Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Toward A Theory Of Multi-Method Modeling And Simulation Approach, Mariusz A. Balaban

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The representation via simulation models can easily lead to simulation models too simple for their intended purpose, or with too much detail, making them hard to understand. This problem is related to limitations of the modeling and simulation methods. A multi-method Modeling and Simulation (M&S) approach has the potential for improved representation by taking advantage of methods' strengths and mitigating their weaknesses. Despite a high appeal for using multiple M&S methods, several related problems should be addressed first. The current level of theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic knowledge related to a multi-method M&S approach is limited. It is problematic that there …

Proclivity Or Popularity? Exploring Agent Heterogeneity In Network Formation, Xiaotian Wang

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Barabasi-Albert model (BA model) is the standard algorithm used to describe the emergent mechanism of a scale-free network. This dissertation argues that the BA model, and its variants, rarely take agent heterogeneity into account in the analysis of network formation. In social networks, however, people's decisions to connect are strongly affected by the extent of similarity. In this dissertation, the author applies an agent-based modeling (ABM) approach to reassess the Barabasi-Albert model. This study proposes that, in forming social networks, agents are constantly balancing between instrumental and intrinsic preferences. After systematic simulation and subsequent analysis, this study finds that …

Management And Leadership Style: Is Style Influenced By Engineering Education?, Jesse Levi Calloway

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This paper addresses one aspect of the opportunity for corporations to reduce leadership development infrastructure by narrowing the participant pool to candidates that, intuitively, may be multi-skilled and capable of handling diverse roles and assignments within the corporate environment. In particular, the study seeks to determine the effect that engineering education has on leadership style by comparing the leadership style of certified project managers (CPMs), and non-CPM managers with engineering degrees, to the same for CPMs, and non-CPM managers, who do not possess engineering degrees. Engineering degrees may be further defined as mechanical, electrical, industrial and the like. Leadership styles …

Warrior Information Network- Tactical Human View Models & Analysis, Holly A. H. Handley, Cansu Kandemir, Elnaz Dario

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The Human View collects and categorizes data to provide information and analyses on the human component of a system. This organization of human system data helps to understand what the impact of the technology on human performance may be. The first phase of this project completed exploratory work on different Human View techniques in the context of the Warrior Information Network - Tactical (WIN-T) system. This included creating a high-level diagram to provide a conceptual realization of a General Purpose User (GPU) interacting with the WIN-T system, creating engineering diagrams using the System Modeling Language (SysML) to render the Human …

Semantic Shift To Pragmatic Meaning In Shared Decision Making: Situation Theory Perspective, M. Canan, A. Sousa-Poza, S. F. Kovacic

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The way humans establish communication depends on the generation and conveyance of meaning. Linguistically, meaning in information is dependent on the meaning that is ascribed to signifiers in the context of the communication. These signifiers can include items such as words, phrases, signs, and symbols. Conveyance of meaning may, however, imprecise and prone to error. The meaning of information in communication may arise from a change in the context in which a signifier is placed (intrinsic), or a change in the paradigm with which the signifier and context are perceived (extrinsic). In simple situations, where paradigms are reconcilable, semantic shift …

Analyzing Stakeholders Using Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping, Patrick T. Hester

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Stakeholder analysis was first explored as a methodology to assist business leaders with their strategic management functions. Stakeholder analysis has since expanded beyond the corporate arena. Stakeholders are a vital element in all complex systems problems; they are the customers, users, clients, suppliers, employees, regulators, and team members of a system. They fund a system, design it, build it, operate it, maintain it, and dispose of it. Each stakeholder contributes their own value-added perspective, as described by the systems principle known as complementarity. While many approaches exist for classifying and determining their attitudes, these approaches stop short of evaluating stakeholders …

Key Factors Driving Personnel Downsizing In Multinational Military Organizations, Ilksen Gorkem, Resit Unal, Pilar Pazos

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Although downsizing has long been a topic of research in traditional organizations, there are very few studies of this phenomenon in military contexts. As a result, we have little understanding of the key factors that drive personnel downsizing in military setting. This study contributes to our understanding of key factors that drive personnel downsizing in military organizations and whether those factors may differ across NATO nations’ cultural clusters. The theoretical framework for this study was built from studies in non-military contexts and adapted to fit the military environment.

