Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Height Adjustment In Assessing Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry Measurements Of Bone Mass And Density In Children, Babette S. Zemel, Mary B. Leonard, Andrea Kelly, Joan M. Lappe, Vicente Gilsanz, Sharon Oberfield, Soroosh Mahboubi, John A. Shepherd, Thomas N. Hangartner, Margaret M. Frederick, Karen K. Winer, Heidi J. Kalkwarf

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

Context: In children, bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) measurements by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) are affected by height status. No consensus exists on how to adjust BMC or BMD (BMC/BMD) measurements for short or tall stature.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare various methods to adjust BMC/BMD for height in healthy children.

Design: Data from the Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study (BMDCS) were used to develop adjustment methods that were validated using an independent cross-sectional sample of healthy children from the Reference Data Project (RDP).

Setting: We conducted the study in five …

Benefits And Pitfalls Of Virtual R&D Teams: An Empirical Study, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

In this paper, advantages and drawbacks of virtual teams in research and development (R&D) are studied. With the globalization of commercial practices and advances in information and communication technologies, increasing numbers of enterprises are establishing cross-functional, geographically distributed virtual teams. Virtual teams in R&D are designed to access external resources and knowledge to maximize the competitive advantage from limited labor and resources. A survey has been conducted on 210 Malaysian and Iranian manufacturing companies, aimed to investigate the characteristics of R&D collaborations and extract the main advantages/disadvantages’ factors of virtual teams. These factors can be a guide line for R&D …

The Performance Of Wind Turbine Smart Rotor Control Approaches During Extreme Loads, Matthew Lackner, Gijs A. M. Van Kuik

Matthew Lackner

Reducing the loads experienced by wind turbine rotor blades can lower the cost of energy of wind turbines. “Smart rotor control” concepts have emerged as a solution to reduce fatigue loads on wind turbines. In this approach, aerodynamic load control devices are distributed along the span of the blade, and through a combination of sensing, control, and actuation, these devices dynamically control the blade loads. While smart rotor control approaches are primarily focused on fatigue load reductions, extreme loads on the blades may also be critical in determining the lifetime of components, and the ability to reduce these loads as …

Resource Assignment In Short Life Technology Intensive (Slti) New Product Development (Npd), Randy A. Reagan

Dissertations

Enterprises managing multiple concurrent New Product Development (NPD) projects face significant challenges assigning staff to projects in order to achieve launch schedules that maximize financial returns. The challenge is increased with the class of Short Life Technology Intensive (SLTI) products characterized by technical complexity, short development cycles and short revenue life cycles. Technical complexity drives the need to assign staffing resources of various technical disciplines and skill levels. SLTI products are rapidly developed and launched into stationary market windows where the revenue life cycle is short and decreasing with any time-to-market delay. The SLTI-NPD project management decision is to assign …

End-Of-Life Analysis Of Nanotechnology Products, Sun Olapiriyakul

Dissertations

Previous research has shown that thermodynamic properties including melting point and specific heat capacity of nanomaterials may be higher than that of their corresponding bulk materials. The melting point elevation and specific heat capacity enhancement of nanomaterials may result in increased energy consumption and waste gases emission at the end-of-life (EOL) stage where the products containing nanomaterials are recycled by high temperature metal recovery (HTMR) process.

In this dissertation, the effect of physical characteristics of nanomaterials, referred to as physicochemical parameters, on their melting temperature and specific heat capacity was investigated. In addition, physical, chemical, and thermodynamic properties of nanomaterials …

From Automatic Identification And Data Capture (Aidc) To “Smart Business Process”: Preparing For A Pilot Integrating Rfid, S. F. Wamba, E. Lefebvre, Y. Bendavid, L.. A. Lefebvre

Dr Samuel Fosso Wamba

This paper examines the underlying logic behind the rules configured in a RFID middleware to support “smart business processes” in one retail supply chain. Through a detailed investigation of the underlying business processes, we will demonstrate how businesses rules can be defined, configured and refined in a RFID middleware. The results confirm that RFID technology is not a “Plug and Play” solution. RFID middleware configuration will require a high level of customization. Finally, this study allows the improvement of our understanding of the real potential of RFID technology in the supply chain context.

Electronic Falls Reporting System Implementation: Evaluating Data Collection Methods And Studying User Acceptance, Yi You Mei

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In this research, we detail the development of a novel, easy-to-use system to facilitate electronic patient falls reporting within a long-term residential care facility (LTRCF) using off-the-shelf technology that can be inexpensively implemented in a wide variety of settings. We report the results of four complimentary system evaluation measures that take into consideration varied organizational stakeholders’ perspectives: 1) System-level benefits and costs, 2) System usability, via scenario-based use cases, 3) A holistic assessment of users’ physical, cognitive, and marcoergonomic (work system) challenges in using the system, and 4) User technology acceptance. We report the viability of collecting and analyzing data …

Electric Power Market Modeling With Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning, Nathanael K. Miksis

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a relatively new tool for use in electric power market research. At heart are software agents representing real-world stakeholders in the industry: utilities, power producers, system operators, and regulators. Agents interact in an environment modeled after the real-world market and underlying physical infrastructure of modern power systems. Robust simulation laboratories will allow interested parties to stress test regulatory changes with agents motivated and able to exploit any weaknesses, before making these changes in the real world. Eventually ABM may help develop better understandings of electric market economic dynamics, clarifying both delineations and practical implications of market …

A Methodology To Stabilize The Supply Chain, Alfonso Sarmiento

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today's world, supply chains are facing market dynamics dominated by strong global competition, high labor costs, shorter product life cycles, and environmental regulations. Supply chains have evolved to keep pace with the rapid growth in these business dynamics, becoming longer and more complex. As a result, supply chains are systems with a great number of network connections among their multiple components. The interactions of the network components with respect to each other and the environment cause these systems to behave in a highly nonlinear dynamic manner. Ripple effects that have a huge, negative impact on the behavior of the …

