Engineering Commons^™

Effective Project Management And The Role Of Quality Assurance Throughout The Project Life Cycle, Monier Madison Ouabira, Hengameh Fakhravar

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Quality is a fundamental requirement in effective project management. Effective project management entails a steady focus on quality management as well as achievement of all user requirements as defined during the requirements engineering phase of project implementation. Quality assurance must be executed throughout the project development cycle as a new normal in reducing errors and challenges during project development. Conducting quality assurance throughout the project development cycle has many benefits to both the project as well as the project development team. Understanding the research approach to use is critical in achieving high-quality findings in projects. There is a need to …

Restoring Lake Urmia: Moving Beyond A Uniform Lake Level (2-Page Summary), Somayeh Sima, Dory Rosenberg, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Sarah E. Null, Karin M. Kettenring

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

More than 5 million people live near Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran, one of the world's largest hypersaline lakes. Over the past two decades, the lake has lost 95% of its volume, lake level has dropped more than 7 m, and lake restoration has gained widespread interest. The government seeks a uniform "ecological" target lake level of 1274.1 m above sea level to lower salinity below 240 gL^-1 and recover brine shrimp (Artemia spp.) and flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus).

We have synthesized over 40 years of available data, defined 8 ecosystem services for human health, water quality, ecology, recreation, and …

Air Quality Near Busy Australian Roads Up To 10 Times Worse Than Official Figures, Hugh I. Forehead

SMART Infrastructure Facility - Papers

Air quality on Australia’s roads matters. On any given day (when we’re not in lockdown) people meet, commute, exercise, shop and walk with children near busy streets. But to date, air quality monitoring at roadsides has been inadequate. I and my colleagues wanted to change that. Using materials purchased from electronics and hardware stores for around A$150, we built our own air quality monitors. Our newly published research reveals how our devices detected particulate pollution at busy intersections at levels ten times worse than background levels measured at official air monitoring stations.

Evaluating How The Quality Of Pedestrian Infrastructure Affects The Choice To Walk, Gregory Rowangould, Alexis Corning-Padilla

Publications

While the benefits of walking are well understood, the physical design of sidewalks and their maintenance needs generally receive much less attention in both research and practice than the infrastructure used by other modes of transportation. As a result, we know comparatively little about how the design of sidewalks and quality of the overall pedestrian environment affect the decision to walk. In our study we conducted a household travel survey to collect data on walking frequency and attributes related to sidewalk quality and the quality of the walking environment in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We used summary statistics and statistical modeling …

Biochar From Microwave Pyrolysis Of Selected Feedstocks, Tanisha M. Dreise, Daya R. Nhuchhen, Muhammad T. Afzal

Biochar: Production, Characterization and Applications

This is a brief summary of work carried out by a team of researchers to produce biochar using microwave pyrolysis system developed at Bioenergy, Bioproducts Research Lab (BBRL), at UNB. Various feedstocks such as corn stalk, spruce, maple, switchgrass, and wood pellets were used to produce biochar. A batch type microwave reactor with a frequency of 2.45 GHz and a power generator of 3 kW was used in the pyrolysis experiments. The amount of biochar obtained depends on the microwave pyrolysis conditions and type of feedstock. For corn stalk briquettes, the yield of biochar ranged from 30.9 to 41.1 wt%. …

Geometry-Based Mass Grading Of Mango Fruits Using Image Processing, M. A. Momin, Md Towfiqur Rahman, M. S. Sultana, C. Igathinathane, A. T. M. Ziauddin, T. E. Grift

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Mango (Mangifera indica) is an important, and popular fruit in Bangladesh. However, the post-harvest processing of it is still mostly performed manually, a situation far from satisfactory, in terms of accuracy and throughput. To automate the grading of mangos (geometry and shape), we developed an image acquisition and processing system to extract projected area, perimeter, and roundness features. In this system, images were acquired using a XGA format color camera of 8-bit gray levels using fluorescent lighting. An image processing algorithm based on region based global thresholding color binarization, combined with median filter and morphological analysis was developed …

Effects Of Sea Level Rise On Hydrology: Case Study In A Typical Mid-Atlantic Coastal Watershed, Xixi Wang, Rui Li, Homa Jalaeian Taghadomi, Shohreh Pedram, Xiao Zhao