This research relies on historical data from one of the largest multinational …

Reducing Uncertainty In Technology Selection For Long Life Cycle Engineering Designs, Halil I. Ozdemir, C. Ariel Pinto, Resit Unal, Charles B. Keating, Colin Britcher, Sila Çetinkaya (Ed.), J. K. Ryan (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The best capabilities are usually achieved by having the latest technologies in defense systems. However, including the new, usually immature, technologies in a system design does not always easily result in achieving the capabilities at the right level, at an affordable cost, and in a timely manner. Many programs have suffered from immature technologies as cost overruns, late or no deliveries, and poor performance levels. Another impact of technology selection appears as obsolescence after the deployment of systems, or even before the deployment of the system. As the technologies of a system become obsolete, the cost of maintaining the system …

Challenges For Developing Complex System Governance, Charles B. Keating, Polinpaplinho F. Katina, Joseph M. Bradley, Sila Çetinkaya (Ed.), J. K. Ryan (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper examines the challenges and practice implications for Complex System Governance (CSG). CSG is presented as an emerging field focused on the design, execution, and evolution of the higher order (metasystem) functions necessary to provide control, communication, coordination, and integration of a complex system. This paper is focused on three primary objectives. First, we introduce the complex system problem domain that the CSG field is being designed to address. The pervasiveness of this problem domain is demonstrated by a short examination of the water utilities sector. Second, we expound the nature of CSG and an emerging reference model …

Learning By Doing - Energy Systems Management, Nima Shahriari, Adrian V. Gheorghe

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Climate change concerns have confronted energy policy makers by unprecedented challenges in the 21st century. Revolution of renewable energy technologies, as well as more efficient energy systems, has been promising in the context of global warming. However, these technologies are not maturing and chaning. Consequently planning for development of these resources requires dealing with various multidisciplinary research questions such as financial feasibility of renewable energy projects. Nevertheless, there is considerable lack of education programs offering multidisciplinary approach for addressing the current energy challenges. Based on the 21st evolving energy landscape, an interdisciplinary graduate certificate course work was designed at Old …

How System Errors Affect Aircrew Resource Management (Crm), Justin Y. Adkins, Kevin Macg. Adams, Patrick T. Hester

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

System errors, both mechanical and human in nature, can have a grave effect on aircrew judgement in flight. The effects of these errors can be massively compounded during emergency situations. Crew Resource Management (CRM) is an important process aircrews can utilize to minimize risks and enhance assessments. The employment of this technique can be validated by aviation mishaps over the last three decades and how system errors increased the probability of the incident occurring. Suggestions can be made to further prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future utilizing historical aeronautical records. This paper outlines an approach by which systems …

A Simulation-Based Approach To Risk Assessment And Mitigation In Supply Chain Networks, Mamadou Seck, Ghaith Rabadi, Christian Koestler

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

We present in this paper a simulation-based approach to evaluate the risk associated with supply chain disruptions caused by failures in some supply chains nodes and measure the impact of such disruptions on supply chain key performance measures (KPIs) of interest. The proposed framework enables analysts and managers to repeatedly assess the risk to their supply chains based on various simulated scenarios and identify the most critical nodes whose disruption will have the highest impact on the KPIs of interest. As a result, companies can focus on the most critical supply chain assets and develop targeted mitigation plans that minimize …

An Agent Based Approach For Simulating Demo Enterprise Models, Mamadou Seck, Joseph Barjis

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

DEMO (design and engineering methodology for organization) is a theoretically grounded methodology for rigorous enterprise modeling. It provides relevant concepts from a construction perspective. As the methodology gains a wider audience, there is a growing interest in simulating DEMO models. Most attempts to develop a simulation approach for enterprise models in general, and the DEMO methodology in particular, are based on process oriented conceptualizations that are typically implementation in a discrete event paradigm. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for the translation of DEMO models into an agent based simulation. We will describe the DEMO methodology in some …

