Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Applying Lean Manufacturing Techniques To Improve The Performance Of An Emergency Department, Ramesh Pondhe

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research was an attempt to apply lean manufacturing (LM) techniques, to the healthcare setting specifically to Emergency Department (ED) of a local hospital and to improve its performance. An ED is meant to attend/provide immediate care to a patient who needs medical care immediately and also balancing the care to patients with lesser acuity who arrive at the ED for treatment. The data was collected from the ED by direct observation. The data was statistically analyzed to find out the bottlenecks in the process during the course of a patient's treatment to further provide solutions and improve the performance …

Development Of A Theoretical Framework Of Distributed Cognition Phenomena In Control Centers During Crisis Conditions, Christopher J. West

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to develop and partially validate a theoretical framework describing distributed cognition phenomena occurring in organizational control centers functioning in crisis environments. Using a systems approach, the work synthesizes existing constructs relating to distributed cognition then supplements this knowledge with review of crisis management literature. The goal of this effort is the development of a framework for understanding the impact of crisis conditions on such phenomena occurring within the specified setting. An exploratory case study approach was used to partially validate and refine the framework by gauging its ability to interpret the impact of crisis …

Study On Vortex Formation In The Pouring Basin By Direct Observation, J Runyoro

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Although the formation of vortex on the free surface of liquid draining from a container is often observed, relatively little is known about the phenomenon. When a liquid is drained from a container such as a bathtub through a bottom orifice, a dip on the surface known as vortex is formed. The vortex first appears as a small dimple in the free surface, which suddenly forms a cone-shaped hole. The vortex causes turbulences, which draws in air down into the orifice (drain). Generally, the issue of vortex formation is so common in our lives that possibly its occurrence seems to …

Suitability Of Crusher-Dust As Masonry Construction Material, John Makunza

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Crusher dust generated at Kunduchi quarries in Dar es Salaam during aggregate crushing is counted as a waste material, and some times it .is disposed away or sold at a cheap price of not more than a quarter of that of sand. A study on the use of the crusher dust as a building material has been carried out in which samples were collected and analyzed for grading (sieve analysis). In additional to that, other samples were stabilized with a small amount of cement, from which bricks were produced and tested for compressive strength. Other bricks were bonded together using …

Effectiveness Of Hot Isostatic Pressing On Healing Oxide Film Defects In Cast Aluminium Alloys, C Nyahumwa

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Hot isostatic pressing (hipping) of cast aluminium alloys is recognized as a means of providing improved internal soundness and mechanical properties of the castings. However, little is known about the limitations and potential benefit of the hipping process to produce reliable aluminium alloy castings containing oxide film defects due to turbulently filling of moulds. In this study, oxide film defects and fatigue lives of turbule''Zt filled unfiltered AI-7Si-Mg alloy castings have been characterised in as-cast and hipped. conditions to quantify the effectiveness of hot isostatic pressing on healing oxide film defects in the castings. The average fatigue life and fatigue …

Gasification Kinetics Of Ultrafine Coal Char Oxidation In Flame Reactions, G John

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Pulverized coal combustion is exceedingly complex with a  vast number of variables. In order to avoid the complications associated with the burning of coal char, a controlled study has been made of the oxidation of fine graphite in laminar methane-air flame as a contribution to the understanding of the more complex phenomena of the gasification kinetics of the char. The burning of methane is equivalent to the burning of volatiles and graphite oxidation is similar to that of coal char. Aspects of this have been simulated in experimental and computational studies of 4pm diameter graphite particle burning in methane -air …

Socio-Economic Impacts Of Computer Viruses In Tanzania, M Victor

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This paper reports on a research project conducted with an objective of identifying and assessing various approaches used by different computer users (Management, System Administrators and end users) in Tanzania to combat computer viruses (CVs), and to assess users' awareness level on CVs. Specifically, the study aimed at assessing the awareness level on CVs to the Tanzanian business community; analyze the socio -economic impact caused by CVs in Tanzania and; assess existing methods, capacity and limitations on controlling CVs in Tanzania. Data was collected using both questionnaires and interview from financial institutions such as NBC and BOT, and telecommunications sector …

