Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Lumira, Taylor Ann Magon

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

As LAES moves into the new Frost Center, we want to showcase the capabilities of its Expressive Technology (ET) Studios space with an interactive experience in hopes to collaborate, innovate, and spark ideas for the future of the program.

Simulating Electric Vehicle Short-Notice Wildfire Evacuation In California Rural Communities, Gudrun Derickson

Master's Theses

The transportation sector in California has begun a shift toward adopting Electric Vehicles (EVs) as a primary source of individual and corporate mobility. The US Government and the State of California are initiating public-sector financed charging station infrastructure to help in this change-over to EVs. Automobile companies and private enterprises are also heavily investing in Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) infrastructure going forward. The state of California is subject to natural disasters such as Fire, Earthquakes, and periodic flooding. Increasing numbers of BEVs may add new challenges to mass evacuations that are often associated with natural disasters. This work focuses on …

Technical Inventory Management For College Of Liberal Arts, Sofya Shatalova

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This project is sponsored by California Polytechnic State University’s Information Technology Services (ITS) department aimed to help with the transfer of inventory management from ITS to the College of Liberal Arts’ departments. Currently, there are no guidelines on how equipment is handled and little to no information about the flow of equipment. This creates difficulty for faculty and staff within those departments to check out, look up, or keep track of equipment. The sponsor needs for each department to be responsible for their own equipment and to familiarize themselves with the old database system the ITS used.

After understanding the …

Compact In-Rack Dielectric Immersion Cooling System, Salvador Landeros Jr, Joshua M. Hannaman, Marshall D. Reid

Mechanical Engineering

The Compact Dielectric Cooling team consisting of Josh Hannaman, Marshall Reid, and Salvador Landeros worked with Aria Technologies to create a thermal management system for data centers that can easily implement liquid cooling into current infrastructure for high density computing servers. The project was to design, build, and test a compact immersion cooling system for a senior project at California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo. Immersion cooling is a liquid-cooling process that involves the immersion of electrical IT equipment and the removal of heat from the hot IT components using dielectric liquid. The goal was to build a …

Subnational Map Of Poverty Generated From Remote-Sensing Data In Africa: Using Machine Learning Models And Advanced Regression Methods For Poverty Estimation, Lionel N. Hanke

Master's Theses

According to the 2020 poverty estimates from the World Bank, it is estimated that 9.1% - 9.4% of the global population lived on less than $1.90 per day. It is estimated that the Covid-19 pandemic further aggravated the issue by pushing more than 1% of the global population below the international poverty line of $1.90 per day (WorldBank, 2020). To provide help and formulate effective measures, poverty needs to be located as exact as possible. For this purpose, it was investigated whether regression methods with aggregated remote-sensing data could be used to estimate poverty in Africa. Therefore, five distinct regression …

Minimizing Leakage In Thin Walled Structures Printed Through Selective Laser Melting, Andrew Spencer Yap

Master's Theses

In this project, the scan strategy of selective laser melting (SLM) for thin walled structures was investigated by changing laser parameters and tool path. Producing thin walled structures is difficult due to defects such as warpage and porosity. A layer on the SLM 125 consists of hatch volume, fill contours, and borders, however, for thin walls, hatch volume can become unavailable, resulting in a solely border/fill contour laser tool path.

Three central composite designs (CCD) were created to optimize the laser parameters of borders to minimize leakage rate and porosity. The two factors changed were border laser power and scanning …

Modeling And Solving The Outsourcing Risk Management Problem In Multi-Echelon Supply Chains, Arian A. Nahangi

Master's Theses

Worldwide globalization has made supply chains more vulnerable to risk factors, increasing the associated costs of outsourcing goods. Outsourcing is highly beneficial for any company that values building upon its core competencies, but the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises have exposed significant vulnerabilities within supply chains. These disruptions forced a shift in the production of goods from outsourcing to domestic methods.

This paper considers a multi-echelon supply chain model with global and domestic raw material suppliers, manufacturing plants, warehouses, and markets. All levels within the supply chain network are evaluated from a holistic perspective, calculating a total …

Perishable Food Waste Reduction Through Technological Implementation At The Retail Level Of The Food Supply Chain, Cassandra Harriman

Master's Theses

Food waste has become a disaster of global proportion that the world can no longer turn a blind eye to. This paper aims to reduce food waste at the retail level of the food supply chain by recommending and quantifying the effects of current technology that can be implemented in traditional supermarkets. This research recommends that retailers implement electronic shelf labels in stores and employ dynamic pricing of perishable products, leading to reduction of food waste. No prior research had considered the primary goal of reducing food waste while preserving retailer profit through technological implementation. This paper quantifies the effects …

Transfer Learning Approach To Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Defect Detection, Michael Wu

Master's Theses

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) remains a predominately open-loop additive manufacturing process with minimal in-situ quality and process control. Some machines feature optical monitoring systems but lack automated analytical capabilities for real-time defect detection. Recent advances in machine learning (ML) and convolutional neural networks (CNN) present compelling solutions to analyze images in real-time and to develop in-situ monitoring.

