Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Robostock: Autonomous Inventory Tracking, Drew Christian Balthazor

Computer Engineering

No abstract provided.

Mri Upgrades At Radiology Associates, Patrick Cheung, Charlene Donlon

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Problem Statement: The MRI machines at Radiology Associates are limiting the company’s ability to expand and compete within the local market. After discussing with technicians and managers at Radiology Associates, we decided to focus on hardware and software upgrades for the MRI machines. With 2 of the 3 locations purchasing new machines in the near future, our focus was on upgrades at the Santa Maria facility. The two machines at this location needed hardware and/or software upgrades to remain on par competitively both within the company and with local scanning options. Flexible coils are beneficial in terms of size, weight, …

A General Code To Represent The Mathematical Life Cycle Cost Model Of Bridge, Bajel Mohammed Alshadeedi

Masters Theses

There are many factors that play a role in the overall cost of any bridge. The life cycle cost needs deep knowledge of bridge components to calculate its subcategories costs. The bridge life cycle cost is divided into; agency, user cost, and society costs. The agency cost includes the expected value of the final bridge construction cost, the inspection cost, better value of repainting cost, and replacing asphaltic deck cost. The user cost includes traffic delay cost and vehicle operation cost under different traffic conditions, accident cost, and failure cost. The society cost includes aesthetical and environmental impact. All costs …

Dynamic Warehouse Optimization Using Predictive Analytics., Parvaneh Jahani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The forward area is a small area of a warehouse with a low picking cost. Two approaches that are investigated for selecting the SKUs of this area and the allocated space are the static and the dynamic approaches. In the case that decisions about the forward area are made periodically (e.g. yearly) and the products' demand patterns are completely ignored, the FRP is static. We developed two heuristics that solve the large discrete assignment, allocation, and sizing problem simultaneously. Replenishing the same product in the same place of the forward area brings about a ``Locked" layout of the fast picking …

Projecting Air Traffic Impact Of Blocked Airspaces, Amal Srivastava, Neil Gahart

Space Traffic Management Conference

FAA frequently blocks strategically located airspaces to ensure operational safety in the vicinity of hazardous operations such as space launches and military exercises. As demand for access to airspace continues to rise, the need for, and the impact of blocked airspaces is likely to grow. Users such as space operators have no advanced insights into potential NAS impact of airspaces blocked due to their operations, nor do they possess ways to minimize it. This paper presents a model that would give users this insight. The model estimates levels of air traffic likely to intersect arbitrary airspace volumes on a daily …

Retail Analytics And Optimization For Store-Wide Shelf-Space Management, Tulay Flamand

Doctoral Dissertations

A major constituent of modern-time economies, retailing is a vibrant business sector that is marked by high competition, tight profit margins, novel business strategies in online and in-store environments, and demanding consumers. Driven by massive volumes of point-of-sale data, retail analytics has become instrumental for unveiling better managerial practices. Our research falls under the umbrella of retail shelf space management. In self-service outlets, shelf space constitutes a scarce resource and its management is central to ensuring an attractive shopping experience and a profitable business. We investigate how, under a given store layout, the allocation of product categories can be optimized …

Designing Fixed-Base Operations Utilizing Systems Engineering Principles, Ross L. Stephenson Jr., David A. Carroll

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

There are currently over 3,200 fixed-base operations (FBOs) conducting business in the United States attempting to meet the demands of FAA Part 91, Part 135, and a limited number of Part 121 operations. With the US economy slowly climbing out of the trough during 2013, the utilization of fixed-base operations has become more attractive and economical to the corporate business and the affluent recreational traveler. Despite the increased flight activities utilizing the services of fixed-base operators, keen competition, rising fuel cost, and the economies of scale recognized by large FBO franchises significantly erode the profitability and sustainability of smaller FBOs. …

Human Mental Model Impacts In Socio-Technical Systems, Elizabeth Patterson, Dale Thomas

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

Development Of Ultrasonic Techniques For Characterization Of Liquid Mixtures, William A. Cooke

