Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Assessing System Architectures: The Canonical Decomposition Fuzzy Comparative Methodology, Jason Paul Dauby

Doctoral Dissertations

"The impacts of decisions made during the selection of the system architecture propagate throughout the entire system lifecycle. The challenge for system architects is to perform a realistic assessment of an inherently ambiguous system concept. Subject matter expert interpretations, intuition, and heuristics are performed quickly and guide system development in the right overall direction, but these methods are subjective and unrepeatable. Traditional analytical assessments dismiss complexity in a system by assuming severability between system components and are intolerant of ambiguity. To be defensible, a suitable methodology must be repeatable, analytically rigorous, and yet tolerant of ambiguity. The hypothesis for this …

Exploratory Study Of Barriers To Use Of Feigenbaum's Quality Cost Strategy Within Design Engineering Firms, David Patrick Loduca

Doctoral Dissertations

"It has been more than a half century since Armand Feigenbaum first conceived of the strategy for the manufacturing sector, yet quality costing strategies have not found a foothold among engineering firms. This study was aimed at constructing a set of theories that explains possible barriers to acceptance of the Feigenbaum strategy by analyzing attitudes and opinions of players in an actual engineering firm and the culture in which they work.

Modeled after the Feigenbaum approach and tailored to the business model of engineering and architectural firms, a system was developed to classify and record costs of quality. A local …

Barriers And Best Practices For Material Management In The Healthcare Sector, Carlos Callender, Scott Erwin Grasman

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The primary focus of the healthcare sector has been to provide patients with the best quality of care. Recently, the escalating cost of supplies and the severe competition among healthcare providers has significantly increased the pressure on material managers to operate more cost-efficiently without compromising high patient care standards. While other sectors have experienced success through the deployment of supply chain management practices, the healthcare sector has not seen major improvements in this area; however, in spite of the uniqueness and complexity of the healthcare supply chain, opportunities for improvements are plentiful. This article provides an assessment of material management …

Finite Horizon Markov Control With One-Step Variance Penalties, Abhijit Gosavi

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Variance-penalized Markov decision processes (MDPs) for an infinite time horizon have been studied in the literature for asymptotic and one-step variance; in these models, the objective function is generally the expected long-run reward minus a constant time the variance, where variance is used as a measure of risk. for the finite time horizon, asymptotic variance has been considered in Collins [1], but this model accounts for only a terminal reward, i.e., reward is earned at the end of the time horizon. in this paper, we seek to develop a framework for one-step variance in the finite time horizon in which …

A Reinforcement Learning Approach For Inventory Replenishment In Vendor-Managed Inventory Systems With Consignment Inventory, Zheng Sui, Abhijit Gosavi, Li Lin

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In a Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) system, the supplier makes decisions of inventory management for the retailer; the retailer is not responsible for placing orders. There is a dearth of optimization models for replenishment strategies for VMI systems, and the industry relies on well-understood, but simple models, e.g., the newsvendor rule. in this article, we propose a methodology based on reinforcement learning, which is rooted in the Bellman equation, to determine a replenishment policy in a VMI system with consignment inventory. We also propose rules based on the newsvendor rule. Our numerical results show that our approach can outperform the newsvendor. …

A Comparative Study Of Diversity In Evolutionary Algorithms, Jayakanth Jayachandran, Steven Corns

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

For many evolutionary algorithms a key obstacle to finding the global optima is insufficient solution diversity, causing the algorithm to become mired in a local optimum. Solution diversity can be influenced by algorithm parameters including population size, mutation operator and diversity preservation techniques. This study examines the combined effect of population size, mutation value and the geography imposed by the combinatorial graphs on a set of five standard evolutionary algorithm problems. a tradeoff can be seen between the initial diversity of the population size, introduction of new diversity from mutation, and the preservation of diversity from combinatorial graph. with an …

Evolving Fuzzy Optimally Pruned Extreme Learning Machine: A Comparative Analysis, Federico Montesino Pouzols, Amaury Lendasse

