Industrial Engineering Commons^™

A Predictive Modeling For Water Consumption And Wastewater Flow Management For A Food Processing Manufacturer, Jairo A. De Jesus

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

The City of Cumming, GA, issues special permits for industrial users of sewer services, who meet one or more criteria of discharge regulations. The criteria includes discharge of 25,000 gallons per day or more of processed wastewater, the presence for the potential to inhibit the Advanced Water Reclamation Facility (AWRF) treatment processes, the potential to cause AWRF’s bio-solids to be contaminated, and other regulations. The Food Processing Manufacturer in this study is a meat processing facility (processes pork cooked sausage) and its operation and associated wastewater treatment plant meets at least one of the criteria requiring a special sewer service …

Sustainable Climate Control For Mid-Rise Office Building In The Salt Lake Valley, Philip M. Coleman

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This report examines the sustainability of Trane’s EarthWiseTM climate control systems in the Salt Lake Valley (and the United States Mountain West in general). A simulation is performed to determine the best climate control system for a LEED Silver, 5-story tenant office building. This new building is a duplication of a pre-existing building. The climate control system installed at the preexisting building is used as a baseline against which three (3) alternative systems are compared. The social, ecological, and economic impact of each alternative is examined to determine which is the most sustainable. Since the baseline system is a proven …

Automation Of Pillow Speaker Button Testing To Avoid Repetitive Strain Injuries In Testing Technicians, Tyler P. Finnegan

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Abstract Anacom MedTek, a medical device company, produces pillow speakers as their main product line. Pillow speakers are a healthcare communications tool that allow for hospital patients to control many entertainment and environmental components of the hospital room from one controller. These pillow speaker devices have anywhere from 3 to 27 metal dome key cap buttons based on their customization. Before they can be shipped to a customer, each button must be tested to ensure that it is functioning properly. This test is currently done manually by a testing technician. With so many buttons to be tested for each unit …

Pull Production System Training Guide, Adem Bilgutay

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This book is a series of lessons designed to train operators and managers in pull manufacturing. It begins with a description of the different forms of waste that a system can help to identify and eliminate. The second section details the kanban as a system for controlling flow and as a powerful tool for identifying problems. It will describe the many different variations of kanban that exist to control flow in different production environments and the calculations that allow them to be used effectively. The final section will detail the activities that an operator should engage in when there is …

Expansion In Existing And Future Franchises, Shane Hart, Daniel Jeng

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Zensho Group has recently acquired the restaurant US based chains CoCo’s and Carrows but has not been able to affirm the same growth as the company has established in its home country of Japan. In order to fulfill their need to grow, extensive market analysis and research needs to be done. An expansion eastward and the introduction of their flagship restaurant chain, Sukiya, would offer growth potential. Determining the best locations for these new stores is the goal of this project. Low cost and high market penetration potential will be used to recommend the ideal locations that will benefit the …

A Practical Approach To Computer Donation Supply Chain For Non-Profit Organizations, John Jacob Burrell, Adam Robert Carpenter

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The United States today has a plethora of unused electronic equipment. This equipment comes from universities, small businesses, corporations, and many other sources. This project looks at the best way to put this equipment back to use for the remainder of its usable life by donating it to non-profit organizations in need. In order to complete this project it was necessary to research the areas of Supply Chain Management, Operations Research, and Engineering Economics. The approach for this specific project first involves analyzing the current donation process at California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo, and its ability to …

Evaluation Of Periodontal Scaling Task And Development Of Force–Endurance Models For Simulated Scaling Task, Vettrivel Gnaneswaran

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

Force exertion is critical in grasping and holding activities at sub-maximal levels. Exertion misjudgments lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) impairing performance and productivity. Published literatures on grasping have addressed the force balance and endurance issues for non-prehensile movements of hand. However, little information is available on the force exerted in precision gripping employed in health care. Professionals, especially dental hygienists, when treating patients adopt awkward postures for extended period leading to cumulative trauma. Literatures on cumulative trauma have identified force exertion to be an important risk factor. Lack of information on fatigue with precision gripping motivated this research to establish …

