Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

An Exploration Of Quality Systems In Healthcare Facilities, Tange D. Awbrey

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Tange D. Awbrey on April 27, 2015.

Design Refinement By Iterative Virtual Experimentation (D.R.I.V.E.): A Methodology To Solving Engineering Design Problems, Charles M. Watson

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Science & Technology Morehead State University in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Charles M. “Matt” Watson on April 25, 2015

The Development Of A Workplace Resilience Instrument, Larry Mallak

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award (FRACAA)

The Workplace Resilience Instrument (WRI) has the potential to provide organizations and managers a useful tool for improving workplace resilience and helping employees achieve their potential.

Oculomotor Neurocircuitry, A Structural Connectivity Study Of Infantile Nystagmus Syndrome, Nasser H. Kashou, Angelica R. Zampini

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

Infantile Nystagmus Syndrome (INS) is one of the leading causes of significant vision loss in children and affects about 1 in 1000 to 6000 births. In the present study, we are the first to investigate the structural pathways of patients and controls using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Specifically, three female INS patients from the same family were scanned, two sisters and a mother. Six regions of interest (ROIs) were created manually to analyze the number of tracks. Additionally, three ROI masks were analyzed using TBSS (Tract-Based Spatial Statistics). The number of fiber tracks was reduced in INS subjects, compared to …

Customer, Commercial And Government Value Functions For Electric Vehicle System Design, Taylan G. Topcu

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

Environmental Security Through Packaging Sustainability, Mark Betancourt

Systems Engineering Research Projects and Oral Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Common Knowledge Engineering Framework For Data Assimilation, Correlation, And Extrapolation (Dace), Edward P. Weaver

EMSE Doctoral Projects

The Common Knowledge Engineering Framework for Data Assimilation, Correlation, and Extrapolation (DACE) project is focused on providing a software centric general framework for advanced processing and analysis of data. This translates to researchers, scientists, engineers, and system architects not having to program a new application but rather to define the system configuration, process, and processing that is needed to perform a specific functionality. This makes the limitation of the application the end users ability to fully define the functional requirements and setup the framework accordingly.

This doctoral project will provide the details to the system definition, standards, metrics, schedule, and …

Improving Product Design Phase For Engineer To Order (Eto) Product With Knowledge Base Engineering (Kbe), Hanhdung Thi Dinh

Open Access Theses

In industry currently Computer Aided Design (CAD) is an important tool for the modification, analysis, or optimization of the 3D virtual environment that replicates the physical product. CAD software is an efficient and reliable tool. However, as globalization increases customer demands, this process needs to be faster and more efficient to accommodate changing product design situations, especially for Engineer-to- Order (ETO) products. ^ The traditional method of product design process is to operate CAD software without argumentation. Design engineers create CAD prototypes and drawings based on available knowledge and information which comes from engineering experts, company standards, industrial practices as …

Conflict And Error Management: A Case In The Furniture Industry, Glenn Candranegara

Open Access Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate and provide tools for the furniture industry, for detecting and preventing damage from propagating errors. Many of the errors cascading in a furniture manufacturing facility are typically detected only after the original process that causes the error had already caused errors. Previous research has developed and validated theoretical methods, such as CEPD, to prevent and detect errors and conflicts. This thesis is the first effort to implement the logic of CEPD in the furniture industry. There are four relevant measures that are analyzed and improved in this thesis; they are preventability, reliability, …

Algorithms For Bundling And Pricing Trucking Services: Deterministic And Stochastic Approaches, Rodrigo Mesa-Arango

Open Access Dissertations

Bundling and pricing trucking services is an important strategic decision for carriers. This is helpful when they consider the incorporation of new businesses to their networks, look for economic and optimal operations, and develop revenue management strategies. Reverse combinatorial auctions for trucking services are real-world examples that illustrate the necessity of such strategies. In these auctions, a shipper asks carriers for quotes to serve combinations of lanes and the carriers have to bundle demand and price it properly. This dissertation explores several dimensions of the problem employing state-of-the-art analytical tools. These dimensions include: Truckload (TL) and less-than-truckload (LTL) operations, behavioral …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Military Leaders' Operational Adaptability And Knowledge Transfer, Vahap Kavaker

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A variety of research underlines the increasing need for adaptable leaders in the military and enhancing operational adaptability is accepted as one of the crucial factors for achieving success in future military operations. In general terms, operational adaptability is the ability to successfully respond to unforeseen changing situations during military operations. However, this study reveals that operational adaptability is not clearly conceptualized and supporting factors are not investigated in detail in the literature. Among possible factors, knowledge transfer is claimed to be an important practice that increases personal performance and effectiveness.