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This Paper Proposes a Method for the Identification of Evolving Fuzzy Takagi-Sugeno Systems based on the Optimally Pruned Extreme Learning Machine (Op-Elm) Methodology. We Describe Elm Which is a Simple Yet Accurate and Fast Learning Algorithm for Training Single-Hidden Layer Feed-Forward Artificial Neural Networks (SLFNS) with Random Hidden Neurons. We Then Describe the Op-Elm Methodology for Building Elm Models in a Robust and Generic Manner. Leveraging on the Previously Proposed Online Sequential Elm Method and the Op-Elm, We Propose an Identification Method for Self-Developing or Evolving Neuro-Fuzzy Systems. This Method Follows a Random Projection based Approach to Extracting Evolving Fuzzy …

A Boundary Corrected Expansion Of The Moments Of Nearest Neighbor Distributions, Elia Liitiäinen, Amaury Lendasse, Francesco Corona

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Article, the Moments of Nearest Neighbor Distance Distributions Are Examined. While the Asymptotic Form of Such Moments is Well-Known, the Boundary Effect Has This Far Resisted a Rigorous Analysis. Our Goal is to Develop a New Technique that Allows a Closed-Form High Order Expansion, Where the Boundaries Are Taken into Account Up to the First Order. the Resulting Theoretical Predictions Are Tested Via Simulations and Found to Be Much More Accurate Than the First Order Approximation Obtained by Neglecting the Boundaries. While Our Results Are of Theoretical Interest, They Definitely Also Have Important Applications in Statistics and Physics. …

Improved Pcr Design For Mouse Dna By Training Finite State Machines, Salik R. Yadav, Steven M. Corns

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This project presents an updated method for classification of polymerase chain reaction primers in mice using finite state classifiers. This is done to compensate for many lab, organism and chemical specific factors that are costly. using Finite State Classifiers can help decrease the number of primers that fail to amplify correctly. for training these classifiers, five different evolutionary algorithms that use an incremental fitness reward are used. Variations to the number of generations and the values in the fitness reward are examined, and the resulting designs are presented. by controlling the fitness reward correctly, there is a potential to develop …

Developing A Lean Value Model For Product Development, Salik Yadav, Venkat Allada

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a value quantification model for multistage product development using lean principles. the proposed value model considers four main stages of product development (PD) including conceptual development, systems design, detailed design and prototyping. the model determines an optimal solution for each of the design variables to maximize the value at each of the PD stages. the value at each of the PD stages is formulated as a function of the six factors: (a) importance of customer requirements (b) cost of customer's ownership, (c) parts/service availability, (d) weighted average cost of capital, (e) information evolution and (f) risk reduction. …

Validating Module Heuristics On Large Scale Products, Rachel Day, Robert B. Stone, Katie Grantham Lough

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Decreasing time and costs is a major objective in many businesses today. Including modularity in the early design phases can effectively decrease time spent on and costs associated with a project. the task of identifying modules within a product early in the design process (when decisions are less expensive) is made less daunting by using the techniques of functional modeling and module heuristics. This paper discusses the results of the initial efforts to verify the module heuristics on large products (products with functional models consisting of more than 30 sub-functions) since the module heuristics were originally developed on small products. …

Forecasting Consumer Satisfaction For Vehicle Ride Using The Mahalanobis-Taguchi Gram-Schmidt Technique, Elizabeth A. Cudney, Kenneth Ragsdell, Kioumars Paryani

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Consumers assess and perceive quality and performance at the vehicle level, but important cost-effective decisions at the sub-system or component level must be made by the producer in order to economically satisfy consumer needs by providing affordable products. Consumers evaluate vehicle attributes such as ride, handling, roominess, braking, and acceleration. These vehicle level attributes are influenced by factors at all levels of the vehicle architecture, and these factors are often correlated. the goal of this research is to efficiently forecast consumer satisfaction measured as a function of available vehicle level performance data. This article presents the application of the Mahalanobis-Taguchi …