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

To evaluate the suitability of ultrasonic techniques for on-line process monitoring applications, an ultrasonic probe was used to measure acoustic velocity, acoustic impedance, and isentropic compressibility of hydrocarbons (including n-, iso-, and cycloalkanes, toluene, mineral oil, and crude oil) and polar liquids (alcohols, water, salt water) over a temperature range of 25-60°C. Temperature, carbon chain length, molecular shape, and intermolecular forces had significant effects on ultrasonic parameters. Relationships between media characteristics and observed ultrasonic parameters were modeled using empirical-least squares equations. The same parameters were measured in binary mixtures of hydrocarbons in heptane, as well as polar liquids in ethanol. …

Research On Navigation Guarantee Measures Of Modified Dan’Gan Waterway Routeing System, Peng Chang

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Development Of An Associate Degree Level Course On Lean, Jeremy Espinoza

Master of Technology Management Plan II Graduate Projects

Lean training and education has become a focal point in both industry and the realm of academics; however, the need within the industry remains, and oftentimes companies must take on the additional and high expense of training new graduates once they enter the workforce. Often, the classes that students study in the lean methodology, if any are studied at all, are taught within other disciplines, and the instruction is in a general sense as opposed to in depth and hands on. Within the past eight years it has been referenced in different academic articles that students are not coming into …

A Tool Kit For Building Hbcu Technology Transfer Supply Chain Networks Using An Advanced Planning System, Clovia Hamilton

Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed methods study describes the development of a university technology transfer that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) can use to become more self-reliant financially. HBCUs lag behind their peer non-HBCUs because historically they have been under-served and were originally established largely as teaching and blue collar trade schools. Increased involvement in research oriented activities such as technology transfer will likely enable HBCUs to grow into new or stronger research institutions. The literature review revealed several problem areas with non-HBCUs university technology transfer include: (1) lack of quality standard benchmarks; (2) resource planning issues; (3) processing delays; and (4) …

Laboratory And Full Boom-Based Investigation Of Nozzle Setup And Restriction Effects On Flow, Pressure And Spray Pattern Distribution, Shane H. Forney

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pesticide application is an integral part of crop production and ground-based agricultural boom sprayers are used extensively to apply pesticides to the crop canopy or soil surface across millions of acres in the United States. Efficient application is necessary to minimize costs and limit adverse environmental impacts. Errors in flow rate and system pressure measurements may cause as-applied maps to incorrectly indicate application rates and could negatively affect downstream data processing or analysis. The goals of this study were to provide quantified measurements on the effects of nozzle setup errors on spray pattern uniformity and evaluate how laboratory patternator data …

The Context Of Tool Control In An Aircraft Assembly Environment Related To Productivity, Taylor Jay Sisson

KSU Journey Honors College Capstones and Theses

The aircraft industry focuses a large portion of its resources on tool control during the assembly of aircraft. Tool control is a strict process that demands time from the assembly process. This time is removed from the value-added time spent actually assembling the aircraft. A study at Lockheed Martin conducted in the Spring of 2016 is discussed that examines the time spent on tool control. Tool control is necessary in aircraft assembly to prevent tools from entering compartments of the aircraft. If such an event occurs, the tool may damage the aircraft. All aircraft assembly processes must be tool controlled, …

Improving The Security Of Wireless Sensor Networks, Mauricio Tellez Nava

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

With the rapid technological advancements of sensors, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have become the main technology for the Internet of Things (IoT). We investigated the security of WSNs in an environmental monitoring system with the goal to improve the overall security. We implemented a Secure Temperature Monitoring System (STMS), which served as our investigational environment. Our results revealed a security flaw found in the bootstrap loader (BSL) password used to protect firmware in the MSP430 MCU chips. We demonstrated how the BSL password could be brute forced in a matter of days. Furthermore, we illustrate how an attacker can reverse …

Optimization Of Rfid System Coverage In A Manufacturing Environment, Scott D. Malatesta