This research conceptualized operational adaptability and investigated the relationship …

Management And Leadership Style: Is Style Influenced By Engineering Education?, Jesse Levi Calloway

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This paper addresses one aspect of the opportunity for corporations to reduce leadership development infrastructure by narrowing the participant pool to candidates that, intuitively, may be multi-skilled and capable of handling diverse roles and assignments within the corporate environment. In particular, the study seeks to determine the effect that engineering education has on leadership style by comparing the leadership style of certified project managers (CPMs), and non-CPM managers with engineering degrees, to the same for CPMs, and non-CPM managers, who do not possess engineering degrees. Engineering degrees may be further defined as mechanical, electrical, industrial and the like. Leadership styles …

Proclivity Or Popularity? Exploring Agent Heterogeneity In Network Formation, Xiaotian Wang

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Barabasi-Albert model (BA model) is the standard algorithm used to describe the emergent mechanism of a scale-free network. This dissertation argues that the BA model, and its variants, rarely take agent heterogeneity into account in the analysis of network formation. In social networks, however, people's decisions to connect are strongly affected by the extent of similarity. In this dissertation, the author applies an agent-based modeling (ABM) approach to reassess the Barabasi-Albert model. This study proposes that, in forming social networks, agents are constantly balancing between instrumental and intrinsic preferences. After systematic simulation and subsequent analysis, this study finds that …

Command And Control In The Information Age: A Case Study Of A Representative Air Power Command And Control Node, Marvin Leo Simpson Jr.

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

As operations command structures change, it is important to be able to explore and understand their fundamental nature; researchers should unearth the gestalt nature of the operational node. The organizational structure and the infrastructure can significantly affect overall command and control (C2) performance. Thus, it is necessary to develop understanding of effectiveness of the technical network and the people using the system as a whole.

The purpose of this research is to conduct an analysis of a representative Air Power Operational C2 node, create and use a repeatable method, and present the results as a case study to elicit fundamental …

Toward A Theory Of Multi-Method Modeling And Simulation Approach, Mariusz A. Balaban

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The representation via simulation models can easily lead to simulation models too simple for their intended purpose, or with too much detail, making them hard to understand. This problem is related to limitations of the modeling and simulation methods. A multi-method Modeling and Simulation (M&S) approach has the potential for improved representation by taking advantage of methods' strengths and mitigating their weaknesses. Despite a high appeal for using multiple M&S methods, several related problems should be addressed first. The current level of theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic knowledge related to a multi-method M&S approach is limited. It is problematic that there …

Key Factors Driving Personnel Downsizing In Multinational Military Organizations, Ilksen Gorkem

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Although downsizing has long been a topic of research in traditional organizations, there are very few studies of this phenomenon in military contexts. As a result, we have little understanding of the key factors that drive personnel downsizing in military settings. This study contributes to our understanding of key factors that drive personnel downsizing in military organizations and whether those factors may differ across NATO nations' cultural clusters. The theoretical framework for this study was built from studies in non-military contexts and adapted to fit the military environment.

This research relies on historical data from one of the largest multinational …

An Iterated Local Search Algorithm For Solving The Orienteering Problem With Time Windows, Aldy Gunawan, Hoong Chuin Lau, Kun Lu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The Orienteering Problem with Time Windows (OPTW) is a variant of the Orienteering Problem (OP). Given a set of nodes including their scores, service times and time windows, the goal is to maximize the total of scores collected by a particular route considering a predefined time window during which the service has to start. We propose an Iterated Local Search (ILS) algorithm to solve the OPTW, which is based on several LocalSearch operations, such as swap, 2-opt, insert and replace. We also implement the combination between AcceptanceCriterion and Perturbation mechanisms to control the balance between diversification and intensification of the …

Overcoming Hurdles Implementing Multi-Skilling Policies, Joshua M. Isom

Theses and Dissertations

Ogden ALC at Hill AFB has been authorized to promote wage grade employees if they are multi-skilled, but that authorization will expire at the end of Fiscal Year 2018. Simulation research by Capt Wesley Sheppard demonstrated significant cost savings/cost avoidance if multi-skilling is pursued, but there are significant challenges to implementation. This research examined two challenges in implementation. First, how many employees can be multi-skilled and still maintain proficiency in both skills? Second, once multi-skilled, is there a technique that can be applied to easily and effectively schedule the new multi-skilled workforce. Using linear programming, staffing numbers were calculated based …

A Dynamic Game On Network Topology For Counterinsurgency Applications, Jared K. Nystrom

Theses and Dissertations

Successful military operations are increasingly reliant upon an advanced understanding of relevant networks and their topologies. The methodologies of network science are uniquely suited to inform senior military commanders; however, there is a lack of research in the application of these methods in a realistic military scenario. This study creates a dynamic game on network topology to provide insight into the effectiveness of offensive targeting strategies determined by various centrality measures given limited states of information and varying network topologies. Improved modeling of complex social behaviors is accomplished through incorporation of a distance-based utility function. Moreover, insights into effective defensive …

An Approximate Dynamic Programming Mode For Optimal Medevac Dispatching, Aaron J. Rettke

Theses and Dissertations

We develop a Markov decision process (MDP) model to examine military medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) dispatch policies. To solve our MDP, we apply an approximate dynamic programming (ADP) technique. The problem of deciding which aeromedical asset to dispatch to which service request is complicated by the service locations and the priority class of each casualty event. We assume requests for MEDEVAC arrive sequentially, with the location and the priority of each casualty known upon initiation of the request. The proposed model finds a high quality dispatching policy which outperforms the traditional myopic policy of sending the nearest available unit. Utility is …