Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Complex System Governance Leadership, David C. Walters

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a systems theory-based framework for leadership in governance of complex systems. Recognizing complexity and uncertainty as norms for the environments in which organizations exist encouraged researchers to suggest complexity theory, complex systems, and complex adaptive systems as appropriate for addressing these conditions. Complex System Governance (CSG), based in systems theory, management cybernetics, and governance, endeavors to provide for the design, execution and evolution of functions that provide control, communication, coordination, and integration at the metasystem level to support operations and continued system existence (viability). From a management cybernetics perspective, CSG leadership has …

Society Dilemma Of Computer Technology Management In Today's World, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Abstract - Is it true that some of the inhabitants of the world’s today are still hesitant in using computers? Research has shown that today many people are still against the use of computers. Computer technology management can be said to be obliterated by security problems. Research shows that some people in society feel reluctant or afraid to use computers because of errors and exposure of their privacy and their sophistication, which sometimes are caused by computer hackers and malfunction of the computers. The dilemma of not utilizing computer technology at all or, to its utmost, by certain people in …

The Product Test Scheduling Problem, Megan Wydick Martin, Cliff Ragsdale, John Fico, Carlos G. Cajica-Sierra, Richard M. Fetcenko

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

This research focused on product test scheduling in the presence of in-process and at-completion inspection constraints. Such testing arises in the context of the manufacture of products that must perform reliably in extreme environmental conditions. Often, these products must receive a certification from prescribed regulatory agencies at the successful completion of a predetermined series of tests. Operational efficiency is enhanced by determining the optimal order and start times of tests so as to minimize the makespan while ensuring that technicians are available when needed to complete in-process and at-completion inspections. We refer to this as the product test scheduling problem. …

A Human Factors Study Of Risk Management Of Complex Agile Scrum Projects In Large Enterprises, Ravi Kalluri

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Agile Project Management methods have gained phenomenal success in the IT software world in managing projects of high complexity and uncertainty. However, Agile projects come with their unique set of risks. This paper seeks to explore the risks posed by human factors to complex Agile Scrum projects in large enterprises. Project Risk Management is crucial in determining the future performance of a complex project. Increasing project complexity makes it more and more difficult to anticipate potential events that could affect the project and to make effective decisions to reduce project risk exposure. This is even more true for Agile projects …

Transdisciplinarity In Experience Design: A Global Survey Of Higher Ed Programs In Exd/Xd, Yvonne Houy

Creative Collaborations

In our age of ubiquitous devices and digital media it is the perceived value of the end-to-end experience that brings people to a place. Designing inspiring and emotionally engaging end-to-end experiences requires experts in a wide range of disciplines committed to an interdisciplinary collaboration that can arrive at transdisciplinary design - the sum becomes greater than its parts.

Civil engineering, hospitality, business, psychology, digital User Experience (UX) design, and experience data analysis need to be seamless integrated with the fine and performing arts and design fields:

• Architecture, interior, landscape and sound design actively engage the senses.

• Graphic and fine arts …

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A Dual Perspective Towards Building Resilience In Manufacturing Organizations, Steven A. Fazio

Theses and Dissertations

Modern manufacturing organizations exist in the most complex and competitive environment the world has ever known. This environment consists of demanding customers, enabling, but resource intensive Industry 4.0 technology, dynamic regulations, geopolitical perturbations, and innovative, ever-expanding global competition. Successful manufacturing organizations must excel in this environment while facing emergent disruptions generated as biproducts of complex man-made and natural systems. The research presented in this thesis provides a novel two-sided approach to the creation of resilience in the modern manufacturing organization. First, the systems engineering method is demonstrated as the qualitative framework for building literature-derived organizational resilience factors into organizational structures …

Integration Of Blockchain Technology Into Automobiles To Prevent And Study The Causes Of Accidents, John Kim

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Automobile collisions occur daily. We now live in an information-driven world, one where technology is quickly evolving. Blockchain technology can change the automotive industry, the safety of the motoring public and its surrounding environment by incorporating this vast array of information. It can place safety and efficiency at the forefront to pedestrians, public establishments, and provide public agencies with pertinent information securely and efficiently. Other industries where Blockchain technology has been effective in are as follows: supply chain management, logistics, and banking. This paper reviews some statistical information regarding automobile collisions, Blockchain technology, Smart Contracts, Smart Cities; assesses the feasibility …

Lean Application: An Assessment Of 5s On Employee Attitudes And Productivity, Nickolaos Dimitrios Karvounis