A Meta-Analysis Of Human Factors Analysis And Classification System Causal Factors: Establishing Benchmarking Standards And Human Error Latent Failure Pathway Associations In Various Domains, Katherine Berry

All Dissertations

Many models of accident investigation have been created and have served as the basis for other tools and techniques. One of the most prominent techniques, Reason's Swiss Cheese Model (1990), is based on the idea of active and latent failures. Expanding on this idea, the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) was created with the idea to associate contributing factors and errors (Wiegmann & Shappell, 2003).
While HFACS has been frequently applied in the field of aviation in literature, other industry types are under-represented. Seventeen data sources encompassing various industry types were collected and included in this dissertation analysis. …

An Investigation Of Metaheuristics Using Path- Relinking On The Quadratic Assignment Problem, Thashika Rupasinghe

All Dissertations

The Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP) is a widely researched, yet complex, combinatorial optimization problem that is applicable in modeling many real-world problems. Specifically, many optimization problems are formulated as QAPs. To resolve QAPs, the recent trends have been to use metaheuristics rather than exact or heuristic methods, and many researchers have found that the use of hybrid metaheuristics is actually more effective. A newly proposed hybrid metaheuristic is path relinking (PR), which is used to generate solutions by combining two or more reference solutions. In this dissertation, we investigated these diversification and intensification mechanisms using QAP. To satisfy the extensive …

Order Picking And Storage Using Stackable Pallets In A Warehouse, Ahmed Hassan Aly

All Dissertations

Quarter Billion dollars could be saved annually by double stacking pallets. A forklift storing 100 double stacked pallets saves 2.5 working hours versus single pallets. More than one billion pallets and cases handled between Wal-Mart distribution centers according to BEA White Paper (2006) [1], assume only 500 million were stackable pallets. This translates to 12.5 million working hours. If a forklift driver earns $20 per hour, then $250 million can be saved.
Moreover, handling double stacked pallets takes up to 46 % of total time to pick and store. This is a significant element that was ignored in literature. All …

Comparison Of Classical Analytic Hierarchy Process (Ahp) Approach And Fuzzy Ahp Approach In Multiple-Criteria Decision Making For Commercial Vehicle Information Systems And Networks (Cvisn) Project, Liyuan Zhang

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

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has emerged as an important technology with many possible applications in a wide variety of fields. It is said that RFID can perform well in transportation system. Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (NEDMV) is using this technique to perform an analysis on utilizing RFID license plates to assist with Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) program with the cooperation of many other stakeholders. Previous House of Quality (HOQ) analysis evaluates stakeholders’ needs and provides the pairwise comparison values of six important technical requirements for each stakeholder. Based on these, this research aims to seek for …

A Software Application For The Selection Of Temperature Measuring Sensors Using The Analytic Hierarchy Process (Ahp), Shadi Mohammad Al-B'Ool

Systems Science and Industrial Engineering Student Scholarship

This study presents a computer program that applies analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method to objectively select the best temperature sensors for various applications from multiple nominated alternatives. The underlying decision method based on AHP methodology, ranks temperature sensors with different features with a score resulting from the synthesis of relative preferences of each alternative to the others at different levels considering independent evaluation criteria. At each level, relative preferences of each candidate alternative with respect to the upper immediate level are calculated from pair-wise comparisons among the candidate alternative sensors based on the specifications of sensors with respect to a …

Spiral Facility Layout Generation And Improvement Algorithm, Hatice E. Sanli, Fahrettin Eldemir

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

This study is concerned with construction and improvement of a facility layout heuristic called Spiral Facility Layout Generation and Improvement Algorithm (SFLA). The algorithm starts with positioning departments from center point and continues like a hologram from center to outside. The aim of any facility layout algorithm is to better allocate the departments within facility. SFLA is compared with the existing space filling curve methods, MCRAFT and MULTIPLE, that are available in the literature. To form an initial spiral curve, a block system is used, like the bands for MCRAFT. The width and length of the blocks are given by …

Empirically-Based Warehouse Design: Can Academics Accept Such An Approach?, James M. Apple Jr., Russell D. Meller, John A. White Jr.

