Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Guidelines For Using Process Mapping To Aid Improvement Efforts, Paul Savory, John Olson

John Olson

Process mapping is an easy-to-visualize method for people to analyze and agree on the most efficient routes for reengineering or improving a process. It aids in determining redundant tasks, uncovering hidden interactions between processes and people, and focusing on the processes that serve customers, improve quality, and generate income. This paper presents guidelines for using process mapping as an improvement tool. It is based on the authors’ experiences in aiding a variety of healthcare, service, and manufacturing companies.

Cracking The Shell To Student Learning: An Innovative Instructional Approach, John Olson, Paul Savory

John Olson

Management and Industrial Engineering courses is motivating students to learn and apply the quantitative and managerial aspects of the material. The aim of our educational methodology is to not only teach and reinforce the core principles of the disciplines, but to have students develop a set of skills that will make them competitive in the classroom and the workforce. Teaching is why a university exists. As a result, the objective of our instructional approach is to attract and retain dedicated students to the fields of Operations Management and Industrial Engineering and to keep those students competitive and in focus with …

Road Rescue Implements A Continuous Process Improvement Framework, John Olson, Paul Savory

John Olson

Continuous improvement programs traditionally focus on making small incremental improvements to a system. Unfortunately, their success can be limited due to the rapid changing environment within which most small companies operate. Improvement efforts should be flexible enough to capitalize on incremental and radical changes to a system. This paper presents a case analysis of how Road Rescue, an ambulance manufacturer, uses a continuous improvement framework to capitalize on both radical and incremental improvement opportunities. Results include a 10% increase in throughput, reduced cycle time of 44%, increased customer satisfaction, and higher quality.

Robust Distributed Scheduling Via Time Period Aggregation, Shih-Fen Cheng, John Tajan, Hoong Chuin Lau

Shih-Fen Cheng

In this paper, we evaluate whether the robustness of a market mechanism that allocates complementary resources could be improved through the aggregation of time periods in which resources are consumed. In particular, we study a multi-round combinatorial auction that is built on a general equilibrium framework. We adopt the general equilibrium framework and the particular combinatorial auction design from the literature, and we investigate the benefits and the limitation of time-period aggregation when demand-side uncertainties are introduced. By using simulation experiments on a real-life resource allocation problem from a container port, we show that, under stochastic conditions, the performance variation …

Robust Distributed Scheduling Via Time Period Aggregation, Shih-Fen Cheng, John Tajan, Hoong Chuin Lau

Shih-Fen Cheng

In this paper, we evaluate whether the robustness of a market mechanism that allocates complementary resources could be improved through the aggregation of time periods in which resources are consumed. In particular, we study a multi-round combinatorial auction that is built on a general equilibrium framework. We adopt the general equilibrium framework and the particular combinatorial auction design from the literature, and we investigate the benefits and the limitation of time-period aggregation when demand-side uncertainties are introduced. By using simulation experiments on a real-life resource allocation problem from a container port, we show that, under stochastic conditions, the performance variation …

Robust Distributed Scheduling Via Time Period Aggregation, Shih-Fen Cheng, John Tajan, Hoong Chuin Lau

Shih-Fen CHENG

In this paper, we evaluate whether the robustness of a market mechanism that allocates complementary resources could be improved through the aggregation of time periods in which resources are consumed. In particular, we study a multi-round combinatorial auction that is built on a general equilibrium framework. We adopt the general equilibrium framework and the particular combinatorial auction design from the literature, and we investigate the benefits and the limitation of time-period aggregation when demand-side uncertainties are introduced. By using simulation experiments on a real-life resource allocation problem from a container port, we show that, under stochastic conditions, the performance variation …

Patient-Centered Appointment Scheduling Using Agent-Based Simulation, Tammy Toscos, Ayten Turkcan, Brad Doebbeling

Tammy R Toscos

Enhanced access and continuity are key components of patient-centered care. Existing studies show that several interventions such as providing same day appointments, walk-in services, after-hours care, and group appointments, have been used to redesign the healthcare systems for improved access to primary care. However, an intervention focusing on a single component of care delivery (i.e. improving access to acute care) might have a negative impact other components of the system (i.e. reduced continuity of care for chronic patients). Therefore, primary care clinics should consider implementing multiple interventions tailored for their patient population needs. We collected rapid ethnography and observations to …

