Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Joint Location And Dispatching Decisions For Emergency Medical Service Systems, Hector Toro-Diaz

All Dissertations

Emergency Medical Service (EMS) systems are a service that provides acute care and transportation to a place for definitive care, to people experiencing a medical emergency. The ultimate goal of EMS systems is to save lives. The ability of EMS systems to do this effectively is impacted by several resource allocation decisions including location of servers (ambulances), districting of demand zones and dispatching rules for the servers. The location decision is strategic while the dispatching decision is operational. Those two decisions are usually made separately although both affect typical EMS performance measures. The service from an ambulance is usually time …

A Methodology For Designing Airports For Enhanced Security Using Simulation, Oliver Nwofia, Christopher A. Chung

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

With the advent of the new security measures, today’s airports have become increasingly complex and congested. Air and passenger traffic continues to increase; consequently, the need for intelligent design concepts is required. Unlike all other existing airport designs that focused exclusively on operational performance, this study focused on the development of a new airport terminal design methodology that takes a proactive approach to minimizing the effects of security disruptions while simultaneously maximizing operational performance and passenger flow. The study addressed the impact of security operations on both the design of airport facilities and passenger flows, and discussed options and scenarios …

Entropy Applications In Industrial Engineering, Saeed Zamiri Marvizadeh

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

Entropy is a fundamental measure of information content which has been applied in a wide variety of fields. We present three applications of entropy in the industrial engineering field: dispatching of Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV), ranking and selection of simulated systems based on the mean performance measure, and comparison between random variables based on cumulative probability distributions.

The first application proposes three entropy-based AGV dispatching algorithms. We contribute to the body of knowledge by considering the consequence of potential AGV moves on the load balance of the factory before AGVs are dispatched. Kullback-Leibler directed divergence is applied to measure the …

A Sociotechnical Systems-Based Process To Facilitate The Development Of A Change Intervention Deployment Plan, Jorge Luis Nadal

EMSE Doctoral Projects

The purpose of this project was to formulate a process to facilitate the development of an effective change intervention deployment plan. The premise is that without a proper deployment plan, the successful implementation of a change intervention in an organization will be slow and require multiple revisions. This research utilized a Sociotechnical Systems (STS) approach to analyze the implementation of a major change intervention.

This research was in part prompted by a request by management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for the researcher to examine why it has taken so long to successfully implement this large-scale change …

Approximate Algorithms For The Combined Arrival-Departure Aircraft Sequencing And Reactive Scheduling Problems On Multiple Runways, Gulsah Hancerliogullari

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The problem addressed in this dissertation is the Aircraft Sequencing Problem (ASP) in which a schedule must be developed to determine the assignment of each aircraft to a runway, the appropriate sequence of aircraft on each runway, and their departing or landing times. The dissertation examines the ASP over multiple runways, under mixed mode operations with the objective of minimizing the total weighted tardiness of aircraft landings and departures simultaneously. To prevent the dangers associated with wake-vortex effects, separation times enforced by Aviation Administrations (e.g., FAA) are considered, adding another level of complexity given that such times are sequence-dependent. Due …

Isolation And Characterisation Of Micro-Organisms With Industrial Importance From Sisal Bole Rots, Consolatha Mhaiki

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Investigation of microorganisms naturally acclimatized to Agave hybrid H 11648 (sisal bole rot) was conducted, with the aim of isolating and characterizing Aspergillus niger strains for industrial use. Microorganism were identified morphologically and then confirmation made by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results showed the existence of four major groups, listed in order of abundances as follows; Aspergilli (36.0±0.8) %, Penicillin (28.0±0.1) %, Yeast (15.0±1.6) %and Fusarium (10.0±0.12) %. The main groups of Aspergilli strains were A. nidulans, A. tamari and A. niger in ratios (3:2:2), respectively. Several endo-spore forming non-enteric gram (-) rods and coccid bacteria identified by API 20 …

Improvement Of Hydraulic Press For Vegetable Oil Expression In Rural Areas, I. P. Bateebe

