Engineering Commons^™

Automated Usability Evaluation Utilizing Log Files And Data Mining Techniques., Sima Shafaei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Usability evaluation is one of the essential aspects of software production. This evaluation should be done during the entire life cycle of a software application, from pre-production to production and post-production. However, the collection and evaluation of usability data can be a very challenging, time-consuming, and expensive task to be conducted manually, particularly for certain types of products and working conditions. These challenges may include the need to recruit participants fully engage and motivate them during evaluation, and factor in environmental conditions. Other challenges may include collecting data in real-world environments, especially when the users are geographically dispersed, minimizing evaluator …

A Study Of Group Effectiveness In A Virtual Reality Environment., Dalton Clay Sparks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Virtual Reality (VR) technology has revolutionized the study of team effectiveness, yet many studies in this domain lack a comprehensive approach, focusing narrowly on performance metrics. This thesis investigates VR team effectiveness by integrating traditional Team Effectiveness frameworks with VR-specific dynamics. Utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Group Style Inventory (GSI), this study assesses teams within a VR environment, specifically a multiplayer submarine simulation game, IronWolfVR. Fifteen groups, totaling 45 participants, were observed for their collaborative gameplay, incorporating physiological measures (Heart Rate and Electrodermal Activity), team coordination dynamics, and various survey-based assessments (demographics, System Usability Scale, Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, and …

Visibility Based Hospital Inpatient Unit Design., Uttam Karki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Patient fall is one of the adverse events in an inpatient unit of a hospital that can lead to disability and/or mortality. Healthcare literature suggests that increased visibility of patients by unit nurses is essential to improve patient monitoring and, in turn, reduce falls. However, such research has been descriptive in nature and does not provide an understanding of the characteristics of an optimal inpatient unit layout from a visibility-standpoint. This dissertation fills significant voids in this domain and adds much-needed realism to develop insights that hospital decision-makers can use to design their inpatient unit layout. Our first contribution (Chapter …

Experimental And Numerical Studies Of Laser Powder-Bed Fusion Process With Ti-6al-4v Powder: (1) Porosity And Mechanical Properties, And (2) Transient Phenomena In One- And Two-Dimensional Fabrications., Santosh K. Rauniyar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process represents a form of metal additive manufacturing (AM) where micron-level powdered material is selectively melted and fused layer by layer to create intricate three-dimensional parts. This process involves rapid melting and solidification, leading to intense thermocapillary convection within the molten pool. The melt pool is a crucial element of the L-PBF process and refers to the localized region where the powder particles are melted and solidified to form each layer of the printed part. The shape and dimensions of the melt pool directly influence the accuracy and surface finish of the printed part. Precise …

Multi-Period, Multi-Platform Design And Lot-Sizing For Hybrid Manufacturing Considering Stochastic Demand And Processing Time, Md Sadman Sakib

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the era of digitalization, customer demand has become more customized than before. For this reason, the variety of products is increasing rapidly. Manufacturing industries are experiencing extraordinary challenges due to frequent updates of customer requirements. Now the manufacturers are focusing more on mass customization than mass production to keep pace with this situation, however, managing variety using the make-to-stock strategy increases holding costs, and the make-to-order strategy increases lead time. Moreover, uncertainty in demand is making mass customization more challenging. Though hybrid manufacturing is a promising concept for variety management, very few works consider stochastic demand. The concept of …

Improvement To An Existing Multi-Level Capacitated Lot Sizing Problem With Setup Carryover, Backlogging, And Emission Control, Rifat Bin Hasan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents a multi-level, multi-item, multi-period capacitated lot-sizing problem. The lot-sizing problem studies can obtain production quantities, setup decisions, and inventory levels in each period fulfilling the demand requirements with limited capacity resources, considering the Bill of Material (B.O.M.) structure while simultaneously minimizing the production, inventory, and machine setup costs. The paper proposes an exact solution to Chowdhury et al. (2018)'s[1] developed model, which considers the backlogging cost, setup carryover & greenhouse gas emission control to its model complexity. The problem contemplates the Dantzig-Wolfe (D.W.) decomposition to decompose the multi-level capacitated problem into a single-item uncapacitated lot-sizing sub-problem. To …