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Sea level rise (SLR) can negatively affect the hydrology of coastal watersheds. However, the relevant information is incomplete and insufficient in existing literature. The objective of this study is to present a modeling approach to predict long-term effects of SLR on changes of flood peak, flood stage, and groundwater table with an assumption that the historical climate would reoccur in the future. The study was conducted for a typical coastal watershed in southeast USA. The results indicate that sea level had been rising at a rate of 4.21 mm yr⁻¹ from 1948 to 1982 but at a faster rate …

Innovative Detectors For Quality Assurance Dosimetry In Sbrt Of Stationary And Movable Targets, Matthew Newall, Marco Petasecca, Mitchell Duncan, Iolanda Fuduli, Khalsa Al Shukaili, Jeremy T. Booth, Paul J. Keall, Stephanie Corde, V Pereveratylo, Michael L. F Lerch, Anatoly B. Rosenfeld

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The high spatial and temporal resolution 2D monolithic silicon detector arrays M512 and DUO for quality assurance (QA) in real time motion adaptive radiotherapy (ART) have been developed. The DUO array possesses a spatial resolution of 0.2 mm and has demonstrated agreement within 5% with EBT3 film measurements of 6MV linac beam profiles for field sizes 1 × 1 cm² and SRS cone diameter 0.5 cm. Dynamic characterisation of the M512 for QA in real time ART evaluated the performance of M512 for small fields while the detector experiences periodic motion. It was demonstrated with M512 that MLC tracking …

Lean Six Sigma Journey In A Uk Higher Education Institute: Challenges, Projects, And Key Lessons Learned, Jiju Antony, Elizabeth A. Cudney

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lean Six Sigma is a powerful methodology for achieving process efficiency and effectiveness resulting in enhanced customer satisfaction and improved bottom line results. Although a number of manufacturing and service organizations are utilizing the power of this integrated methodology, Higher Education Institutions have been slow to introduce and develop this process excellence methodology. The purpose of the paper is to critically evaluate Lean Six Sigma as a powerful business improvement methodology for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Higher Education Institutions. The paper will explore the fundamental challenges and critical success factors encountered with the introduction and development of Lean …

Effects Of Salinity Build-Up On The Performance Of An Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Regarding Basic Water Quality Parameters And Removal Of Trace Organic Contaminants, Xiaoye Song, James A. Mcdonald, William E. Price, Stuart J. Khan, Faisal I. Hai, Hao H. Ngo, Wenshan Guo, Long D. Nghiem

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The effects of elevated inorganic salt concentration on anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) treatment regarding basic biological performance and trace organic contaminant (TrOC) removal were investigated. A set of 33 TrOCs were selected to represent pharmaceuticals, steroids, and pesticides in municipal wastewater. Results show potential adverse effects of increase in the bioreactor salinity to 15 g/L (as NaCl) on the performance of AnMBR with respect to chemical oxygen demand removal, biogas production, and the removal of most hydrophilic TrOCs. Furthermore, a decrease in biomass production was observed as salinity in the bioreactor increased. The removal of most hydrophobic TrOCs was high …

X-Tream Quality Assurance In Synchrotron X-Ray Microbeam Radiation Therapy, Pauline Fournier, Iwan Cornelius, Mattia Donzelli, Herwig Requardt, Christian Nemoz, Marco Petasecca, Elke Brauer-Krisch, Anatoly B. Rosenfeld, Michael L. F Lerch

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) is a novel irradiation technique for brain tumours treatment currently under development at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France. The technique is based on the spatial fractionation of a highly brilliant synchrotron X-ray beam into an array of microbeams using a multi-slit collimator (MSC). After promising pre-clinical results, veterinary trials have recently commenced requiring the need for dedicated quality assurance (QA) procedures. The quality of MRT treatment demands reproducible and precise spatial fractionation of the incoming synchrotron beam. The intensity profile of the microbeams must also be quickly and quantitatively characterized prior to each …

The Application Of Gage R&R Analysis In S Six Sigma Case Of Improving And Optimizing An Automotive Die Casting Product’S Measurement System, Qizheng Ren