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Cultivation of oil producing crops especially Jatropha and croton as source of vegetable oil for biodiesel production is being encouraged in rural areas. To recover oil from seed, manual press is the feasible method in rural areas where there is no electricity. Research was conducted to improve hydraulic oil press machine for rural application. Factors affecting oil recovery were found to be: moisture content of seeds, operating pressure, seed oil content, and the amount of seeds pressed per batch. Percentage oil recovery was improved by reducing diameter of press cylinder, hence increasing expression pressure, and either reducing amount of seed …

Open Source Kiswahili Spell Checker (Sw-Tz), Hashim Twaakyondo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Different English software products are localized into many native languages spoken around the world, the most popular software products localized so far are word processing software and web browsers. The effort has begun to localize these software products in Kiswahili language which is widely spoken in Tanzania, East and Central Africa. Kiswahili is an official language of Tanzania, and is a national language in Uganda and Kenya. To make these software products useful to Kiswahili speaking community particularly in Tanzania a new Kiswahili spell checker has been developed and, it uses most of the Kiswahili words spoken in Tanzania and …

2d Autocad Geometric Data Extraction And Post Processing For Numerical Control, Tito Mwinuka

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

In this paper, a method of extracting 2D geometric data from AutoCAD drawing and post processing for Numerical Control (NC) is presented. Geometric data already available in the Drawing Interchange Files (DXF) can be utilized to accurately and economically prepare part programs for controlling NC/CNC machine tools. AutoCAD, being general purpose software, stores its geometric data in a form that cannot be directly applied for automatic generation of Numerical Control (NC) codes. The way around the discrepancy between the structure of a drawing database (DXF files) and the information requirement for part programming is addressed in this work. NC programming …

Project Based Learning In Engineering Economics: Teaching Advanced Topics Using A Stock Price Prediction Model, Lizabeth Schlemer

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

A graduate level advanced engineering economics class taught at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, includes a thorough review of time value of money, investment evaluation, inflation, risk and return, financing decisions, corporate investment strategies, risk analysis and decisions incorporating non-monetary considerations. Historically this course was taught using an advanced text where the topics were covered sequentially. A redesign of the course now includes the construction of a stock price prediction model for a company of the student’s choice. Through the model, the topics are covered and discussed in the context of the large model-building project. For instance, inflation …

Exploring A High-Tech Approach To Subterranean Dwelling Environments For Commercial Implementation, Matthew Richard Gordon

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

People are always looking to experience something interesting and unique when on vacation. What could be more unique than staying in a hotel that is completely underground? While people have always been amazed at natural caves and other subterranean structures, the idea of spending the night in one of these is a somewhat untried area, although it could be quite the selling point. This being the case, the idea of a subterranean hotel is not so farfetched, however there are a number of issues that arise with this project. These issues include construction and selecting the proper site and building …

Cal Poly Chocolates, Jason Ferrel, Taylor Fitzpatrick

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Our design for this project began with building a strong understanding of the current production process. A meeting with the manager, Anna Nakayama, provided a detailed overview of the entire process and outlined some areas of concern. In addition, she provided us with access to critical data such as standard operating procedures and inventory spreadsheets. From there, time studies were conducted for each of the 8 types of chocolate. These time studies helped identify three main issues facing Cal Poly Chocolates. The first issue is in the packaging area of production. The process is entirely manual and has become a …

Qualification Of A New Glass Bottle With E&J Gallo Winery, Danielle Leanne Medeiros

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This paper will further examine the procedures involved in transitioning to a new bottle type made by Glass Company B, on a specific bottling line within E&J Gallo’s bottling facility. For this project Bottling Line X will require thorough testing as well as the creation of a changeover choreography plan. The testing procedure will follow a 3 phase process utilizing project management and statistical skills to ensure quality standards are upheld with the transition. Since Bottling Line X is not familiar with transitioning between bottle types, lean manufacturing techniques will be required to create a changeover document ensuring operators are …

Application Of Data Envelopment Analysis To Identify Undervalued Equities On The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Ryan L. Kotzebue

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Two factors that drive investors to and away from the stock market are reward and risk, respectively. By using a stock selection strategy that is quantitative, investors may feel more comfortable and secure with their decisions. However, there lacks a quantitative strategy that can produce increased returns with lower risk by purchasing a small number of stocks. The objective of this project was to formulate a quantitative stock trading strategy that produced exceptional returns with low risk while also fulfilling additional requirements to benefit the common investor.