Mathematical Programming And Heuristic Design For Planning Of Operating Rooms, Justin William Britt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Canada, a significant percentage of government spending goes towards healthcare. The three biggest spending areas are hospitals, drugs, and physicians. In a hospital, operating rooms (ORs) and the downstream resources, such as recovery ward (RW) beds, used by surgical patients are expensive to operate but improve the welfares of patients and provide a large portion of the revenue. Hospital managers must plan and schedule the ORs in order to utilize the physical resources and the human resources who staff them as efficiently as possible. OR planning and scheduling problems are divided into three phases: strategic, tactical, and operational. In …

Investigating The Financial Implications Of Converting Manufacturing From Existing Portfolio To Ppe Products During Covid-19 For Canadian Manufacturing Companies, Varun Charavanan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For the past three years, we have witnessed the effects that a disruptive event like COVID-19 can have on the industrial sector as well as the effects that have so far been felt throughout the world's supply chain. When the pandemic first began, sales of PPE products increased, which led to a shortage of PPE products in Canada due to supply chain disruptions and limited PPE product production in Canada. So, the Canadian government began importing PPE goods. This incident highlights the need for local production in Canada as many people were unable to afford PPE in time. Due to …

Smart Manufacturing Execution System Framework For Small And Medium-Size Enterprises, Mohamed Mahmoud Masoud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today's manufacturing scene, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face the challenge of adapting to rapidly evolving technologies to remain competitive. Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) play a vital role in managing this transformation by systematically overseeing production processes. While Industry 4.0 has already established widely accepted automation techniques, Industry 5.0 presents further innovative advancements to enhance manufacturing. However, there is a scarcity of research on applying Industry 5.0. This thesis addresses this research gap by developing an Industry 5.0-based MES framework, specifically designed for SMEs. A systematic approach to implementing the framework is presented, starting with an analysis of common …

Simulating The Impact Of Emissions Control On Economic Productivity Using Particle Systems And Puff Dispersion Model, Najam Khan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A simulation platform is developed for quantifying the change in productivity of an economy under passive and active emission control mechanisms. The program uses object-oriented programming to code a collection of objects resembling typical stakeholders in an economy. These objects include firms, markets, transportation hubs, and boids which are distributed over a 2D surface. Firms are connected using a modified Prim’s Minimum spanning tree algorithm, followed by implementation of an all-pair shortest path Floyd Warshall algorithm for navigation purposes. Firms use a non-linear production function for transformation of land, labor, and capital inputs to finished product. A GA-Vehicle Routing Problem …

Development Of An Ergonomic Desk And Support For Optimal Keyboard Angle In The Sitting And Standing Workstation, Victor Eghujovbo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the proliferation of computers in homes and workplaces, the keyboard has become an integral part of our daily lives, and it is difficult to imagine using a computer without one. Given the high prevalence of WMSDs among computer users and the growing global computer workforce, concerns exist about the escalation of computer related injury with Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) being one of the most reported WMSDs among office workers. The forceful and repetitive movements of the hand and wrist, prolonged use of the hand and wrist and a non-neutral or awkward wrist posture (where there is a migration from …

Comparative Analysis Of Fullstack Development Technologies: Frontend, Backend And Database, Qozeem Odeniran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accessing websites with various devices has brought changes in the field of application development. The choice of cross-platform, reusable frameworks is very crucial in this era. This thesis embarks in the evaluation of front-end, back-end, and database technologies to address the status quo. Study-a explores front-end development, focusing on angular.js and react.js. Using these frameworks, comparative web applications were created and evaluated locally. Important insights were obtained through benchmark tests, lighthouse metrics, and architectural evaluations. React.js proves to be a performance leader in spite of the possible influence of a virtual machine, opening the door for additional research. Study b …

Design And Fabrication Of A Force-Displacement Control Mechanism For Bone-Surgical Tool Testing, Kenneth Nwagu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project focuses on the design and fabrication of an experimental setup for orthopedic-tool testing, tailored for a surgical instrumentation company. The multifaceted project encompasses a literature review, conceptual design, prototyping, and rigorous testing, resulting in a versatile control system capable of assessing various orthopedic tools, including bone drills, saws, burrs, and power handpieces.

Orthopedic surgical procedures (which include cutting and/or drilling into bone) often need to be performed on bones for faster recovery. The drilling and cutting process can cause an increase in temperature at the cutting site which can cause bone necrosis. The tools also need to be …