Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Evaluating The Effect Of Operational Conditions And Practices On Warehouse Performance, Andrew L. Johnson

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

Analyzing warehouse performance across different environments is critical to improving overall productivity and reducing costs. Although two-stage DEA estimators have been shown to be statistically consistent, the finite sample bias of DEA in the first stage carries over to the secondstage regression, which causes bias in the estimated coefficients of the contextual variables. The bias is particularly severe when the contextual variables are correlated with inputs. To address this shortcoming, we apply insights from Johnson and Kuosmanen (2010), who demonstrate that DEA can be formulated as a constrained special case of the Convex Nonparametric Least Squares (CNLS) regression to develop …

Comparing Transport Policies In A Full-Scale 300mm Wafer Manufacturing Facility, J. E. Kiba, S. Dauz`Ere-P´Er`Es, C. Yugma, G. Lamiable

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

Research in semiconductor manufacturing ideally wants to determine the “best” transport policy to ensure continuous production. Determining such a policy is difficult because it depends on many factors such as the layout, the product types, the equipment, etc. Most of the transport policies found in the literature combine dispatching policies (scheduling of transport requests) and routing policies (selection of the path to move from one point to another). This paper investigates a policy called "minimum service" which consists in keeping a minimum number of available vehicles in bays, so that they can quickly answer transport requests and empty travel times …

The Human-Centric Warehouse, Kevin R. Gue

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

In theory and in practice, the objective of warehouse design has long been to meet operational requirements of throughput and service performance at minimum cost. A natural product of this “bottom line” approach has been warehouse buildings and operations ill-suited to the humans who spend their working lives interacting with them. We offer an explanation for the current approach, and argue that a new approach— a new paradigm —is needed. We then describe a comprehensive approach to warehouse design that includes human well-being as a primary goal.

Forklift Routing In Warehouses Using Dual-Commands And Stackable Pallets, Ahmed Hassan, Bill Ferrell

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

This research determines time optimal routes for loading and picking pallets that can be stacked on top of each other during transport in a manual warehouse that only contains full pallets and utilizes single deep storage. This research was motivated by the fact that we are seeing this situation on an ever increasing basis, particularly in warehouses that supply parts to automotive assembly. In practice, forklift drivers have developed strategies to take advantage of this opportunity but to our knowledge there is no literature that addresses this problem rigorously. The important features of this work are that a time based …

Plug-And-Work Material Handling Systems, Kai Furmans, Frank Schonung, Kevin R. Gue

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

One disadvantage of automated material handling systems is their relative Inflexibility: once racks are installed and conveyors are laid, making even mi-nor changes to a system can be cumbersome and expensive. However, recent progress in the capabilities and cost of basic system components, such as controllers, drives, and sensors, has made possible a new class of material handling systems having a much higher degree of flexibility. We propose underlying de- sign principles for such systems and describe several prototype plug-and-work" systems, which feature decentralized control and ease of reconfiguration.

Control Policies For A Dynamic Storage System With Multiple Lifts And Shuttles, Iris F.A. Vis, Hector J. Carlo, Paloma Diaz, Maria E. Laboy, Bruno Vanwijgaarden

11th IMHRC Proceedings (Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA – 2010)

New types of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems, able to achieve high throughput levels, are continuously being developed and require new control polices to take full advantage of the developed system. In this paper we study a dynamic storage system as developed by Vanderlande Industries consisting of a conveyor, two lifts, multiple transfer shuttles, and a storage rack. One of the decision problems for this system is the scheduling problem of the two lifts. In other words, which lift is going to handle which request and in which order. In this paper, we derive an integrated look-ahead heuristic based on …

Digital Human Models Of People With Disabilities, Ron Hamameh

Wayne State University Theses

The current state-of-the-art in Digital Human Modeling (DHM) allows for full simulation and analysis of any task a person is required to perform at home, at work, in the military, in space, in sports, etc. The problem is that the software is missing a very important population: people with physical disabilities. What modifications and enhancements must be made to existing, commercially available DHM software to include this population?