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the effect of the implementation of 5S on employee attitudes and productivity in an Asian based facility of a global manufacturing company. Utilizing an assessment of the 5S implementation in various areas of the facility and organizational performance data for each of those areas, a non-experimental, causal comparative approach is used to analyze the impact. The study concluded that statistically significant improvements from the implementation of 5S were found both in quality and product cost for this facility; however, the study also found statistical significance where the implementation of 5S led to a decrease in performance and …

Optimizing Vaccine Supply Chains With Drones In Less-Developed Regions: Multimodal Vaccine Distribution In Vanuatu, Deng Pan

Dissertations

In recent years, many less-developed countries (LDCs) have been exploring new opportunities provided by drones, such as the capability to deliver items with minimal infrastructure, fast speed, and relatively low cost, especially for high value-added products such as lifesaving medical products and vaccines. This dissertation optimizes the delivery network and operations for routine childhood vaccines in LDCs. It analyzes two important problems using mathematical programming, with an application in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. The first problem is to optimize the nation-wide multi-modal vaccine supply chain with drones to deliver vaccines from the national depot to all health zones …

Multi-Stage Stochastic Optimization And Reinforcement Learning For Forestry Epidemic And Covid-19 Control Planning, Sabah Bushaj

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on developing new modeling and solution approaches based on multi-stage stochastic programming and reinforcement learning for tackling biological invasions in forests and human populations. Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is the nemesis of ash trees. This research introduces a multi-stage stochastic mixed-integer programming model to assist forest agencies in managing emerald ash borer insects throughout the U.S. and maximize the public benets of preserving healthy ash trees. This work is then extended to present the first risk-averse multi-stage stochastic mixed-integer program in the invasive species management literature to account for extreme events. Significant computational achievements are obtained using …

Constructive Solution Methodologies To The Capacitated Newsvendor Problem And Surrogate Extension, Pinyuan Shan

Dissertations

The newsvendor problem is a single-period stochastic model used to determine the order quantity of perishable product that maximizes/minimizes the profit/cost of the vendor under uncertain demand. The goal is to fmd an initial order quantity that can offset the impact of backlog or shortage caused by mismatch between the procurement amount and uncertain demand. If there are multiple products and substitution between them is feasible, overstocking and understocking can be further reduced and hence, the vendor's overall profit is improved compared to the standard problem. When there are one or more resource constraints, such as budget, volume or weight, …

An Analysis Of The Factors Affecting Attitudes Toward Drone Delivery And The Moderating Effect Of Covid-19, Jeremy A. Frazier

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This research explored the factors affecting attitudes toward drone delivery and the moderating effect of COVID-19. Government effort to address the COVID-19 pandemic has led to social distancing and shelter-in-place guidelines. Many states have imposed additional regulations, restricting retailers from offering in-store shopping and restaurants from offering indoor dining. As a result, the use of delivery services has increased. In a further effort to reduce virus spread, some delivery services now offer a contact-free option. The contact-free option permits orders to be left at a designated location, eliminating the physical-human interaction upon delivery. The contact-free nature and potential speed of …

Fasten: An Iot Platform For Supply Chain Management In A Covid-19 Pandemic Scenario, Fernando Lemos, Thays Do Nascimento, Gustavo Dalmarco

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This paper points out the major disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It proposes an automated Internet-of-Things (IoT) based manufacturing and supply chain system, termed FASTEN, that can deal with such severe disruptions.

Six Sigma, Sustainability, And It Management: A Research Review And Discussion Of Future Directions, Manal Alduraibi, Timothy Winders, Chad Laux

International Conference on Lean Six Sigma

Abstract

Purpose- Six Sigma is based upon quality improvement by finding the root cause and refining processes to the precision of process outcomes. The purpose of this research was to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to explore the Six Sigma techniques and information technology (IT) management concepts to identify the IT management principle's impact on the sustainability of Six Sigma project efforts and identify the gaps that are essential to be addressed through further research. This research also discusses the principles of IT management upon the influence on Six Sigma projects, and subsequent contribution to organizational economic sustainability. An …

The Application Of Measures Of Lean Production For Services, Willem Salentijn, Jiju Antony, Chad Laux

International Conference on Lean Six Sigma

This paper gives insights on how to measure the degree of lean for services and explores existing instruments, proposing adaptions on an existing instrument, developed for production.