Community-Engaged Decision Modeling For Local Economic Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Sandeep Jani

Michael P. Johnson

This presentation contains current results from a research project to identify success metrics and decision opportunities for Boston Main Streets organizations. It represents an application of qualitative decision analytic methods for values and objectives design

Increased Awareness For Maritime Human Factors Through E-Learning In Crew-Centered Design, Gesa Praetorius, Aditi Kataria, Erik Styhr Petersen, Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs, Michael Baldauf, Nina Kähler

Michael Baldauf

In the past two decades, the need to address human factors in shipping through integration of ergonomics in the design of ships and shipboard equipment has increased significantly as a result of the technological development of modern ships. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations’ specialized organizationfor ship safety issues, has adopted a vision to address human factors as a key element for the improvement of maritime safety, and in that context acknowledges the human element as complex and multi-dimensional. IMO’s standards focus on the avoidance of human and organization error. But in spite of this, and despite the …

Making The Case For Crew-Centered Design (Ccd) In Merchant Shipping, Aditi Kataria, Gesa Praetorius, Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs, Michael Baldauf

Michael Baldauf

Since 2003, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has emphasised the need to address and integrate ergonomics knowledge in a concerted manner. However, there is little guidance on the application of this knowledge in the design of merchant vessels. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, the paper identifies the need for crew-centered design (CCD), highlighting the importance of using concepts derived from Human-Centred Design (HCD) to be able to design work spaces and operational procedures that facilitate the work of the crew on board. Drawing upon results obtained from accident analysis (utilising the Technique for the Retrospective and predictive Analysis of Cognitive …

Exploring Bridge-Engine Control Room Collaborative Team Communication, Aditi Kataria, Eric Holder, Gesa Praetorius, Michael Baldauf, Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs

Michael Baldauf

The EC funded CyClaDes research project is designed to promote the increased impact of the human element in shipping across the design and operational lifecycle of ships. It addresses the design and operation of ships and ship systems. One of the CyClaDes’ tasks is to create a crew‐centered design case‐study examination of the information that is shared between the Bridge and Engine Control Room (ECR) that helps the crew coordinate to ensure understanding and complete interconnected tasks. This information can be provided in various ways, including communication devices or obtained from a common database, display, or even the ship environment …

Introducing The Concept Of Resilience Into Maritime Safety, Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs Phd, Gesa Praetorius, Armando Graziano, Aditi Kataria, Michael Baldauf

Michael Baldauf

The maritime industry is still characterized by prescriptive standards and reactive approaches in relation to safety and risk management to a large extent. For a very long time, responses to maritime accidents have been in terms of automation, regulation and training. While this as such is not wrong, it does not offer the full potential that concepts of resilience seem to suggest. The typical question that is predominately asked is still why things go wrong when accidents occur and search for causes and explanations is undertaken. An evaluation of the safety level achieved system and a focus on system components …

Exploring Bridge-Engine Control Room Collaborative Team Communication, Aditi Kataria, Eric Holder, Gesa Praetorius, Michael Baldauf, Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs

Gesa Praetorius

The EC funded CyClaDes research project is designed to promote the increased impact of the human element in shipping across the design and operational lifecycle of ships. It addresses the design and operation of ships and ship systems. One of the CyClaDes’ tasks is to create a crew‐centered design case‐study examination of the information that is shared between the Bridge and Engine Control Room (ECR) that helps the crew coordinate to ensure understanding and complete interconnected tasks. This information can be provided in various ways, including communication devices or obtained from a common database, display, or even the ship environment …

Introducing The Concept Of Resilience Into Maritime Safety, Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs Phd, Gesa Praetorius, Armando Graziano, Aditi Kataria, Michael Baldauf