The Decomposition Kinetics Of Solids Thermodynamic Evidence For The Enthalpy Driven Cooling Of Reaction Environment Part 2, Akwilapo D

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The analysis of non-isothermal kinetic data for the decomposition of calcium carbonate, CaC03 (s) ~ CaO (s) + C02 (g) in flowing nitrogen, shows that the decomposition of solids is accompanied by self-cooling/heating of the reaction environment depending on the sample mass and heating rate. The correctness of the kinetic model is established by the calculation of the enthalpy change of the reaction. This is the thermodynamic evidence of endothermic enthalpy driven cooling of the reaction environment. The enthalpy change LJH = 179.33 kJmol-1 estimated from this work for the dissociation of CaC03 is in agreement with LJH = 179.17 …

Investigation Of The Stability Of Engine – Governor System Operated At Low Speeds, Cuthbert Mhilu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

During diesel engine operation, a tendency for the engine not to achieve a  steady idling speed has often been observed. During idling speed the engine tends to either race or stall as a result of poor and incorrect metering of the fuel, which is required for the combustion process and if severe, the engine will stop firing completely. 111 this research an investigation was made to establish knowledge on diesel engine stability operated at low speeds. The influence of a governor of an engine in the control of the engine speeds has also been investigated. In order to obtain information …

Environmental Impact Of Wetland Resources Utilization In Simuyu Basin, Tanzania, Shadrack Mwakalila

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

There is a growing appreciation of the natural functions of wetlands, and the values and different forms of uses that humans attach to them. Wise use and special conservation strategies are therefore needed in order to sustain their productivity. Wetlands are one of the most fruitful areas of archaeological research, and they are the ideal setting in which to study the interactions between physical processes and human actions that encapsulate and exemplify many of the themes of man's impact on his environment. But all these beneficial functions of wetlands seem to be in danger of being lost to draining and …

A Comparative Study Of Various Loss Functions In The Economic Tolerance Design, Jehnan Pan, Jianbiao Pan

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Engineering tolerance design plays an important role in modern manufacturing. In this paper, the Kapur's model was modified so that the economic specification limits for both symmetric and asymmetric losses can be established. Three different loss functions: (1) Taguchi's quadratic loss function; (2) Inverted Normal Loss Function; (3) Revised Inverted Normal Loss Function are compared in the economic tolerance design. The relationships between the three loss functions and process capability indices for symmetric tolerance are established. The results suggest that the revised inverted normal loss function be used in determination of economic specification limits.

Plotting A Bright Future For Manufacturing Education: Results Of A Brainstorming Session, Daniel Waldorf, Sema E. Alptekin, Robert Bjurman

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Manufacturing industries worldwide have undergone dramatic changes in recent years and now demand more from graduating manufacturing engineers. The effects of globalization have forever changed the parameters for success in manufacturing. Our educational institutions must respond to these changes with innovation. That agenda formed the basis for a special SME/CIRP international conference on manufacturing engineering education called “Looking Forward: Innovations in Manufacturing Engineering Education,” held in San Luis Obispo, California, June 22-25, 2005. At the meeting, manufacturing education professionals from around the world came together to share their own innovative ideas and to brainstorm ways to shape the future of …

Semester Project For Engineering Management, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Instructional Materials

This is the team-based, semester project for my advanced engineering management course at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This project focuses on having student teams plan a successful, professional, innovative and enjoyable professional conference. This is an activity that many of of them will have the opportunity to be involved with during their career. The project is divided into nine tasks with peer feedback and rework part of the process.

Measuring Plant-Wide Energy Savings, J. Kelly Kissock, Carl Eger

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents a general method for measuring plant-wide industrial energy savings and demonstrates the method using a case study from an actual industrial energy assessment. The method uses regression models to characterize baseline energy use. It takes into account changes in weather and production, and can use sub-metered data or whole plant utility billing data. In addition to calculating overall savings, the method is also able to disaggregate savings into components, which provides additional insight into the effectiveness of the individual savings measures.