Observer-Dependent Model For Analyzing Subjective Parameters In Epidemiology, Milad Zarei

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Although medical technologies for preventing the contagion and spread of infectious diseases have improved steadily throughout the last century, new infectious diseases are still emerging and spreading swiftly. The modeling of infectious disease spread is crucial in addressing the lack of predictive ability in epidemiology. Managing the spread of infectious diseases requires processing quantitative epidemiological data and the ability to capture the dynamics of the infectious disease in order to provide a measure of control.

In this thesis, I have introducing cognitive biases in diseases spread modeling. For the first time, to the author's knowledge, the human subjective experience has …

Enterprise Business Alignment Using Quality Function Deployment, Multivariate Data Analysis And Business Modeling Tools, Diala Gammoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation proposes two novel ideas to enhance the business strategy alignment to customer needs. The proposed business alignment clock is a new illustration to the relationships between customer requirements, business strategies, capabilities and processes. To line up the clock and reach the needed alignment for the enterprise, a proposed clock mechanism is introduced. The mechanism integrates the Enterprise Business Architecture (EBA) with the House of Quality (HoQ). The relationship matrix inside the body of the house is defined using multivariate data analysis techniques to accurately measure the strength of the relationships rather than defining them subjectively. A statistical tool, …

Knowledge Management Determinants Of Continuance Behavior: Evaluating The Air Force Knowledge Now Knowledge Management System, Eric Tucker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge management (KM) encompasses the set of capabilities, processes, tools, and techniques for the most effective use of knowledge by an organization. The goal of KM is to improve the organization's ability to create, transfer, retain, and apply knowledge. Knowledge management is a goal that many organizations seek to achieve. Organizations apply their strategies, plans, and implementation to achieve KM. Organizations use technology to implement their KM strategy. For some, this approach has worked well; however, for others, the results have fallen short. KM shortcomings revolve around employees' infrequent use of the technology. This research seeks to understand what influences …

Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment And Risk Control (Hirarc) In A Corrugated Box Manufacturer., Fraziel Barahim

Student Works (2010-2019)

Packaging is one of the biggest industries in the world. It involves paper, glass,metal, flexible and plastic. The corrugated paper packaging worldwide has been growing at 3% to 4% per annum. In line with the expansion of the corrugated paper packaging manufacturing, the potential hazards to human physical and health, property and the environment posed by its operations and production activities have created an increase in awareness and brought up safety issues amongst industry, government and public. The hazard identification and risk assessment plays a role in a number of areas in the safety management, including regulatory policies and guidelines, …

Theoretical Exploratory Investigation On Reliability Of Advanced Ceramics By Discrete Element Simulation, Ana Laura Quezada Lara

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The increasing application of silicon nitride in biomedical and other engineering fields has elevated the necessity to understand its reliability. Due to the complexity of producing pure material researchers have been analyzing the behavior of the material with flaws. In this thesis several scenarios are simulated with the support of PFC2D to analyze microcrack propagation depending on the position, quantity and size of the voids to understand the effect each of the cases have on the material. A four point bending test was applied to each case twice recording the loading force. Having two runs allows doing a statistical analysis …

Component Replacement Analysis For Electricity Distribution Systems Using Evolutionary Algorithms, Vasukumar Chenna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The main objective of the electric power grid is to supply economical and reliable electricity to industrial, commercial, household, transportation, and other end-users, including agricultural, educational institutions and hospitals. The power system is a very large and complex network consisting of generation, transmission, and distribution systems. The main focus of the present research is in the area of power distribution systems. Almost all the areas of the power grid uses simpler radial distribution systems to distribute electricity to the end consumer, it is the final and therefore vital link between the consumer and the rest of the power grid. Therefore …

E-Quality: Using Dimensional Index Values Towards Improving Classification Accuracy, Prashanth Devaram