Improve Outcomes In Lean Six Sigma With Servant Leadership, David W. Hoffa, Chad Laux, Manal Alduraibi

International Conference on Lean Six Sigma

1. Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore lean leadership within Lean Six Sigma (LSS). The objective of this paper was to explore how LSS program success might be improved by focusing Black Belt efforts on mentoring Green Belts with a servant leadership model. The importance of Green Belt projects is typically overlooked in the literature. The effects of prioritizing the development of Green Belts and building a culture of continuous improvement over the traditional Black Belt project focus is explored.

2. Design/Methodology/Approach

The methodology of this paper is inspired by the authors’ field experiences in managing LSS …

The Revenue Operations (Revops) Framework: A Qualitative Study Of Industry Practitioners., Oliviero Mottola

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years Revenue Operations or RevOps has emerged in professional circles as a new approach to manage Sales, Marketing and Customer Success teams in the context of b2b sales. In practitioner circles, RevOps definitions range from the increased collaboration of the three job functions to an all-out creation of job function within organizations. While the subject of interdepartmental alignment has been covered extensively in academia (albeit not exhaustively), RevOps as a term and set of practices has received no attention and industry practitioners struggle to find a unified set of best practices that isn’t coming from organizations trying to …

Integration Of Blockchain Technology Into Supply Network For Resilient And Efficient Acquisition [Video], Adrian Gheorghe, Farinaz Sabz Ali Pour, Unal Tatar, Omer Faruk Keskin, Cornel Vintila, Laura Manciu

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In the modern acquisition, it is unrealistic to consider single entities as producing and delivering a product independently. Acquisitions usually take place through supply networks. Resiliency, efficiency, and effectiveness of supply networks directly contribute to the acquisition system's resiliency, efficiency, and effectiveness. All the involved firms form a part of a supply network essential to producing the product or service. The decision-makers have to look for new methodologies for supply chain management. Blockchain technology introduces new methods of decentralization and delegation of services, which can transform supply chains and result in a more resilient, efficient, and effective supply chain. This …

Uri And Its Students: A Contract For The Provision Of A Safe Environment, Danielle Joan Beatrice

Senior Honors Projects

DANIELLE BEATRICE (English; Philosophy; Business) URI and Its Students: A Contract for the Provision of a Safe Environment

Sponsor: Judith Swift (Communication Studies, Coastal Institute)

When students begin to attend college, they expect to be consumed with busy schedules, heavy workloads, and an exciting social life. Students do not anticipate being in dangerous situations. However, this does not mean that such situations do not occur. Therefore, it is essential to teach students to be active participants in educating themselves and their peers regarding prevention and response to emergency situations. My Honors Project aims to increase the awareness of safety-related issues …

Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Using Graph Theoretical Anomaly Detection And Machine Learning, Goksel Kucukkaya

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The cyber domain is a great business enabler providing many types of enterprises new opportunities such as scaling up services, obtaining customer insights, identifying end-user profiles, sharing data, and expanding to new communities. However, the cyber domain also comes with its own set of risks. Cybersecurity risk assessment helps enterprises explore these new opportunities and, at the same time, proportionately manage the risks by establishing cyber situational awareness and identifying potential consequences. Anomaly detection is a mechanism to enable situational awareness in the cyber domain. However, anomaly detection also requires one of the most extensive sets of data and features …

Identifying Sources Of Covid19 Pandemic Supply Chain Fragility, Clovia Hamilton

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Supply chain management is in the industrial engineering management and operations management disciplines. It involves product procurement of raw materials, production, storage, distribution, wholesales, and retail sales. The COVID19 pandemic has the added challenge of healthcare service operations management. This paper is a bibliometric study of the COVID19 supply chain fragility problem. In February 2021, the United States’ President called for a review of the pandemic related supply chain for vaccines, personal protective equipment (PPE), medical equipment such as ventilators, and food. This study involves a search for references published between January 1, 2020 and April 30, 2021. It reveals …

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 …

The Impact Of Unequal Processing Time Variability On Reliable And Unreliable Merging Line Performance, Rodrigo Romero-Silva, Sabry Shaaban, Erika Marsillac, Zouhair Laaarraf

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

Research on merging lines is expanding as their use grows significantly in the contexts of remanufacturing, reverse logistics and developing economies. This article is the first to study the behavior of unpaced, reliable, and unreliable merging assembly lines that are deliberately unbalanced with respect to their coefficients of variation (CV). Conducting a series of simulation runs with varying line lengths, buffer storage capacities and unbalanced CV patterns delivers intriguing results. For both reliable and unreliable lines, the best pattern for generating higher throughput is found to be a balanced configuration (equal CVs along both parallel lines), except for unreliable lines …