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

With the rapid development of automation technology in automotive manufacturing processes, massive and efficient production is a current trend. Therefore, measurement systems with accurate and automated measuring instruments are sought by automotive companies and suppliers. However, the problematic measuring instruments with unreliable accuracy and stability lead to erroneous measurements and wrong quality decisions that cause manufacturers huge profit losses. An effective method called “measurement system analysis” can be applied to define and eliminate erroneous measurements to ensure adequate reliability. An automotive transmission die casting parts supplier called company T was suffering a serious profit loss due to the erroneous measurements …

Characteristics Of Power Quality Disturbances In Australia: Voltage Dips At Low-Voltage Sites, Sean T. Elphick, Victor W. Smith, Victor J. Gosbell, Sarath Perera, Philip Ciufo, Gerrard M. Drury

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Voltage dips are considered to be one of the costliest of all power quality disturbances due to their disruption of industrial and commercial operations. The ability to characterise the voltage dip performance of distribution networks has many benefits for industry. There is considerable potential for industry to make large economic gains if voltage dip behaviour can be better understood and planned for. To put strategies in place to deal with voltage dips, there is a need for extensive data collection and analysis so that correct planning decisions can be made. This study details the characteristics of voltage dip data which …

Summary Of The Economic Impacts Of Power Quality On Consumers, Sean T. Elphick, Philip Ciufo, Victor W. Smith, Sarath Perera

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The quality of the electrical supply has a direct impact on the correct function and operation of equipment connected to the public electricity supply network. There is an expectation that devices will operate as designed and that equipment lifetime should, statistically, be close to the designed value. The reliability of the network is generally assumed to be high enough so as to not cause unacceptable issues with regard to loss of production or loss of functionality. Quantifying the cost to the consumer when the supply power quality or reliability are not as expected is an important metric and can be …

The Use Of Coastal Reservoirs And Spp Strategy To Provide Sufficient High Quality Water To Coastal Communities, Shu-Qing Yang, Samuel Kelly

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Water quality-induced water shortage is emerging as one of the main threats for the growth of the world's population and economic development, especially for coastal cities in developing nations. This paper discusses how to supply enough sufficiently clean water to such cities using the technologies of coastal reservoirs and wetland pre-treatments, as well as employing the SPP strategy. The so-called coastal reservoir is defined as a freshwater reservoir situated in seawater which sources its water from river runoff; to improve its water quality, a wetland is used to pre-treat the runoff that is potentially polluted by domestic, agricultural and industrial …

Is A Quasi-3d Dosimeter Better Than A 2d Dosimeter For Tomotherapy Delivery Quality Assurance?, Aitang Xing, Shrikant Deshpande, Sankar Arumugam, Armia George, Lois C. Holloway, Philip J. Vial, Gary Goozee

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Delivery quality assurance (DQA) has been performed for each Tomotherapy patient either using ArcCHECK or MatriXX Evolution in our clinic since 2012. ArcCHECK is a quasi-3D dosimeter whereas MatriXX is a 2D detector. A review of DQA results was performed for all patients in the last three years, a total of 221 DQA plans. These DQA plans came from 215 patients with a variety of treatment sites including head-neck, pelvis, and chest wall. The acceptable Gamma pass rate in our clinic is over 95% using 3mm and 3% of maximum planned dose with 10% dose threshold. The mean value and …

The Relationship Between The Quality Of Active Frontages And Public Perceptions Of Public Spaces, Emma Elizabeth Heffernan, Troy W. Heffernan, Wei Pan

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Active frontages are often advocated in best practice guidance and by local planning authorities. However, little research has been carried out to establish what benefits, if any, active frontages offer. Previous research in this area has been limited to examining observed behaviour rather than analysing public perceptions. This article aims to improve the understanding of the relationship between the quality of an active frontage and public perceptions of the public space the frontage addresses. The research was carried out through a combination of a critical literature review and a questionnaire survey that engaged 152 participants. The participants' perceptions of a …

Quality Of Experience-Based Image Feature Selection For Mobile Augmented Reality Applications, Yi Cao, Christian H. Ritz, Raad Raad

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Mobile augmented reality applications rely on automatically recognising a visual scene through matching of derived image features. To ensure the Quality of Experience (QoE) perceived by users, such applications should achieve high matching accuracy meanwhile minimizing the waiting time to meet real-time requirement. An efficient solution is to develop an effective feature selection method to select the most robust features against distortions caused by camera capture to achieve high matching accuracy whilst transmission and matching process of the features are significant reduced. Feature selection is also beneficial to reducing the computational complexities of the matching system so that waiting time …

