most of the developed methods are based on a network analysis approach. The two main technique of project network analysis used for planning, scheduling, and control are PERT and CPM. These approaches assume unlimited resource availability in project network analysis. In realistic projects, both the time and resource requirements of activities should be considered in developing network schedules. Another particularity of the methods created, so far, is the focus on activities during …

Development Of Internet Based Lean Assessment Methodology And Tool: Utopex, Prashant M. Hulloli

Masters Theses

Lean implementation is a complex process and requires a comprehensive lean assessment methodology that collects information from all the areas of an organization, and helps to determine the current state of the organization. A lean assessment tool is a stepping-stone for successful lean implementation as it provides as accurate accounting of a company’s current state and helps develop future strategies for business activities. It is quite essential to develop a lean assessment tool that focuses on manufacturing systems, support systems, operational excellence (integration of lean & six-sigma), and cultural sustainability of the organization. The assessment tool is developed focusing on …

An Enhanced Dynamic Slope Scaling Procedure With Tahu Scheme For Fixed Charge Network Flow Problems, Xinyan Pan

Masters Theses

In this thesis, a heuristic algorithm for solving large scale fixed charge network problems (FCNFP) based on the dynamic slope scaling procedure (DSSP) and tabu search strategies is presented. The proposed heuristic (the enhanced DSSP) integrates the DSSP with the classical short-term memory intensification and long-term memory diversification mechanism in the tabu search to improve the performance of the pure DSSP. With the feature of dynamically evolving memory, the enhanced DSSP evaluates the solutions in the search history and it iteratively adjusts the linear factors of the LP approximations of the FCNFP to produce promising search neighborhoods for good quality …