An Integrated View Of Knowledge Management Enablers, Components, And Benefits: Comprehensive Literature Review, Shuaibu Hassan Usman, Jigish Zaveri, Aminu Hamza

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The key to success in the 21^st century, knowledge-based economy, will be the effective and efficient management of knowledge. Knowledge Management (KM) has a direct impact on organizational success. KM in a knowledge-based economy entails growth, value, and improving living standards through knowledge creation, storage, and dissemination. This study aims to integrate KM enablers, components, and benefits into a single view through a comprehensive literature search. The integrative view of these three factors would facilitate the understanding of KM initiatives within organizations. This paper performs a comprehensive literature review to explain the KM enablers, components, and benefits. From the …

Agile Software Development: Creating A Cost Of Delay Framework For Air Force Software Factories, J. Goljan, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Scott Drylie, Edward D. White

Faculty Publications

The Air Force software development environment is experiencing a paradigm shift. The 2019 Defense Innovation Board concluded that speed and cycle time must become the most important software metrics if the US military is to maintain its advantage over adversaries.¹ This article proposes utilizing a cost-o­f-d­elay (CoD) framework to prioritize projects toward optimizing readiness. Cost-­of-d­elay is defined as the economic impact resulting from a delaying product delivery or, said another way, opportunity cost. In principle, CoD assesses the negative impacts resulting from changes to the priority of a project.

Models And Solution Approaches For Integrated Student To School Assignment And School Bus Routing Problem Focusing On Special Needs Students, Azadeh Ansari

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation addresses the integrated problem of assigning students to schools and generating school bus routes particularly focusing on the special needs students is addressed. Special needs students generally require supplementary accommodations and must be picked up from and dropped off at their home addresses. This will increase the number of nodes in the network and therefore introduces additional complexities to the problems of assignment and routing for students. An integrated single objective mathematical model is first developed that simultaneously assigns the students to schools based on their needs and generates efficient bus routes to deliver the students to their …

Online Fulfillment: F-Warehouse Order Consolidation And Bops Store Picking Problems, Wen Zhu

Dissertations

Fulfillment of online retail orders is a critical challenge for retailers since the legacy infrastructure and control methods are ill suited for online retail. The primary performance goal of online fulfillment is speed or fast fulfillment, requiring received orders to be shipped or ready for pickup within a few hours. Several novel numerical problems characterize fast fulfillment operations and this research solves two such problems. Order fulfillment warehouses (F-Warehouses) are a critical component of the physical internet behind online retail supply chains. Two key distinguishing features of an F-Warehouse are (i) Explosive Storage Policy – A unique item can be …

An Investigation On The Effectiveness Of A Problem Structuring Method In A Group Decision-Making Process, Ying Thaviphoke

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

There is no shortage of methods to address messy problems. A messy problem is a system of problems with multiple stakeholders who may hold different views of what is feasible or desirable. Decision-makers in a messy problem are prone to committing an error – especially the Type III error. One of the ways to mitigate the chance of committing the error in a messy problem is to reach a group consensus. Problem Structuring Methods (PSM) are the collections of participatory modeling methods that aim to tackle a messy problem. Despite the positive reports, literature indicates some challenges and criticisms of …

Knowledge Based View Of University Tech Transfer—A Systematic Literature Review And Meta-Analysis, Clovia Hamilton, Philbin P. Simon

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Research and technology commercialization at research-intensive universities has helped to develop provincial economies resulting in university startups, the growth of other new companies and associated employment. University technology transfer offices (TTOs) oversee the process of technology transfer into the commercial marketplace and these organizational units can be considered in the context of enabling effective knowledge management. However, what enables productive TTO performance has not been comprehensively researched. Therefore, this research study adopted the knowledge-based view as the theoretical construct to support a comprehensive investigation into this area. This was achieved through employing a systematic literature review (SLR) combined with a …

A Comprehensive And Absolute Corporate Sustainability Assessment And Enhanced Input Output Life Cycle Assessment, Joseph M. Wright

Dissertations

Stresses due to economic activity are threatening to exceed environmental and societal limits with the potential to jeopardize local communities and create global crises. This research proposes new methodologies and analytic techniques to comprehensively assess corporate sustainability and enhance the efficiency of estimating environmental and social impacts with Input Output Life Cycle Assessment (IOLCA).

Sustainability assessments and management require consideration of both social and environmental impacts as outflows of economic activity. There are a number of assessment tools available to gain insight into environmental and social impacts; but in most cases, these approaches lack essential components for a comprehensive and …