A Comparative Analysis Of Multichannel Data Acquisition Systems For Quality Assurance In External Beam Radiation Therapy, Iolanda Fuduli, Claudiu Porumb, Anthony Espinoza, Abdullah Aldosari, Martin Carolan, Michael Lf Lerch, Peter E. Metcalfe, Anatoly Rosenfeld, Marco Petasecca

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The paper presents a comparative study performed by the Centre of Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP) on three multichannel Data Acquisition Systems (DAQ) based on different analogue front-ends to suit a wide range of radiotherapy applications. The three front-ends are: a charge-to-frequency converter developed by INFN Torino, an electrometer and a charge-to-digital converter (both commercial devices from Texas Instruments). For the first two (named DAQ A and B), the CMRP has designed the read-out systems whilst the third one (DAQ C) comes with its own evaluation board. For the purpose of the characterization DAQ A and DAQ B have been equipped …

Assessing Network Compliance For Power Quality Performance, Sean Elphick, Victor Gosbell, Victor Smith, Gerrard Drury, Robert Barr

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

IEC standards suggest that a network is compliant if 95% of the sites are compliant. In many cases it is only practical to measure the PQ parameters of some of the sites in a network and to use statistical analysis. The paper examines the minimum number of monitored sites needed to demonstrate compliance with a prescribed degree of confidence - e.g. at the 95% confidence level. Analysis is made of samples extracted randomly from sites included in the Australian Long Term National PQ Survey. The required number of sites is found to vary with the PQ disturbance of concern and …

Improving Online Banking Quality In Developing Nations: A Libyan Case, Fouad Elgahwash, Mark Freeman, Alison E. Freeman

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

While the global banking sector is one of the most up-to-date industries with regard to the use of the Internet and mobile technologies, developing countries (such as Libya) have not broadly adopted these technologies. For example, online banking is not offered or provided on a restricted basis by many banks in Libya. As developing countries now seek to catch up with the global environment, both banks and customers are likely to face challenges. Understanding the perceptions of customers with regard to online banking quality in developing countries is useful for informing future adoption strategies and hence improving relationships between banks …

Silicon Strip Detector For Quality Assurance In Synchrotron Microbeam Radiation Therapy, Pauline Fournier, Iwan Cornelius, Marco Petasecca, Elke Brauer-Krisch, Herwig Requardt, Andrew Dipuglia, N Roberts, Christopher Hall, Andrew W. Stevenson, Anatoly B. Rosenfeld

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Abstract of an oral communication that presented at the 53es Journées Scientifiques de la Société Française de Physique Médicale, 4-6 June 2014, Deauville, France.

Minimisation Of Video Downstream Bit Rate For Large Scale Immersive Video Conferencing By Utilising The Perceptual Variations Of Quality, Pedram Pourashraf, Farzad Safaei, Daniel Franklin

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper aims at minimising the video downstream bit rate of immersive video conferencing (IVC) applications by judiciously modifying the video quality based on the relative virtual positions of participants in the virtual environment. The paper reports on the results of a user study to assess the influence of participants' perspectives on the perceptual impact of relevant video parameters, such as resolution and frame rate. A mathematical model for video rate is proposed that expresses the total rate as the product of spatial resolution and frame rate. Results from the user study are combined with the proposed model to predict …

A Review Of Data Quality Assessment Methods For Public Health Information Systems, Hong Chen, David Hailey, Ning Wang, Ping Yu

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

High quality data and effective data quality assessment are required for accurately evaluating the impact of public health interventions and measuring public health outcomes. Data, data use, and data collection process, as the three dimensions of data quality, all need to be assessed for overall data quality assessment. We reviewed current data quality assessment methods. The relevant study was identified in major databases and well-known institutional websites. We found the dimension of data was most frequently assessed. Completeness, accuracy, and timeliness were the three most-used attributes among a total of 49 attributes of data quality. The major quantitative assessment methods …

Characteristics Of Power Quality Disturbances In Australia: Voltage Harmonics, S T. Elphick, V W. Smith, V J. Gosbell, S Perera