Strategies For Using Technology When Grading Problem-Based Classes, Susan L. Murray, Ruwen Qin, Ivan G. Guardiola, Abhijit Gosavi

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

More and more work is being done today using technology. Email and digital drop boxes are useful tools for professors; however the challenge comes when one is teaching a quantitative class. The issue of using technology to manage work in a quantitative class is increasing as more engineering programs embrace distance education. In this paper we will review the advantages and disadvantages of several methods of collecting, grading, and returning homework assignments to students. The techniques considered include faxing, PDF grading using a Wacom Tablet, and various email approaches. Student survey results are also included in the paper.

Expanding Horizons With Chameleon: Team Missouri's Innovative Home Automation System, Bryan Glass, Ben Brannon, Katie Grantham, Stuart Werner Baur

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Team Missouri's 2009 Solar Decathlon entry featured a revolutionary home automation system, Chameleon, promoting both convenience and energy savings. This was accomplished using the typical controls of a convenience based automation system, while maintaining user set points, such as a home's ambient temperature, in the most energy efficient manner. Environmental features of the system include controls for home heating, ventilation and air conditioning, lighting, windows, shades, appliances, indoor air quality, as well as indoor and outdoor irrigation. Further analysis and refinement to the prototype system displayed at the competition is also presented in this paper.

Residential Energy Performance Metrics, Christopher Wright, Stuart Werner Baur, Katie Grantham, Robert B. Stone, Scott Erwin Grasman

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Techniques for residential energy monitoring are an emerging field that is currently drawing significant attention. This paper is a description of the current efforts to monitor and compare the performance of three solar powered homes built at Missouri University of Science and Technology. The homes are outfitted with an array of sensors and a data logger system to measure and record electricity production, system energy use, internal home temperature and humidity, hot water production, and exterior ambient conditions the houses are experiencing. Data is being collected to measure the performance of the houses, compare to energy modeling programs, design and …

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Analysis: Lessons Learned From Stationary Power Generation Final Report, Scott E. Grasman, John W. Sheffield, Fatih Dogan, Sunggyu Lee, Umit O. Koylu, Angie Rolufs

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study considered opportunities for hydrogen in stationary applications in order to make recommendations related to RD&D strategies that incorporate lessons learned and best practices from relevant national and international stationary power efforts, as well as cost and environmental modeling of pathways. The study analyzed the different strategies utilized in power generation systems and identified the different challenges and opportunities for producing and using hydrogen as an energy carrier. Specific objectives included both a synopsis/critical analysis of lessons learned from previous stationary power programs and recommendations for a strategy for hydrogen infrastructure deployment. This strategy incorporates all hydrogen pathways and …

Residual Variance Estimation Using A Nearest Neighbor Statistic, Elia Liitiäinen, Francesco Corona, Amaury Lendasse

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Paper We Consider the Problem of Estimating E [(Y - E [Y {Divides} X])2] based on a Finite Sample of Independent, But Not Necessarily Identically Distributed, Random Variables (Xi, Yi) i = 1m. We Analyze the Theoretical Properties of a Recently Developed Estimator. It is Shown that the Estimator Has Many Theoretically Interesting Properties, While the Practical Implementation is Simple. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Using Quality Attributes And Computational Intelligence To Generate And Evaluate System Architecture Alternatives, Atmika Singh, Cihan H. Dagli

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes an evolutionary algorithm based approach for evolving architecture alternatives using quality attributes as design drivers. A novel fuzzy architecture assessment approach is presented to quantitatively evaluate the set of possible solutions based on linguistic assessments of architecture quality attributes elicited from the stakeholders. The proposed approach makes a valuable contribution to the systems architecting knowledge base by presenting a measurable and quantifiable approach to architecture design and evaluation.