Approximately 30,000 selective laser melting (SLM) build images from 31 previous builds are gathered and labeled as either “okay” or “defect”. Then, 14 open-sourced CNN were trained using transfer learning to classify the SLM build images. These models were evaluated by F1 …

Development Of A Marine Biodegradable Target Balloon, Blake Samuel Robinson, Arash Sam Akhavi, David Leonardo Albarran-Martinez

Materials Engineering

The US Navy utilizes PVC target balloons, known as Killer Tomatoes, that are inflated onboard a naval vessel then deployed into the ocean to calibrate a variety of weaponry. The Navy has requested the investigation of biodegradable polymers to replace the PVC in attempts to reduce ocean waste that is generated from the leftover PVC material. After communicating with American Pacific Plastic Fabricators (APPF), the current manufacturer of the Killer Tomatoes, we gained an understanding of the manufacturing process and the material requirements that would allow a new material to be integrated into their current process. Two proprietary, trial polymers …

Inventory Locating With Quuppa: The Design And Development Of A Real-Time Process Monitoring Web Application Solution, Dylan C. Moreland, Trevor J. Howell, John W. Takiff, Patrick S. Dillon, Theo E. Fritz, William K. Mcintyre

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Viasat, Inc. requires precise inventory tracking at their production facility in San Diego, CA. Viasat has installed the Quuppa indoor real-time locating system (RTLS), which it uses to track the real-time position of high-value work-in-process items. In its current state, the system only displays in-the-moment location information, with no available functionality for storing historical data for review, analysis, or visualization. In addition, the data displayed is noisy and prone to significant random error. This paper provides an overview of RTLS methods and technologies, assesses alternative solutions to Viasat’s issue, demonstrates our RTLS integrated web app solution, analyzes its impact, and …

Understanding The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic Within Educational Communities Using Longitudinal Analysis, Alexa Steidl

Master's Theses

At California State University, Los Angeles and California Polytechnic University, San Luis

Obispo, a longitudinal survey was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for students within their respective engineering departments. A combination of nonparametric and longitudinal analysis is performed to evaluate the impacts of the transition to a virtual educational environment and the stressors brought on by the global pandemic. Additional qualitative evaluation is performed to gain insight and make program recommendations to enhance the resilience of individuals in the academic systems. Results demonstrate a large shift in circumstances immediately at the start of the pandemic, with a variety …

Standardizing Patient Generated Sleep And Step Data For Evidation Health, Jade Desmet, Monroe Erle, Jamie Cullen

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Since medical data has gone digital there has been a lack of standardization among wearable devices for managing the data. Evidation Health is a company that collects biometric data from a wide variety of wearable devices through their app, Achievement. Evidation is built upon a foundation of user privacy and control over permissioned health data. This project is in partnership with them, focusing on creating a standard data model and ETL tool for sleep and step data across the wearable devices Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Oura Ring. There is not yet a successful standardization for this health data, and the …

A Method For Visualizing The Structural Complexity Of Organizational Architectures, Jacob Michael B. King

Master's Theses

To achieve a high level of performance and efficiency, contemporary aerospace systems must become increasingly complex. While complexity management traditionally focuses on a product’s components and their interconnectedness, organizational representation in complexity analysis is just as essential. This thesis addresses this organizational aspect of complexity through an Organizational Complexity Metric (OCM) to aid complexity management. The OCM augments Sinha’s structural complexity metric for product architectures into a metric that can be applied to organizations. Utilizing nested numerical design structure matrices (DSMs), a compact visual representation of organizational complexity was developed. Within the nested numerical DSM are existing organizational datasets used …

Comparison Of Classification Algorithms And Undersampling Methods On Employee Churn Prediction: A Case Study Of A Tech Company, Heather Cooper

Master's Theses

Churn prediction is a common data mining problem that many companies face across industries. More commonly, customer churn has been studied extensively within the telecommunications industry where there is low customer retention due to high market competition. Similar to customer churn, employee churn is very costly to a company and by not deploying proper risk mitigation strategies, profits cannot be maximized, and valuable employees may leave the company. The cost to replace an employee is exponentially higher than finding a replacement, so it is in any company’s best interest to prioritize employee retention.