Although the method incorporates search techniques and multi-variable least-squares regression, it is easily implemented using data …

Processing Model For Tungsten Powders And Extention To Nanoscale Size Range, Randall M. German, J. Ma, X. Wang, E. Olevsky

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Nanoscale tungsten powders promise access to very hard, strong and wear resistant materials via the press–sinter route. A small particle size changes the response during sintering, requiring lower temperatures and shorter times to attain dense but small grain size structures. On the other hand, oxide reduction and impurity evaporation favour high sintering temperatures and long hold times. Accordingly, press–sinter processing encounters conflicting constraints when applied to small particles. Presented here is an analysis of press–sinter tungsten particle processing to isolate conditions that balance the temperature and size dependent effects. The calculations are pinned by existing data. Opportunities are identified for …

Parallel Simulated Annealing For Scheduling Agile Manufacturing Systems, Ahmed Osama Abdulrahman

Archived Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed in this research is the scheduling of an agile manufacturing system comprised of machining and assembly operations with the objective of minimizing the makespan. This problem has been addressed in the literature using heuristics and metaheuristics. In addition, a lower bound has been developed. This research builds upon the findings of the recent literature and proposes two enhanced algorithms, parallel simulated annealing and parallel modified simulated annealing, to solve the addressed problem. The performance of the developed algorithms is compared to that of another simulated annealing algorithm that is available in the literature. Performance comparisons are based …

Process Modeling For Simulation, John Ryan, Cathal Heavey

Articles

This paper discusses shortfalls in relation to the requirements gathering phases of simulation. While many developments have taken place around supporting the model coding task of simulation, there are few tools available to assist in the requirements gathering phase. This is surprising as it has been reported by several researchers that the requirements phase can absorb twice as much resources as the coding phase. There are numerous process modeling tools available (over 100) that can and have been used to support the requirements phase of simulation. This paper provides a selective review of some of the most important in relation …

The Effect Of Reflow Profile On Snpb And Snagcu Solder Joint Shear Strength, Jianbiao Pan, Brian J. Toleno, Tzu-Chien Chou, Wesley J. Dee

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Purpose –The purpose of this work is to study the effect of the reflow peak temperature and time above liquidus on both SnPb and SnAgCu solder joint shear strength.

Design/methodology/approach –Nine reflow profiles for Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu and nine reflow profiles for Sn37Pb have been developed with three levels of peak temperature (230°C, 240°C, and 250°C for Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu; and 195°C, 205°C, and 215°C for Sn37Pb) and three levels of time above solder liquidus temperature (30, 60, and 90 s). The shear force data of four different sizes of chip resistors (1206, 0805, 0603, and 0402) are compared across the different …

A Simplified Model For Ploughing Forces In Turning, Daniel Waldorf

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This paper aims to provide experimental data in support of a modified theoretical model for quantifying the effect of cutting tool edge geometry on machining forces. A previously published slip-line model is simplified and extended to the case of turning. Several sets of machining experiments were run with custom-fabricated cutting inserts of varying edge hone radius and chamfer geometry. Cutting forces were measured using a dynamometer during cutting. Results show that varying edge geometry can have a major effect on cutting forces. The developed model effectively captures the edge phenomenon and its effect on cutting forces and also offers a …

A Study Of The Impact Of Prognostic Errors On System Performance, Mauricio Carrasco

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Condition-based maintenance is growing in popularity as a means of improving equipment maintenance efficiency. Whether it be the maintenance of an airplane, a computer system, or any type of physical system, the prognostic tools associated with condition-based maintenance are subject to statistical error. These errors can lead to unnecessary preventive maintenance due to underestimation of system remaining life and unnecessary system failures due to overestimation of system remaining life. What is not clear is if these statistical errors outweigh the benefits of a condition-based maintenance policy. This study attempts to address this concern through the evaluation and comparison of three …