A Hybrid Problem-Based And Just-In-Time Inductive Teaching Method For Failure Analysis Instruction, Ryan Michael Arlitt

Masters Theses

"When engineers retire, they take their expert knowledge with them. Preservation of this expert knowledge in a usable form is beneficial for the advancement of any engineering field. Risk in Early Design (RED) is one method for preserving expert risk analysis knowledge. The first purpose of this paper is to examine the usability of RED when incorporated with a hybrid problem-based and just-in-time inductive teaching method for failure analysis instruction. The second purpose of this paper is to propose and perform steps toward verification and validation of the RED methodology and implementation. Evaluation metrics were developed, and several of these …

Complex Systems Architecting Using Design Primitives, Comparative Analysis And Fuzzy Analytical Feedback, Jason Paul Dauby, Cihan H. Dagli

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Modern systems are increasing in complexity. It is advantageous to understand and control this complexity as early in the design lifecycle as possible. The system architecting community must reconcile the inherent ambiguity in a system description with the need for analytical assessments of system attributes so as to increase the likelihood of developmental success. Presently, it is commonplace to decompose systems and subsystems using assumptions of idealized severability and reliance on superposition to estimate composite performance. It is suggested that these assumptions can result in errant oversimplification and represent an opportunity for new systems engineering research. This paper introduces a …

Effect Of Different Detrending Approaches On Computational Intelligence Models Of Time Series, Federico Montesino Pouzols, Amaury Lendasse

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This Paper Analyzes the Impact of Different Detrending Approaches on the Performance of a Variety of Computational Intelligence (Ci) Models. Three Approaches Are Compared: Linear, Nonlinear Detrending (based on Empirical Mode Decomposition) and First-Differencing. Five Representative Ci Methods Are Evaluated: Dynamic Evolving Neural-Fuzzy Inference System (DENFIS), Gaussian Process (GP), Multilayer Perceptron (MP), Optimally Pruned Extreme Learning Machine (Op-Elm) and Support Vector Machines (SVM). Four Major Conclusions Are Drawn from Experiments Performed on Six Time Series Benchmarks: 1) Qualitatively, the Effect of Detrending is Remarkably Uniform for All the Ci Methods Considered, 2) Extraction of the overall Trend Does Not Improve …

Op-Elm: Optimally Pruned Extreme Learning Machine, Yoan Miche, Antti Sorjamaa, Patrick Bas, Olli Simula, Christian Jutten, Amaury Lendasse

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Brief, the Optimally Pruned Extreme Learning Machine (Op-Elm) Methodology is Presented. It is based on the Original Extreme Learning Machine (Elm) Algorithm with Additional Steps to Make It More Robust and Generic. the Whole Methodology is Presented in Detail and Then Applied to Several Regression and Classification Problems. Results for Both Computational Time and Accuracy (Mean Square Error) Are Compared to the Original Elm and to Three Other Widely Used Methodologies: Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Gaussian Process (GP). as the Experiments for Both Regression and Classification Illustrate, the Proposed Op-Elm Methodology Performs Several Orders …

Residential Energy Monitoring: Missouri S&T Solar Village Development, Christopher David Wright

Masters Theses

"As energy costs are rising, public and private sector groups are searching for improved energy efficiency technology. Research tools for predicting residential energy usage are lagging behind commercial developments. Missouri S&T has a unique and strong opportunity to strengthen its involvement in the development of residential energy research and knowledge. The S&T Solar Village, a collection of homes designed for energy efficiency and renewable energy, is poised to support this research. This thesis develops a design for residential energy evaluation and data collection of the four solar homes in the Village. The energy evaluation system identifies over 300 sensors and …

Utilizing Multimedia Case Studies To Teach The Professional Side Of Project Management, Cassandra C. Elrod, Susan L. Murray, Barry B. Flachsbart, Karl E. Burgher, Drew M. Foth

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

This research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of using a LITEE multimedia case study to teaching concepts in engineering courses. The LITEE Superstar case study was implemented in an engineering Project Management course. Numerous surveys regarding student expectations, outcomes, and attitudes were collected and results are presented herein. Overall, the study provided evidence that the students felt that the LITEE case study added value to the course via the different methods of teaching material, aided in the understanding of the project selection process, and ultimately helped them be successful in their course project which was conducted for a real …