Master's Theses

This paper compiles existing ideas, theories, and experiments across multiple disciplines to provide guidance for a company looking to implement an optimal RFID system in their production facility. The desire is to maximize the information received by the system while minimizing the cost. Four potential layouts of RFID antennas, two with overlapping antenna coverage and two with non-overlapping layouts, are first analyzed to understand the special coverage and the number of antennas required. The value of information is then quantified to determine whether higher coverage layouts are worth the additional costs associated with the higher number of antennas required. It …

The Impact Of Learning Curve Model Selection And Criteria For Cost Estimation Accuracy In The Dod, Candace Honious, Brandon Johnson, John J. Elshaw, A. B. Badiru

Faculty Publications

The first part of this manuscript examines the impact of configuration changes to the learning curve when implemented during production. This research is a study on the impact to the learning curve slope when production is continuous but a configuration change occurs. Analysis discovered the learning curve slope after a configuration change is different from the stable learning curve slope pre-configuration change. The newly configured units were statistically different from previous units. This supports that the new configuration should be estimated with a new learning curve equation. The research also discovered the post-configuration slope is always steeper than the stable …

Safety Management Analysis For Construction Industry: Statistical Process Control (Spc) Approach, Zhenpeng Liu

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Business and Technology Morehead State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Zhenpeng Liu on April 26, 2016.

Multi-Level Analytic Network Process Model To Mitigate Supply Chain Disruptions In Disaster Recovery Planning, Martina Ursula Kroener

Master's Theses

Over the past few decades, environmental changes have led to more frequent occurrences and greater intensities of natural disasters worldwide. In terms of globally connected supply chains, this has resulted in an enormous economical loss for corporations. Therefore, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) planning and management has become essential for businesses in order to protect their critical business flow. Yet there is a lack of systematic and transparent methodologies for companies to handle this problem.

Hence, this thesis introduces a novel approach to combine consecutive steps of the Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP) process within one application. The multi-criteria decision-making …

A "Big Bang" Versus A "Small Bang" Approach: A Case Study Of The Expeditionary Combat Support System (Ecss) And The Maintenance, Repair, And Overhaul Initiative (Mroi), George B. Lafiguera

Theses and Dissertations

In 2003, the United States Air Force embarked on one of the largest and most comprehensive logistical transformation to delineate the logistics community’s strategy for supporting the warfighter. A key aspect of this campaign plan was to leverage information technology through an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution called the Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS), a “big-bang” approach. In early 2012, the ECSS program was cancelled mainly due to uncontrollable increases in costs and schedule overruns. In late 2012, the Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) launched the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul initiative (MROi), a “small-bang” approach, to increase enterprise visibility and …

Modeling The Components Of An Economy As A Complex Adaptive System, Richard J. Mickelsen

Theses and Dissertations

Complex systems science is a relatively new discipline and has not been widely applied to the field of economics. Much of current economic theory relies on principles of constrained optimization and often fails to see economic variables as part of an interconnected network. While tools for forecasting economic indicators are based primarily on autoregressive techniques, these techniques are not always well-suited to predicting the future performance of highly volatile data sets such as the stock market. This research portrays the stock market as one component of a networked system of economic variables, with the federal funds rate acting as an …

Simulation Of Modeling Sortie Generation Process In Turaf, Bahadir Aykiri

Theses and Dissertations

Simulation is a useful technique for engineers and operations researchers. One of the primary advantages of simulation models is that they are able to provide users with practical feedback when analyzing real-world systems. This thesis builds a discrete event simulation of the sortıe generatıon process, to help decision makers in performing analyses regarding quantity of manpower, bottlenecks in supply and maintenance activities; as well as utilization of maintenance manpower, cost and number of sorties produced in a specific time. We only model one aircraft system with four Line Replacement Units (LRU), but any system and its LRUs can be included …

Logistics Simulation For Long Duration Logistics Wargames, Kevin R. Cardenas

Theses and Dissertations

Wargames were originally created to test wartime strategies against opposing forces within a short time frame. Due to the short duration design of these wargames, logistics were deemed irrelevant and it was incorrectly assumed that the warfighter would be logistically supported for the entire duration of the wargame. The purpose of this thesis is to provide insight to the value of capturing logistics within a wargame and to better model the increased requirement for Agile Combat Support. This research utilizes a logistics simulation tool and its outputs to conduct statistical analyses comparing a baseline scenario created to mirror the Joint …