A Framework And System For A Multi-Model Decision Aid For Sustainable Farming Practices, Kasi Bharath Vegesana

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Decision support systems (DSS) for farmers address the need for modeling multiple processes and scenarios that affect farmer decision making. Existing DSS have various drawbacks that stop them from being deployed as decision support tools. This research proposes a multi-model simulation framework that can be used to analyze farm management practices at the crop level, individual farm level and at the community level to show the impact and alternatives for smallholder farming practices. A generic crop growth model is proposed, based on existing equations. We run sensitivity analysis on the model to identify important variables. The outputs from the crop …

Safety Culture Monitoring: A Management Approach For Assessing Nuclear Safety Culture Health Performance Utilizing Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis, James Harold Warren Jr.

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nuclear power plants are among the most technologically complex of all energy facilities. This complexity reflects the precision needed in design, maintenance and operations to harness the energy of the atom safely, reliably and economically. Nuclear energy thus requires consistent, high levels of organizational performance by the highly skilled professionals who operate and maintain nuclear power plants (Nuclear Energy Institute [NEI], 2014, p. 1).

A key element for achieving consistent, high levels of performance in a nuclear organization is its safety culture. Nuclear safety culture is for an organization what character and personality is for an individual: a feature that …

Emergency Diesel-Electric Generator Set Maintenance And Test Periodicity, Stephen John Fehr

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Manufacturer and industry recommendations vary considerably for maintenance and tests of emergency diesel-electric generator sets supporting critical operations power systems facilities. There is little consistency among sets of similar technology, and manufacturers and their representatives often provide contradictory guidance. As a result, periodicity of emergency diesel-electric generator set maintenance and tests varies considerably in practice. This work proposes and tests a research and analysis framework to develop parametric regression survival models of modern diesel-electric generator sets in emergency standby duty as a function of maintenance periodicity, test periodicity, and other predictors. Within this framework, predictors are developed from common maintenance …

Time-Based Collision Risk Modeling For Air Traffic Management, Alan E. Bell

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Since the emergence of commercial aviation in the early part of last century, economic forces have driven a steadily increasing demand for air transportation. Increasing density of aircraft operating in a finite volume of airspace is accompanied by a corresponding increase in the risk of collision, and in response to a growing number of incidents and accidents involving collisions between aircraft, governments worldwide have developed air traffic control systems and procedures to mitigate this risk. The objective of any collision risk management system is to project conflicts and provide operators with sufficient opportunity to recognize potential collisions and take necessary …

A Method To Define Requirements For System Of Systems, Randy Gene Walker

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop and apply a systems-based method for defining System of Systems (SoS) requirements using an inductive research design. Just as traditional Systems Engineering (TSE) includes a requirements definition phase, so too does System of Systems Engineering (SoSE); only with a wider, more over- arching, systemic perspective. TSE addresses the design and development of a single system with generally a very specific functional purpose enabled by any number of subcomponents. SoSE however, addresses the design and development of a large, complex system to meet a wide range of functional purposes enabled by any number …

Graphical Display Of The Effect Of Three Cash Flow Elements For Sensitivity Analysis, Kawintorn Pothanun

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Sensitivity analysis is one of the most important analysis techniques in a decision making process. The analytic intent behind sensitivity analysis is the variation of parameters in data models, and the examination of the effect of these variations on the outcome of the models. There are four primary benefits from conducting a sensitivity analysis: (a) sensitivity analysis facilitates the decision makers' development of recommendations, (b) sensitivity analysis serves as a tool for communication among stakeholders or decision makers in a project or an organization, (c) sensitivity analysis increases overall understanding of the decision models, and (d) sensitivity analysis serves as …

A Systems-Based Framework For The Assessment Of Performance Measurement System Implementations In R&D Organizations, Kenneth S. Baggett Jr.