An Interval Based Approach To Model Input Uncertainty In Discrete-Event Simulation, Ola Batarseh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research is to increase the robustness of discrete-event simulation (DES) when input uncertainties associated models and parameters are present. Input uncertainties in simulation have different sources, including lack of data, conflicting information and beliefs, lack of introspection, measurement errors, and lack of information about dependency. A reliable solution is obtained from a simulation mechanism that accounts for these uncertainty components in simulation. An interval-based simulation (IBS) mechanism based on imprecise probabilities is proposed, where the statistical distribution parameters in simulation are intervals instead of precise real numbers. This approach incorporates variability and uncertainty in systems. In …

Small Business And Industrial Engineering Tools, Adib Behjat

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

UltraMed, a small distribution company located in the United Arab Emirates, faces high operations cost due to inefficiency in methods and concepts implemented in their business. Through the use of basic Industrial Engineering techniques, UltraMed and other small businesses can succeed in reducing their operational costs through the implementation of three major concepts of Industrial Engineering: Operations Research, Database Management, and Engineering Economic Modeling.

To succeed in implementing the design, it is important to have the right data and a cohesive foundation for the design; else, the results generated by the techniques will be invalid and could cause further complications …

Implementing Rfid To Improve Animal Shelter Inventory And Allocation, Adam Mach

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The purpose of this project is to observe the best way to incorporate Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology into the animal inventory system present in animal shelters, while also observing the benefits of implementing this system. The Woods Humane Society was used in this project as a sample animal care facility that could benefit from this application.

Many RFID systems can be observed in other industries, but very few examples this technology exist in animal shelters or smaller animal care facilities. Part of the reason for that is because funds are scarce at most animal care facilities, like the Woods …

Design And Development Of An Integrated Waste Management System For Huai Nam Khun, Thailand, Annie Duong

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Background

A rural village in Thailand has always been limited in access to waste collection services and processing facilities. As a result, their behaviors of disposing waste in ineffective manners such as dumping and burning causes a variety of environmental impacts. In addition, the people dwelling in these areas are often unaware of the health risks associated to these types of engagements because of the inadequate education system. For a long time coming these circumstances remained untouched until a non-profit organization recently shed light to the need for a solution. An investigation, to develop a design solution in order to …

Funeral Services Marketing Interface To Enhance Customer Service And Overall Productivity, Alyssa R. Habing

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal of any business regardless of the industry it resides in; it’s the sole driver of a company’s productivity levels and overall success within the market. Although numb to most market fluctuations, the funeral industry needs to reinvent their business strategies continuously in order to increase their market share. It’s especially important for smaller funeral homes across the world to take this idea to another level in order to stay competitive with the larger, corporate establishments. In the past twenty years, the industry has grown exponentially due to more interest and popularity. The increase in …

5-S And The Facility Redesign For A Cleaning Products Manufacturing Company, Jonathan Eipper

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This project deals with a “green” cleaning products company in Southern California. Business has increased 38% in the past year along with changes in production capacity and capability, so the company has identified a need for a sustainable model of manufacturing at their new and expanded facility. Goals of promoting sustainable waste management, minimizing types of lean waste, properly storing inventory, improving workplace communication, and defining production tasks will be addressed in this facilities redesign through 5S. The biggest component and outcome of the facility design will be organization. This leads to a goal of eliminating waste, which will in …

Decision Analysis Tool For Appropriate Water Treatment Technologies In Improverished Villages, Conner David Johnston

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

No abstract provided.

Ernie Ball Guitars Woodshop Facilities Redesign, Cameron Lea Schlemer

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This report details a facilities design for Ernie Ball’s guitar and bass guitar manufacturing facility in San Luis Obispo, CA. Specifically, this project will redesign the layout for the Woodshop, the largest of the 5 manufacturing cells in the facility. This project was completed using the Systematic Layout Planning procedure and focused mostly on phase II and III in which the specifics for a layout are determined, however, space requirements were not evaluated as it was not within scope.

The first step was to develop departments in the facilities; two master departments were identified for the neck manufacturing process and …

Alleviation Of Spindle Transfer, Blake Ochs, Whitney Bone

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Haas Automation, Inc. is one of the largest CNC machine tool builders in the world. They produce an assortment of machines that come in many different sizes, however, all machines have in common the central tool that allows them to perform their surfacing and bore functions, the spindle. As with the machines themselves, the spindles can also range in size depending on the type of machine they are going into. These spindles are assembled step by step and as components are added to them, several models become so heavy that it is not feasible to have operators lift them by …

Determining A Reliability Factor For Photovoltaic's In San Luis Obispo, Ryan S. Roach

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This project will analyze raw photovoltaic (PV) solar panel performance data in order to determine a reliability factor for solar panels in San Luis Obispo. This project is a subset of a larger project being performed by SLO RESCO, which is funded by a grant from the California Energy Commission. Their project will explore the use of solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass renewable resources. The scope of this project is limited to a small section of RESCO's analysis of solar panel technology and implementation in which a reliability factor will be generated.

The objective is to determine a reliability factor …

Application Of Radio Frequency Identification To An Asset Checkout System, Ma'ayan K. Bennaim

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a growing technology which is increasingly utilized throughout industry. This senior project identifies an RFID alternative to the checkout system in the tool crib of the Cal Poly Aero Hanger. A new database is designed and built to interface with an RFIDeas AIR enroll reader. The system realizes vast time savings in check in times and increases student accountability for the tools which are checked out by tagging tools.