This research combines machine learning techniques with …

University Startup Accelerators: Startup Launchpads Or Vehicles For Entrepreneurial Learning?, Lynn E. Metcalf, Thomas M. Katona, Jonathan L. York

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Over the past decade, universities have invested heavily in startup accelerator programs; however, their role in the university entrepreneurial ecosystem is ambiguous. Are university startup accelerators intended to educate or are they created to facilitate business starts and to contribute to regional economic development? In contrast, most private-sector startup accelerators serve a consistent and differentiated role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem—they provide programming and resources to startups to increase the probability of a return on investment. Understanding the role of university startup accelerators is an important precursor to evaluating their impact and whether or not the return is worth the considerable …

Combining Machine Learning And Empirical Engineering Methods Towards Improving Oil Production Forecasting, Andrew J. Allen

Master's Theses

Current methods of production forecasting such as decline curve analysis (DCA) or numerical simulation require years of historical production data, and their accuracy is limited by the choice of model parameters. Unconventional resources have proven challenging to apply traditional methods of production forecasting because they lack long production histories and have extremely variable model parameters. This research proposes a data-driven alternative to reservoir simulation and production forecasting techniques. We create a proxy-well model for predicting cumulative oil production by selecting statistically significant well completion parameters and reservoir information as independent predictor variables in regression-based models. Then, principal component analysis (PCA) …

Design Of A Printed Circuit Board For A Sensorless Three-Phase Brushless Dc Motor Control System, Joshua Castle

Master's Theses

The use of brushless motors has increased in recent years due to superior performance characteristics compared with alternatives. The operation of a brushless motor is dependent upon a separate controller which is often in the form of a printed circuit board. As such, the size and performance capability of the controller can restrict the performance of the overall motor control system so advancements of these controllers further the potential use of BLDC motors. This project outlines the design of a PCB based, sensorless motor controller for operation of a three-phase BLDC motor powered by a 24 V, high current external …

Utilization And Standardization Of Beverage Based Containers, Michael T. Bobke, Jack C. Maughan, Kenia Vargas

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The purpose of this document is to formally describe and explain all of the decisions associated with the data collection and analysis for this Cal Poly Senior Project. Throughout the project, we will utilize and hone the skills that each team member has developed during our time in Cal Poly's Engineering program. In addition, this document will briefly describe some of Blue Diamond’s history as one of the biggest almond companies in the world. The statement of work will introduce and describe the current status of the beverage base container process and international beverage container design. Next it will discuss …

Rebar Impalement Safety, Spencer C. Nefores, Steven M. Hoover

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This project is sponsored by Webcor with the purpose of finding a better solution to rebar impalement safety. The current rebar impalement safety caps being used by Webcor were found to frequently fall off after being installed. This results in workers being exposed to the hazard for longer than desired. The research that has been done by the team showed that rebar impalement is a serious hazard and results in injury or death every year. Site visits and interviews were performed to aid in understanding the problem and designing solutions. The customer needs, current state of the problem, existing solutions, …

Parklets San Luis, Owen Kenny, Preston Jag Stebel, Leonidas Goodman, Lukas Braun

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Downtown San Luis Obispo has been a popular destination for tourists, students, families, and roadtrippers. However, according to Ryan Betz, Interim Assistant to the City Manager, foot traffic and retail business revenue has been decreasing. Downtown SLO does not have enough free public spaces. Recent projects such as sidewalk bump outs and lighted crosswalks have aimed at making SLO more pedestrian accessible, but they have not actually made downtown more pleasurable. These projects have not seemed to drive any more business or traffic downtown. There are a myriad of ways to rectify this; studies show that having a free place …

An Analysis Of The Influence Of Hand Hole And Ventilation Hole Design On Compressive Strength Of Corrugated Fiberboard Boxes By An Artificial Neural Network Model, Tita Archaviboonyobul, Ravipim Chaveesuk, Jay Singh, Tunyarut Jinkarn

Industrial Technology and Packaging

This research aimed at developing a high-performing corrugated fiberboard box compression strength prediction model and to analyze the influences of ventilation and hand hole designs for these containers on the box compression test (BCT) by applying artificial neural network (ANN) modeling. The input variables considered in this study are composed of nine parameters including box dimension as well as shapes, sizes, positions, and locations of ventilations and hand holes of a regular slotted container (RSC, FEFCO 0201). Back propagation algorithms (BPNs) of ANN models were developed from 970 BCT testing data points (single wall boards, C flute, 205/112/205 g/m2). Tested …

Evaluation Of A Bulge Reduction Technology For Corrugated Fiberboard Containers Under Static Compression, Daan Peleman, Jay Singh, Koushik Saha, Soma Roy