A Continuous Regression Function For The Delaunay Calibration Method, Francesco Corona, Elia Liitiäinen, Amaury Lendasse, Roberto Baratti, Lorenzo Sassu

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Delaunay Tessellation and Topological Regression is a Local Simplex Method for Multivariate Calibration. the Method, developed within Computational Geometry, Has Potential for Applications in Online Analytical Chemistry and Process Monitoring. This Study Proposes a Novel Approach to Perform Prediction and Extrapolation using Delaunay Calibration Method. the Main Property of the Proposed Extension is the Continuity of the Estimated Regression Function Also Outside the Calibration Domain. to Support the Presentation, an Application in Estimating the Aromatic Composition in Light Cycle Oil by Near Infrared Spectroscopy is Discussed. © 2009 Ifac.

An Improved Methodology For Filling Missing Values In Spatiotemporal Climate Data Set, Antti Sorjamaa, Amaury Lendasse, Yves Cornet, Eric Deleersnijder

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Paper, an Improved Methodology for the Determination of Missing Values in a Spatiotemporal Database is Presented. This Methodology Performs Denoising Projection in Order to Accurately Fill the Missing Values in the Database. the Improved Methodology is Called Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF) Pruning, and It is based on an Original Linear Projection Method Called Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF). the Experiments Demonstrate the Performance of the Improved Methodology and Present a Comparison with the Original EOF and with a Widely Used Optimal Interpolation Method Called Objective Analysis. © Springer Science + Business Media B.v. 2009.

Detection Of Explosive Threats By Using Embedded Wireless Sensor Based Networks, Jake Daniel Hertenstein

Masters Theses

"This thesis focuses on the development of novel schemes for the detection of unintended electromagnetic emissions (UEE) from passive radio frequency (RF) receivers and chemical and biological (CB) agents for the purpose of locating explosive threats (ET) to improve survivability for equipment and personnel in the surrounding environment. The methods and architectures used in this work were developed for use with wireless sensor networks (WSNs). While previous work has shown that highly sensitive equipment is capable of long-range detection of UEE the intention of this work is to develop a network of small, low cost smart sensor nodes (SSNs) capable …

Synergy Between Biology And Systems Resilience, Ashik Chandra

Masters Theses

"Resilient systems have the ability to endure and successfully recover from disturbances by identifying problems and mobilizing the available resources to cope with the disturbance. Resiliency lets a system recover from disruptions, variations, and a degradation of expected working conditions. Biological systems are resilient. Immune systems are highly adaptive and scalable, with the ability to cope with multiple data sources, fuse information together, makes decisions, have multiple interacting agents, operate in a distributed manner over a multiple scales, and have a memory structure to facilitate learning. Ecosystems are resilient since they have the capacity to absorb disturbance and are able …

Application Of Quality Function Deployment In New Product And Service Development, Anusha Uppalanchi

Masters Theses

"Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a systematic process to integrate customer requirements into every aspect of the design and delivery of products and services. Understanding the customers wants or needs from a product or service is crucial to the successful design and development of new products and services. QFD is a system that utilizes customer demands to meet client missions by outlining what the customer wants in a service or product. QFD was used in this research to determine customer needs and thus to ensure that customer demands are met. This methodology is demonstrated using two case studies: Hydrogen Fuel …

Improving Resiliency Using Graph Based Evolutionary Algorithms, Jayakanth Jayachandran

Masters Theses

"Resiliency is an important characteristic of any system. It signifies the ability of a system to survive and recover from unprecedented disruptions. Various characteristics exist that indicate the level of resiliency in a system. One of these attributes is the adaptability of the system. This adaptability can be enhanced by redundancy present within the system. In the context of system design, redundancy can be achieved by having a diverse set of good designs for that particular system. Evolutionary algorithms are widely used in creating designs for engineering systems, as they perform well on discontinuous and/or high dimensional problems. One method …