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

E-quality is a process through which inspection of the process and quality of the part produced is done online resulting in the improvement of the process and reduction in the amount of time consumed for the overall process. Automated quality control involves using a methodology to classify the parts based on the dimensions of the features on a part. However, achieving 100% classification accuracy is not an easy task, especially in area of quality control where small differences in dimensions result in part fall into a different category. In this study, a novel approach for modifying the data before being …

Optimization Models For The Economic And Non-Economic Level Of Repair Analysis, Carlos Marco Ituarte-Villarreal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Every component, equipment or system will eventually fail. All failures produce a maintenance cost and, repair costs are especially hard to estimate ahead of time. Research shows that maintenance costs are the most substantial costs of development and use of equipment, reason why the cost of the product or equipment through its life is a major concern. Therefore, the main objective of this thesis is to provide a new optimization model to determine the minimum cost maintenance policy for complex systems.

Manual Handling Workload And Musculoskeletal Discomfort Among Warehouse Personnel, Terrance N. Knox

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD), specifically physical and muscular discomfort in the upper arm, lower arm, thigh, lower leg, wrist, shoulders, back, or neck, are among the most frequently reported workplace injuries in the United States. The dearth of knowledge about the types of workloads that may contribute to the development of WRMSD was the impetus of this research. The study aimed to identify antecedents of WRMSD among warehouse workers in order to reduce WRMSDs and increase productivity as expressed in a systems perspective on industrial health. The research questions examined the prevalence of specific WRMSDs, the relationship of high-risk tasks …

Renewable Energy Integration: An Approach For Micro-Grid Optimization., Nicolas Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the Renewable Energy Integration Problem beginning with a literature review on the different sources of electrical energy classified as Non-Renewable and Renewable, stating that the integration of renewable sources within the pre-existing Power-Grids is a current worldwide problem that is being addressed with different approaches.

The impossibility to exactly model the different equations relating the electric output of the renewable energy sources as they relate with meteorological factors, makes the renewable sector a stochastic component of the overall mathematical model, where it can be concluded that most of the problem is in the area of the forecast. …

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 …

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 …

Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment And Risk Control (Hirarc) In A Steel Foundry., Lee Hooi Nee

Student Works (2010-2019)

Abstract NA

Quality Analysis In Flexible Manufacturing Systems With Batch Productions, Junwen Wang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

To improve product quality and reduce cost, batch production is often implemented in many exible manufacturing systems. However, the current literature does not provide any method to analyze the quality performance in a flexible manufacturing system with batch production.

In this research, we present an analytical method with closed-form formula to evaluate the quality performance in such systems. Based on the model, we discover and investigate monotonic and non-monotonic properties in quality to provide practical guidance for operation management. To improve product quality, we introduce the notions of quality improvability with respect to product sequencing. In addition, we develop the …

Heat Stress Evaluation Of Protective Clothing Ensembles, Amanda Lee Pease

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clothing directly affects the level of heat stress exposure. Useful measures to express the thermal characteristics are WBGT (wet bulb globe temperature) clothing adjustment factor (CAF) or apparent total evaporative resistance (R_e,T,_a). The CAF is assigned through laboratory wear trials following a heat stress protocol in which the air temperature and humidity are progressively increased until the participant clearly loses the ability to maintain thermal equilibrium. The critical condition is the point of thermal transition and from these conditions both the CAF and Re,T,a are computed. The first objective of this study is to compare the …

Calibration Of Hdm-4 For Use In Pavement Management Systems (Pms), Nurdin Mushule

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

One of major problems of road management in developing countries is the lack of decision making tools for preparing road maintenance programmes. This results in poor resource allocation and poor utilisation of existing assets. Pavement management systems (PMS) have been developed around the world in order to assist with the pavement management process in a co-ordinated and systematic manner. Some developed countries have derived pavement performance models that are suited to local conditions by setting up long term pavement performance studies. Conversely, most developing countries do not have the resources required to set up similar large-scale field experiments. However, validation …

Case Studies: In-Situ Rebuilding Of Damaged Rope Drum Shafts Of Ssg Crane And The Repair Of Circumferential Crack Of Cement Kiln By Welding, Joseph Runyoro