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Management of harmonic voltage levels can impose significant economic impacts for both electricity suppliers and customers. For the case where harmonic voltage levels are high, economic costs include damage to equipment and associated loss of production due to high voltage harmonic levels as well as the costs associated with mitigation of harmonic currents, for example, harmonic filters. In the alternate scenario, ie. the case where harmonic voltage levels are acceptable, considerable expense may be incurred mitigating harmonic currents unnecessarily due to lack of knowledge of harmonic levels and/or network capabilities. As such, there is considerable potential for industry to make …

Description And Comparison Of Documentation Of Nursing Assessment Between Paper-Based And Electronic Systems In Australian Aged Care Homes, Ning Wang, Ping Yu, David Hailey

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Purpose: To describe nursing assessment documentation practices in aged care organizations and to evaluate the quality of electronic versus paper-based documentation of nursing assessment. Methods: This was a retrospective nursing documentation audit study. Study samples were 2299 paper-based and 6997 electronic resident assessment forms contained in 159 paper-based and 249 electronic resident nursing records, respectively, from three aged care organizations. The practice of nursing assessment documentation in participating aged care homes was described. Three attributes of quality of nursing assessment documentation were evaluated: format and structure, process, and content by seven measures: quantity, completeness, timeliness comprehensiveness, frequencies of documentation specific …

Development Of The Quality Of Australian Nursing Documentation In Aged Care (Qandac) Instrument To Measure Paper-Based And Electronic Resident Records, Ning Wang, Catrin Bjorvell, Ping Yu

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Aim: To develop an Australian nursing documentation in aged care (Quality of Australian Nursing Documentation in Aged Care (QANDAC)) instrument to measure the quality of paper-based and electronic resident records. Methods: The instrument was based on the nursing process model and on three attributes of documentation quality identified in a systematic review. The development process involved five phases following approaches to designing criterion-referenced measures. The face and content validities and the inter-rater reliability of the instrument were estimated using a focus group approach and consensus model. Results: The instrument contains 34 questions in three sections: completion of nursing history and …

Process Design Strategies For Producing Heavy Section Steel With Improved Quality, Jingwei Zhao, Zhengyi Jiang, Dongbin Wei, Chong Soo Lee

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Uniformity of microstructure and mechanical properties is required for the heavy section steel. In the present work, a heavy section wind tower flange was manufactured by controlled ring-rolling. Post-rolling heat treatment was employed to optimize the microstructure and mechanical properties. The chemical composition, microstructure and mechanical properties in different zones of the flange were investigated. The results showed that the chemical composition and microstructure were uniformly distributed in the flange. The tensile strength showed similar values in different sampling locations. The strain and impact energies of specimens prepared along the longitudinal direction were higher than that prepared along both the …

Removal Of Na+ From Ionic Liquids By Zeolite For High Quality Electrolyte Manufacture, Won-Je Cho, Yongseong Seo, Soon Jae Jung, Won-Gil Lee, Byung Chul Kim, Grant A. Mathieson, Kook Hyun Yu

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

This study develops a novel method to remove the free cations created during the synthesis of ionic liquid. The cations are removed from the ionic liquid by size-selective adsorption onto chemically surface-modified Zeolite. The porous crystal nano-structure of Zeolite has several electron-rich Al sites to attract cations. While large cations of an ionic liquid cannot access the Zeolite nano-structure, small cations like Na+ have ready access and are adsorbed. This study confirms that: Na+ can be removed from ionic liquid effectively using Zeolite; and, in contrast to the conventional and extensively applied ion exchange resin method or solvent extraction methods, …

The Feasibility Study And Characterziation Of A Two-Dimensional Diode Array In “Magic Phantom” For High Dose Rate Brachytherapy Quality Assurance, A Espinoza, B Beeksma, M Petasecca, I Fuduli, C Porumb, D L. Cutajar, S Corde, M A. Jackson, M Lf Lerch, Anatoly B. Rosenfeld

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy is a radiation treatment technique capable of delivering large dose rates to the tumor. Radiation is delivered using remote afterloaders to drive highly active sources (commonly 192Ir with an air KERMA strength range between 20 000 and 40 000 U, where 1 U = 1 uGy m2/h in air) through applicators directly into the patient's prescribed region of treatment. Due to the obvious ramifications of incorrect treatment while using such an active source, it is essential that there are methods for quality assurance (QA) that can directly and accurately verify the treatment plan and the …