By using a linear programming based operations research technique known as data envelopment …

Facility Redesign At The Systech Corporation, Jacob J. Rucker

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This senior project is a redesign of Systech’s manufacturing floor as they move to their new facility to be able to support the expected increase in customer demand. As of January 2013, Systech was working near full capacity, and because of their new product release, they expect the demand to outstrip the production capabilities of the current facility. Because of this, Systech is moving their final testing operations in San Diego to a larger building. During this transition, they have expressed interest in redesigning the current floor layout in order to maximize the productivity of their employees. To accomplish this, …

Wart Eliminator Project Report, Colton Story, Kyle Shipman

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The Wart Eliminator is a product based on the theory of resonant frequency and its ability to devitalize pathogens with the use of electronic pulses. Using the resonant frequency of the wart’s pathogen, the device is operated by the user with two switches for power and a probe connected by a wire to the device for applying to the affected area of the user while running three minute cycles. The product is in the beginning stages with only a prototype made. The product needed a proper ergonomic design to be easily used by the user and a cost analysis to …

Simulating The Flow Of Students Through Cal Poly's Undergraduate Industrial Engineering Program For Policy Analysis, Alexander Clayton Weber

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The purpose of this project is to analyze the flow of Industrial Engineering students at California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo in order to measure various graduation metrics by use of a simulation. Currently, graduation rates are relatively low in comparison with the rest of the state of California and future growth and decreased budgets may threaten graduation rates for incoming students. This simulation will identify bottleneck classes [those that hold up students from graduating] and provide a basis for a sensitivity analysis in which different scenarios are constructed to determine their effects on graduation metrics. The simulation will offer …

Lunalight - Bringing Light To The Expanding World, Gabriela M. Igel, Daniel J. Patrick, Kimberley M. Smith

Materials Engineering

The LunaLight, a solar rechargeable light and cell phone charger, addresses the lack of access to electricity faced by 1.4 billion of the world’s population (International Finance Corporation). The LunaTech team has developed a product that is bright, simple, compact, versatile and competitive with existing products. Through a partnership with the non-profit organization One Million Lights, LunaTech has improved a previous team’s design to address user feedback, concerns of durability, and manufacturability.

The LunaLight design includes a 5 component plastic housing held together by 4 screws, a surface mounted PCB, a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery, one high-brightness LED, a solar panel, …

Application Of Systems Engineering And Project Management For Algae Photo Bioreactors, Andrew S. Balberchak

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Today there is much talk about different sources for biofuel to replace the decreasing supply of fossil fuels. Algae seem very promising with its abundance across the globe and relatively simple growing conditions. Lipids can be extracted from this organism which is then converted to biofuel. Although biofuel production from algae is not economically viable at this stage, researchers are suggesting using the by-products of algae for supplemental and healthcare use. If true, this could justify the economics of obtaining fuel from algae by creating more markets from various algae products.

Cal Poly State University’s Food Science and …

Convertible High Heel Design, Mathew Caspari, Tyler Shelton

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Many women feel pain and discomfort when wearing high heels to certain events. This is a problem because it can lead to a variety of health issues. It would be beneficial and convenient if a woman could remove the heelpiece from her shoe while still wearing the same product. However, there is currently no popular high heels that can convert to a flat shoe on the market today. Our goal was to perform an in depth human factors analysis with regards to high heel use and formulate a solution to these problems. After reviewing literature, conducting a survey, and analyzing …