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Material failures in engineering are characterized by unwanted downtime of equipment and require the application of sound engineering principles to rectify the problem so that it does not reoccur. The most widely method for repairing damaged steel structures such as rope drum shaft or cracked cement kiln is by Manual metal arc welding. The equipment mentioned have their main importance that, when they are broken down, they cost a lot of money in lost revenue and affects a lot of people in terms of business and livelihood. The nominal diameter (DN) 240 rope drum shaft was damaged when the roller …

A Systemic Framework For Implementation Of Tqm Programmes, Emanuel Mjema

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The purpose of this paper is to present a systemic framework for implementation of TQM program in a manufacturing organisation that produces motor vehicle components in Port Elizabeth - South Africa. The approach used included conceptualisation of the systemic framework and then involvement of the stakeholders in adding scenarios to be considered in the design and implementing the framework in the real field. The findings obtained during the implementation of the systemic framework established that reduction of scrap rate, reduction of production costs, reduction of cycle time and employee motivation could be achieved through the implementation of a Systemic Framework …

Analysis And Selection Of New Rental Paintball Masks For Gladiator Paintball Park, Geoff Wakefield

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This project is designed to select new rental paintball masks for Gladiator Paintball Park. The currently used rental masks are worn down and need replacement. Criteria for new rental masks are examined and include customer preferences, owner's constraints, and time studies. Candidate masks were found by asking customers what they like in rental masks, interviewing other paintball field owners, and referring to the online paintball community. Three candidate masks were found, the V-Force Vantage, JT Alpha, and Kingman java paintball masks. These masks were compared to the currently used rental masks, the V-Force Armor. Customers were surveyed to find out …

Acs Custom Creation's New Business And Assembly Operations, Kent Christensen

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

ACS Custom Creations had assembly and business operations that wasted time and wasted money. The objective of the project is to improve and implement ACS Custom Creations business and manufacturing operations. The proposed assembly process involves the rearranging of the bottlenecked steps to eliminate constraints. The assembly workstations were also redesigned to reduce cycle time. With the improvement of the new assembly and business operations, ACS is poised to grow into a bigger company. Financial Statements were created to improve visibility of the company’s historical data. These financial statements include an income statement, balance sheet, and a cash flow statement. …

Solder Qwik Pentm, Katherine E. Robbins

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Electronics soldering is a technique used frequently in the manufacturing of Printed

Circuit Boards (PCB) to attach small electronic parts or wires together. Often times

the need to remove a solder joint arises; this is known as desoldering. Solder wick,

fine braided copper wire infused with rosin, is one of the most effective ways to

desolder because it results in the cleanest joints. Currently using solder wick

involves several time consuming and somewhat awkward steps. This report will

cover the process behind designing, manufacturing, and testing a new ergonomic,

dispenser for solder wick that can be used with one hand. …

Effectiveness Of Team-Building And Teamwork In Real And Virtual Worlds, Rachana Ranade

All Theses

Given the increasing importance of globalization and collaboration, this research investigates the possibility of performing team-building training for globally dispersed teams using the capabilities of the virtual world Second Life. Three meeting conditions, the 3D virtual world Second Life, a combination of face-to-face and Second Life and face-to-face were evaluated. Thirty randomly assigned 3 person teams performed an ice-breaker session and then a team-building activity in each meeting condition. Four dependent variables were measured: task completion time; quality of task performance; the subjective satisfaction with the process based on group cohesiveness, perception of the process and satisfaction with the outcome; …

A Logistic Regression Model To Predict Incident Severity Using The Human Factors Analysis And Classification System, Hrishikesh Kavade

All Theses

The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) is used to help identify causal factors that lead to human error. The framework has been used in a variety of industries to identify leading contributing factors of unsafe events, such as accidents, incidents and near misses. While traditional application of the HFACS framework to safety outcomes has allowed evaluators to identify leading causal issues based on frequency, little has been done to gain a more comprehensive view of the system's total risk. This work utilizes the concept of event severity along with the HFACS framework to help better identify target areas …