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

It is our opinion that existing research is not sufficient to support the design of a warehouse. As a result, facility designers that work in practice are left to face the design process with their own methods. These methods are in stark contrast to the analytical models developed in academia in that they are highly based on empirical observations. Supported by a collection of empirical observations, facility designers who work in practice employ an ad hoc design process. We present a design process based on empirical observations and then formalize it so that it can be taught and used. We …

Dispatching Vehicles Considering Uncertain Handling Times At Port Container Terminals, Vu Duc Nguyen, Kap Hwan Kim

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

This paper considers the problem of vehicle dispatching at port container terminals in a dynamic environment. The problem deals with the assignment of delivery orders of containers to vehicles while taking into consideration the uncertainty in the travel times of the vehicles. Thus, a real-time vehicle dispatching algorithm is proposed for adaptation to the dynamic changes in the states of the container terminals. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, a simulation study was conducted by considering various values of decision parameters under the uncertainty in travel times. Further, the performance of the proposed algorithm was compared with those …

Blocking Effects On Performance Of Warehouse Systems With Automonous Vehicles, Ananth Krishnamurthy, Sunderesh Heragu, Charles Malmborg

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

Distribution centers are under increasing pressure to adopt material handling systems that offer greater flexibility to improve cycle time and throughput capacity in the transfer of unit loads in their high density storage areas. Autonomous Vehicles-based Storage and Retrieval Systems (AVS/RS), have been shown to hold significant promise in this context. In these systems, loads are transferred by autonomous vehicles. Vehicles support horizontal load movement along aisles and cross-aisles within a tier, and lifts support vertical movement between tiers. Existing research in AVS/RS, do not explicitly account for the potential blocking of vehicles and lifts while they are processing transactions. …

Merge Problems With High Speed Sorters, Dirk Jodin, Andreas Wolfschluckner

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

To meet customer demands on distribution the necessity of sorting systems for unit loads in regard to quantity and capacity is growing up constantly.

Due to that, manufactures offer powerful sorting machines with a capacity up to 15.000 pieces per hour. Those machines are for instance Crossbelt or Tilt-Tray sorters. The output of these sorters is calculated by the equation of throughput.

The point of interest is the merge, referring to the overall efficiency of the single sorter. The motion sequence during merging has to be absolutely quick and precise to achieve exact positioning using minimized distances of the single …

The Future Of Modeling In Material Handling Systems, Leon F. Mcginnis

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

Today, when we talk about “modeling” in the context of material handling systems, invariably we are referring to a mathematical or computational model for analyzing some aspect of the system, such as its throughput rate, response time, cost of ownership, required storage capacity, etc. Creating these kinds of models requires considerable knowledge in at least two domains the material handling system domain, and the analysis methodology domain—and considerable skill in the “art of modeling” in order to express the former in the terms of the latter. The results can be somewhat ad hoc—e.g., two different modelers are likely to create …

Optimizing Distribution Center Configuration: A Practical View Of A Multi-Objective Problem, Russell D. Meller, Lisa M. Thomas

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

The shape of a distribution center, as well as whether dock locations are on one side or two sides of the facility, impacts measures like travel distances and the number of dock locations that may be utilized. Thus, for a required number of pallet locations, there are multiple combinations of distribution center shape and dock configurations that should be evaluated against multiple measures. We have developed a practical model for making such evaluations and illustrate the model with data reflective of a partner in the Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution.

The Effect Of Interaction Between The Production System (Ps) And A Looped Conveyor-Based Material Handling System (Lcmhs) In A Manufacturing Facility, Vernet Lasrado, Dima Nazzal

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

In this paper, we provide empirical evidence that shows the effect of the interaction between the production system (PS) and a looped conveyor-based material handling system (LCMHS) in a manufacturing facility. A rudimentary simulation model captures the interaction between the two systems. Varying several key factors, we test for a statistically significant difference in the work in process (WIP) of the production system with and without the LCMHS to find if the squared coefficient of variation (SCV) of the interarrival time distribution to the PS is affected. The results suggest the need to model the interaction between the two systems …