Class Exercise For Assessing Abilities And Providing A Structure For A Course, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Instructional Materials

I developed this class exercise to assess students abilities and to highlight the range of questions/issues that they will learn in my IMSE 440/840 (Discrete Event Computer Simulation) course. I draw a picture of the case scenario for students and explain the system’s operation to them. I then ask that they complete the questions regarding the system and/or how they would analyze it. Following class, I develop a summary of the range of student answers. At the next class session, I share the range of answers and share what my answers would be and how these questions/topics relate to what …

A Dynamic Heuristic For The Stochastic Unrelated Parallel Machine Scheduling Problem, Jean-Paul Arnaout, Ghaith Rabadi, Ji Hyon Mun

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the problem of batch scheduling in an unrelated parallel machine environment with sequence dependent setup times and an objective of minimizing the total weighted mean completion time. The jobs' processing times and setup times are stochastic for better depiction of the real world. This is a NP-hard problem and in this paper, new heuristics are developed and compared to existing ones using simulation. The results and analysis obtained from the computational experiments proved the superiority of the proposed algorithm PMWP over the other algorithms presented.

A Robust Reactive Scheduling System With Application To Parallel Machine Scheduling, Jean-Paul M. Arnaout

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In this turbulent world, scheduling role has become crucial in most manufacturing production, and service systems. It allows the allocation of limited resources to activities with the objective of optimizing one performance measure or more. Resources may be machines in a factory, operating rooms in a hospital, or employees in a company, while activities can be jobs in a manufacturing plant, surgeries in a hospital, or paper work in a company. The goal of each schedule is to optimize some performance measures, which could be the minimization of the schedule makespan, the jobs' completion times, jobs' earliness and tardiness, among …

Requirements Gathering For Simulation, John Ryan, Cathal Heavey

Conference papers

This paper discusses the current shortfalls in support for the pre-coding phases of a discrete event simulation project. The paper then presents a process modelling technique, Simulation Activity Diagrams (SADs), developed to specifically support the initial requirements gathering phases of a simulation project. The paper concludes with an outline of proposed future developments to the modelling technique.

การปรับปรุงกระบวนงานของสำหนังานประกันสังคมโดยใช้แนวทาง ลีน ซิกซ์ ซิกมา, กาญจน์ สุนทราภา

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยฉบับนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อปรับปรุงการกระบวนงานให้บริการของสำนักงานประกันสังคมเขต 6 โดยการหาแนวทางเพื่อลดจำนวนขั้นตอนและระยะเวลาที่ผู้ประกันตนใช้ในการรับบริการในกระบวนงานขอรับประโยชน์ทดแทนจากกองทุนประกันสังคมจำนวน 5 ประเภทงาน โดยงานวิจัยนี้ใช้แนวคิดและขั้นตอนของ ลีน ซิกซ์ ซิกมา ซึ่งประกอบด้วย การนิยามปัญหา การวัดและเก็บข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับสภาพปัญหา การวิเคราะห์หาสาเหตุของปัญหา การหาแนวทางปรับปรุงแก้ไข และการควบคุมและปรับปรุงอย่างต่อเนื่อง จากการวิเคราะห์ระบบการให้บริการพบว่าสาเหตุหลักของปัญหาเกิดจากการกำหนดขั้นตอนการให้บริการและการจัดสรรเจ้าหน้าที่ไม่เหมาะสม ดังนั้นจึงกำหนดแนวทางในการปรับปรุงระบบการให้บริการตามแนวทางลีน ซิกซ์ ซิกมาโดย 1) ออกแบบผังที่นั่งทำงานของเจ้าหน้าที่ใหม่ 2) ปรับลดและรวมขั้นตอนการทำงาน 3) ปรับปรุงการจัดการการไหลของงานเอกสาร 4) จัดสรรจำนวนเจ้าหน้าที่ให้เหมาะสมและสมดุลในแต่ละขั้นตอนการทำงาน 5) จัดการฝึกอบรมให้เจ้าหน้าที่สามารถทำงานได้หลายหน้าที่ ทั้งนี้ในขั้นตอนการจัดรูปแบบของระบบการให้บริการ และจัดจำนวนเจ้าหน้าที่ให้เหมาะสมได้ใช้วิธีการเขียนแบบจำลองเข้ามาช่วย ซึ่งพบว่าหลังจากปรับปรุงระบบการให้บริการสามารถลดจำนวนเจ้าหน้าที่ในระบบให้บริการลงได้ อีกทั้งค่าเฉลี่ยของระยะเวลาที่ผู้ประกันตนอยู่ในระบบของทั้ง 5 ประเภทงานมีค่าลดลง คือ ก่อนปรับปรุงมีค่าเฉลี่ยอยู่ในช่วง 35-45 นาทีได้ลดลงจนมีค่าเฉลี่ยอยู่ในช่วง 30.9-35.1 นาที และร้อยละของผู้ประกันตนที่ใช้เวลาในระบบเกิน 40 นาทีได้ลดลงจากร้อยละ 19-90 เหลือร้อยละ 0.71-4.9