Antecedents Of Fuel Efficiency, James A. Cotton

Theses and Dissertations

Reducing the United States Air Force (USAF)’s fuel use is a major budgetary concern, as the USAF consumes more fuel than the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and all other Department of Defense (DoD) agencies combined. This research focused on fuel efficiency of C-130 Hercules Aircraft Commanders (ACs) by proposing, constructing, and testing a survey measure of behavioral drivers of discretionary pro-environmental professional behaviors among USAF pilots.

Using Multiple Objective Decision Analysis To Position Federal Product And Service Codes Within The Kraljic Portfolio Matrix, Robert T. Montgomery

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the best efforts of the Federal Government to implement strategic sourcing, recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports highlight major procurement deficiencies and encourage the use of commercial best practices to identify and reap substantial savings. The Kraljic Portfolio Matrix (KPM) is considered the premier tool for purchasing organizations to determine which commercial best practices to utilize for different categories of spend. However, critics of the KPM point to its lack of analytical rigor and the absence of a simplistic quantitative methodology for implementation. The Air Force Installation Contracting Agency (AFICA), the centralized procurement arm for 79 USAF installations worldwide, …

Optimizing Forecasting Methods For Ustranscom Railcar Demands, James M. Park

Theses and Dissertations

The United States military heavily relies on rail freight operations to meet many of its logistical needs during both peacetime and wartime efforts. As the head organization responsible for managing and overseeing all modes of military transportation, United States Transportation Command depends on timely accurate railcar demand forecasts to drive critical decisions on distribution and placement of railcar assets. However, the intermittent nature of railcar demands based on location and commodity make it a challenging task for forecasters. Furthermore, these “lumpy” demands often come without any obvious trends or seasonality. This study explores the utility of both traditional forecasting methods …

A Logistic Regression And Markov Chain Model For The Prediction Of Nation-State Violent Conflicts And Transitions, Nicholas Shallcross

Theses and Dissertations

Using open source data, this research formulates and constructs a suite of statistical models that predict future transitions into and out of violent conflict and forecasts the regional and global incidences of violent conflict over a ten-year time horizon. A total of thirty predictor variables are tested and evaluated for inclusion in twelve conditional logistic regression models, which calculate the probability that a nation will transition from its current conflict state, either In Conflict or Not in Conflict, to a new state in the following year. These probabilities are then used to construct a series of nation-specific Markov chain models …

Strategies For Reducing Supplier Risk: Inputs Into The Supply Chain, Christopher A. Greene

Masters Theses

There are many aspects to consider when managing an entire supply chain from procurement to fulfillment. Complex assemblies require hundreds of components, sourced from all corners of the globe, to come together in a synchronized fashion. Given the magnitude of the supply chain, high quality standards, and significantly increased outsourcing, there is a strong need to monitor supplier risk and quickly identify and mitigate potential problems. Moreover, the continuous pressure to reduce resources and pressure to cut costs, further increases the need for the development of procedures and tools that can quickly and efficiently address these potential supply chain risks. …

Simulation Of 48-Hour Queue Dynamics For A Semi-Private Hospital Ward Considering Blocked Beds, Wei Chen

Masters Theses

This thesis study evaluates access to care at an internal medicine unit with solely semi-private rooms at Baystate Medical Center (BMC). Patients are divided into two types: Type I patient consumes one bed; Type II patient occupies two beds or an entire semi-private room as a private space for clinical reasons, resulting in one empty but unavailable (blocked) bed per Type II patient. Because little data is available on blocked beds and Type II patients, unit-level hospital bed planning studies that consider blocked beds have been lacking. This thesis study bridges that gap by building a single-stream and a two-stream …

Application Of Smart Factory Design In Nuclear Energy Industry With Focus On Safety, Olivia Crasta, Cem Yilmaz

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.