Gesa Praetorius

The maritime industry is still characterized by prescriptive standards and reactive approaches in relation to safety and risk management to a large extent. For a very long time, responses to maritime accidents have been in terms of automation, regulation and training. While this as such is not wrong, it does not offer the full potential that concepts of resilience seem to suggest. The typical question that is predominately asked is still why things go wrong when accidents occur and search for causes and explanations is undertaken. An evaluation of the safety level achieved system and a focus on system components …

Making The Case For Crew-Centered Design (Ccd) In Merchant Shipping, Aditi Kataria, Gesa Praetorius, Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs, Michael Baldauf

Gesa Praetorius

Since 2003, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has emphasised the need to address and integrate ergonomics knowledge in a concerted manner. However, there is little guidance on the application of this knowledge in the design of merchant vessels. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, the paper identifies the need for crew-centered design (CCD), highlighting the importance of using concepts derived from Human-Centred Design (HCD) to be able to design work spaces and operational procedures that facilitate the work of the crew on board. Drawing upon results obtained from accident analysis (utilising the Technique for the Retrospective and predictive Analysis of Cognitive …

Virtual R&D Teams: A New Model For Product Development, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Increased global competitions have urged small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop new products faster. Virtual research and development (R&D) teams in SMEs can offer a solution to speed up time-to-market of new product development (NPD). However, factors that affect the effectiveness of virtual teams for NPD are still not adequately verified. This book presents the correlations between virtual R&D team constructs and virtual team effectiveness by developing a “Virtual Research and Development Team” (ViR&DT) model. The items, which may influence the effectiveness of virtual teams, are taken from the literature. Through an online survey and by application of structural …

From Human Reliability To Resilience & System Performance - Adapting To A Changing World, Gesa Praetorius, Fulko C. Van Westrenen

Gesa Praetorius

A Hybrid Approach Of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Set Theory And Dematel Method To Prioritize Selection Criteria Of Bank Branches Locations, Amin Vafadarnikjoo, Mohammadsadegh Mobin, Sajjad Allahi, Ali Rastegari

Amin Vafadarnikjoo

Optimally locating new bank branches is a strategic decision in banking industry in order to stay competitive. The importance of this issue is primarily due to the fact that locating branches in appropriate sites is one of the main factors in absorbing and satisfying bank customers. This results in a core benefit for banks, particularly in a vibrant competition. In addition, without a set of well-chosen selection criteria and their prominence, the goal of locating suitable sites for bank branches would not be efficiently achieved. In this research, six most widely used criteria for bank branch location consideration are obtained …

A Servqual Model Approach Integrated With Fuzzy Ahp And Fuzzy Topsis Methodologies To Rank Life Insurance Firms, Mahdi Saeedpoor, Amin Vafadarnikjoo, Mohammadsadegh Mobin, Ali Rastegari

Amin Vafadarnikjoo

Ranking life insurance firms, particularly regarding customer-oriented criteria, has become a significant research priority of many insurance research centers. This is mainly due to the effective role of life insurance in improving the capital market and the role of service quality in customer satisfaction. This issue has remained one of the major topics associated with insurance industry which has not been sufficiently explored in the literature. This study aims at prioritizing insurance firms which hold the majority proportion of Iran's total life insurance market. Life insurers are assessed and ranked with regard to 5 criteria of customer service quality in …

A Meta-Heuristic Approach To Locate Optimal Switch Locations In Cellular Mobile Networks, Amin Vafadarnikjoo, Seyyed Mohammad Ali Khatami Firouzabadi, Mohammadsadegh Mobin, Afshan Roshani

Amin Vafadarnikjoo

With increasing usage of cellular phones, providing optimum communication service systems becomes a strategic decision to increase subscriber satisfaction. In order to respond to this growing demand it is essential to have a proper design of mobile networks by optimally locating facilities such as Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), switches, etc. In this study, a kind of honeybee-inspired algorithm called Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm is utilized to solve the problem of assigning cells to switches in the Personal Communication Services (PCS) networks. The model is mathematically developed as a binary non-linear problem with the objective of minimizing cost, which includes …

Decision Science For Housing And Community Development: Localized And Evidence‐Based Responses To Distressed Housing And Blighted Communities: Wiley Interview, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Jeffrey Keisler, Senay Solak, David A. Turcotte, Armagan Bayram, Rachel B. Drew

Michael P. Johnson

This is an interview with staff at John Wiley & Sons regarding my book "Decision Science for Housing and Community Development: Localized and Evidence‐Based Responses to Distressed Housing and Blighted Communities" that was published by Wiley in 2015. It describes the motivation for the book, essential knowledge my co-authors and I would like each reader to take away from the book, and our assessment of the book's contribution to research and practice.