Imse Alumni Survey Of Abet Program Educational Objectives, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This report showcases the results of the Department of Industrial and Management System Engieering's survey of alumni regarding our updated ABET Program Educational Objectives. The Program Educational Objectives represent the expected characteristics of industrial engineering graduates within three to five years of receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Management Systems Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A total of 76 responses were received. The alumni survey responses indicate strong agreement and approval for the new Program Educational Objectives. The associated comments will be used by the IMSE faculty to future refine the course curriculum to ensure that …

A Template-Based Data Specification Framework For Modeling Physical Security Systems, Ashu Guru, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Simulation studies often fail to provide any useful results due to its success being highly dependent on the skills of the analyst to understand a system and then correctly identify all the required data parameters and dependent variables. This paper describes a template-based framework to help identify and specify the components and data parameters for developing models of physical security systems. The layered framework consists of fifteen templates built on top of fourteen data primitives representing 119 data parameters. The modeling framework has been programmed as an internet-based web application and is simulation language independent. The usefulness of the framework …

Developing A New Program In Marine Engineering Technology, Anthony Dean, Gary Crossman, Alok Verma

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The Department of Engineering Technology, in the Batten College of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University, in conjunction with members of its advisory board and other industry representatives have begun a sustained effort to promote and develop a strong course of study in Marine Engineering Technology. Located in Norfolk, Virginia, Old Dominion University, and particularly the Department of Engineering Technology, is uniquely positioned to develop such a program. With strong ties to the world's largest Naval Base and superlative shipbuilding, maintenance and repair facilities, early qualitative research indicated high interest for development of such a program in support of …

Conceptual Simulation Modeling For Regional Distribution Center Systems, Kitti Setavoraphan

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the simulation modeling of warehousing operations commonly seen at general merchandize distribution centers. The key operational processes and modeling requirements related were identified and analyzed through a pattern and knowledge-based approach to capture the structural and behavioral characteristics of general distribution centers to support simulation study for performance evaluation and process improvement. Robust representations and patterns were developed to represent the elements and logic of the simulation models for these processes to facilitate efficient and effective construction of models. The issues of conceptual modeling such as synthesis, abstraction, decomposition, and specialization were addressed.

Guidelines To Select A Computerized Maintenance Management System, Dattaraj Kamalapurkar

Masters Theses

In today's highly competitive global economy, maintenance personnel are presented with more difficult challenges than at any previous point in time. In order to meet these challenges, many maintenance managers tend to rely . on Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS). When properly selected and implemented, CMMS is one of the most powerful cost reduction tools in any organization. However in reality, many CMMS implementations fail rather than achieve success. While there are many contributing factors, one major factor that greatly impacts successful implementation is selecting the right CMMS system. With more than 200 CMMS systems to choose from, selecting the …