Industrial Technology and Packaging

This research examines the effect of top-to-bottom static compression load on the bulge of RSC containers. The study compares a control regular slotted container (RSC) constructed with corrugated fiberboard to tape-reinforced designs. The bulge reduction, achieved using various tape placements and conditioning environments, were measured. Currently, no research on the effect of reinforcement tape towards reduction in the out-of-plane displacement (bulging) of the corrugated fiberboard panels has been undertaken. Samples related to four different container designs, varying by presence, quantity and the position of the reinforcement tape on the vertical panels, were tested and analyzed. The study involved the use …

Influence Of Fiberboard Container Design On Compression Bulge Displacement, Koushik Saha, Shane Messner, John Dizon, Nirav Chhajed, Jay Singh

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Bulge effect is the out-of-plane displacement of a panel of a corrugated fiberboard box from its original position. This bulge effect often is the result of excessive weight being placed on a box that rests at the bottom of a palletized load. Panels that are out-of-plane reduce the stacking strength of the box and can result in damage to products inside the containers. This study was designed to find the influence of fiberboard container design on its bulging performance when under compression. The objective of the study was to determine if change in height of a regular slotted container will …

A Case Study: The First Coastal Nuclear Decommissioning Project In California, Willie Aaron Quiros

Construction Management

San Onofre Nuclear Generating System (SONGS) is one of two nuclear power plants in California. Since the shut down in 2012, there is only one actively remaining, Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, which is set to shut down in 2024. This paper will examine the decommissioning of SONGS thus far; the first coastal nuclear decommissioning project in California’s stringent permitting process. This project was awarded as a joint venture to AECOM and Energy Solutions, both having experiencing in the field of nuclear decommissioning. This paper will outline what nuclear decommissioning challenges have been in the past; general steps of decommissioning …

Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling With Autonomous Learning Effects, Jordan M. Ticktin

Master's Theses

It's commonly assumed that experience leads to efficiency, yet this is largely unaccounted for in resource-constrained project scheduling. This thesis considers the idea that learning effects could allow selected activities to be completed within reduced time, if they're scheduled after activities where workers learn relevant skills. This paper computationally explores the effect of this autonomous, intra-project learning on optimal makespan and problem difficulty. A learning extension is proposed to the standard RCPSP scheduling problem. Multiple parameters are considered, including project size, learning frequency, and learning intensity. A test instance generator is developed to adapt the popular PSPLIB library of scheduling …

Process Improvement And Lift Design For The Installation Of A Metrology Machine Assembly, Dalt J. Lasell, James Mitchell O'Meara, Matthew Steensma

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The objective is to work with Onto Innovations, a leading provider of semiconductor metrology and manufacturing solutions, to develop a system that safely installs a 250lb optics plate into the Atlas III: one of their metrology machines. Based in Milpitas, CA, Onto Innovations utilizes a variety of operations to create different products and assembles each product on site. The 250lb optics plates are WIP that are transferred between fixtures and the Atlas III using a combination of lifts and human workers. The WIP have long lead times, high tolerances, and large costs associated with their manufacturing process.

Onto Innovations identified …

Automation Of Data Analysis In Formula 1, Adam Joseph Mourad, Prescott Jeanne Delzell, Patrick Conner Mccabe

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This paper explores economic solutions for Formula 1 racing companies who are interested in data visualization tools. The research was conducted on the current development of data gathering, data visualization, and data interpretation in Formula 1 racing. It was found that a large chunk of racing companies within the league needs an affordable, effective, and automated visualization tool for data interpretation. As data collection in Formula 1 arises, the need for faster and more powerful software increases. Racing companies profit off-brand exposure and the more a racing team wins, the more exposure they receive. The goal of the paper focuses …

Keeping Humans In The Loop: Pooling Knowledge Through Artificial Swarm Intelligence To Improve Business Decision Making, Lynn E. Metcalf, David A. Askay, Louis B. Rosenberg

Industrial Technology and Packaging

This article explores how a collaboration technology called Artificial Swarm Intelligence (ASI) addresses the limitations associated with group decision making, amplifies the intelligence of human groups, and facilitates better business decisions. It demonstrates of how ASI has been used by businesses to harness the diverse perspectives that individual participants bring to groups and to facilitate convergence upon decisions. It advances the understanding of how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to enhance, rather than replace, teams as they collaborate to make business decisions.

Cisco Nexus 9200 Robustness Redesign, Colin Berge, Ethan Gold, Cole Christopherson, Rahul Makhijani

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Certain configurations of Cisco's Nexus 9200 product experienced issues with bending during shipping. Two solutions were developed to eliminate this problem: an external brace that could quickly address the problem yet was expensive and unsustainable, and a redesigned chassis, which was more economical but came with a longer time to implement. Real world packaging and shipping conditions were simulated in SolidWorks and Finite Element Analysis was used to model the stresses experienced when the product is dropped. Both designs were found to significantly reduce stress in critical areas, thus reducing the chance of failure and the cost of the problem. …