Decision Science For Housing And Community Development: Localized And Evidence‐Based Responses To Distressed Housing And Blighted Communities, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Jeffrey Keisler, Senay Solak, David Turcotte, Armagan Bayram, Rachel B. Drew

Michael P. Johnson

Modelling Vessel Traffic Service To Understand Resilience In Everyday Operations, Gesa Praetorius, Erik Hollnagel, Joakim Dahlman

Gesa Praetorius

Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) is a service to promote traffic fluency and safety in the entrance to ports. This article׳s purpose has been to explore everyday operations of the VTS system to gain insights in how it contributes to safe and efficient traffic movements. Interviews, focus groups and an observation have been conducted to collect data about everyday operations, as well as to grasp how the VTS system adapts to changing operational conditions. The results show that work within the VTS domain is highly complex and that the two systems modelled realise their services vastly differently, which in turn affects …

Cyclades – Crew-Centered Design And Operation Of Ships And Ship Systems For Safer Maritime Operations, Gesa Praetorius

Gesa Praetorius

Presentation given at "Maritim Sikkerhed – Sunhed og Miljø" in Nyborg, 27 August 2015.

Data And Analytics For Neighborhood Development: Smart Shrinkage Decision Modeling In Baltimore, Maryland, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Justin Hollander, Eliza D. Whiteman

Michael P. Johnson

Many older cities in the United States confront the problem of long-term decline in population and economic activity resulting in blighted conditions that make conventional revitalization initiatives unlikely to succeed. Smart shrinkage, a planning approach that emphasizes alternative land uses while preserving quality of life, offers a way for cities to remain desirable places to live and work. However, there is little research on empirical methods to support planning decisions consistent with smart shrinkage. We present results from two studies with planners from the City of Baltimore that provide novel insights regarding ways in which planners can perform vacant property …

Increased Awareness For Maritime Human Factors Through E-Learning In Crew-Centered Design, Gesa Praetorius, Aditi Kataria, Erik Styhr Petersen, Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs, Michael Baldauf, Nina Kähler

Gesa Praetorius

In the past two decades, the need to address human factors in shipping through integration of ergonomics in the design of ships and shipboard equipment has increased significantly as a result of the technological development of modern ships. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations’ specialized organizationfor ship safety issues, has adopted a vision to address human factors as a key element for the improvement of maritime safety, and in that context acknowledges the human element as complex and multi-dimensional. IMO’s standards focus on the avoidance of human and organization error. But in spite of this, and despite the …

Connecting Self-Efficacy And Nature Of Science Shifts In Undergraduate Research Experiences, Gina M. Quan

Gina Quan

Data And Analytics For Neighborhood Development: Smart Shrinkage Decision Modeling In Baltimore, Maryland, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Justin Hollander, Eliza D. Whiteman

Michael P. Johnson

A Novel Evolutionary Engineering Design Approach For Mixed-Domain Systems, Z. Fan, K. Seo, Jianjun Hu, E. Goodman, R. Rosenberg

Jianjun Hu

No abstract provided.

Why Toyota And Honda Topped The 2002 J.D. Power Quality Study, Susan Lightle, Kenneth Yale Rosenzweig, John Talbott

Kenneth Y. Rosenzweig

Toyota again topped the annual J. D. Power and Associates quality study released in late May of 2002. Toyota scored the highest mark ever with l 07 defects per l 00 vehicles, while Honda came in second with 113 defects. The study was based on responses of approximately 65,000 new car owners queried during their first 90-days of ownership. These results do not surprise us, as we have been fortunate to make numerous sojourns to the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, and observe the manufacturing processes. These trips were normally facilitated by a former Japanese student of ours, Minako Yanke, …