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Performance measurement is utilized by organizations in all industries, including research and development (R&D). Measures are developed, data are collected, and the measurement results are used to drive the organization. The implicit hope is, of course, that the measures drive the organization to improve. However, literature identifies high failure rates directly related to performance measurement system (PMS) implementations. Establishing the fundamental operational characteristics associated with successful PMSs would provide a significant contribution towards the establishment of PMS assessment criteria. This research addresses this gap through the use of a grounded theory method employed to identify these operational characteristics, assesses the …

Systems Theory Based Framework For Competency Models, Joseph M. Bradley

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop and apply a systems theoretic framework for design, analysis and transformation of competency models using an inductive research design. This research examines the origins and development of competency models from a systems theoretic perspective. Competency models have been largely developed by a comparative method first proposed by McClelland, or the use of Delphi method survey techniques. The assumption that a population containing an exemplar and fully successful members would enable population of a holistic competency model has reported numerous failures. Similarly, reporting on the use of Delphi methods has focused on attempting …

Assessing The Impact Of Electronic Health Record Systems Implementation On Hospital Patient Perceptions Of Care, Katherine Sofia Palacio Salgar

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The delivery of health care services has been impacted by advances in Knowledge Management Information Systems (KMIS) and Information Technology (IT). The literature reveals that Electronic Health Records Systems (EHRs) are a comprehensive KMIS. There is a wide recognition in the body of knowledge that demonstrates the potential of EHRs to transform all aspects of health care services and, in consequence, the performance of Health Care Delivery Organizations (HCDO). Authors of published research also agree that there is a need for more empirical contributions that demonstrate the impact of EHRs upon HCDO. It is argued that in most cases, studies …

An Investigation Into The Analysis Of Truncated Standard Normal Distributions Using Heuristic Techniques, John Walter Ralls

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Standard normal distributions (SND) and truncated standard normal distributions (TSND) have been widely used and accepted methods to characterize the data sets in various engineering disciplines, financial industries, medical fields, management, and other mathematic and scientific applications. For engineering managers, risk managers and quality practitioners, the use of the standard normal distribution and truncated standard normal distribution have particular relevance when bounding data sets, evaluating manufacturing and assembly tolerances, and identifying measures of quality. In particular, truncated standard normal distributions are used in areas such as component assemblies to bound upper and lower process specification limits.

This dissertation presents a …

Assessing Organizational Effectiveness Through The Competing Values Framework A Data Envelopment Approach, Raghavender Macherla

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This study proposes a model to diagnose organizations using the mathematical principles of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to the variables generated using competing values framework (CVF) in order to evaluate overall organizational effectiveness. The notion of organizational effectiveness is abstract and difficult to measure due to its complexity and multi-functional nature. Over the years, measurement of organizational effectiveness has remained a challenge due to the lack of agreement on the factors that should be assessed to determine effectiveness. This research is aimed at shedding some light into this topic by using data envelopment analysis as a tool to measure relative …

An Investigation Of Business Transformation Disruptors At The Military Strategic Command Level, Thomas Bock

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation contributes an empirical research on business transformation disruption in the military. Specifically, this exploratory research seeks a better understanding of disruption of business transformation and some of the factors that are likely to impact the transformation process at the military strategic command level. A lack of empirical studies existing in the literature, coupled with the continuous transformation challenges faced by military organizations, make it necessary to conduct this empirical study of business transformation disruption in the military.

This research was carried out utilizing a two-phase mixed-methods approach. The first phase included qualitative data gathering through a series of …

The Relationship Among Hfacs Levels And Analysis Of Human Factors In Unmanned And Manned Air Vehicles, Veysel Yesilbas

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the structural relationships among the Human Factors Accident Classification System levels for unmanned air vehicle and manned air vehicle accidents and the common relationships between unmanned air vehicle and manned air vehicle accident causes. The study acquired DOD HFACS accident classification data from 347 United States Air Force Class A accident reports for the years between 2000 and 2013.

The dissertation utilized a set of analysis that is considered to contribute substantially to the respective domain of the study. The correlations found among categorical levels were applied to HFACS taxonomy based on the Reason Model via path …

Data Mining Based Hybridization Of Meta-Raps, Fatemah Al-Duoli, Ghaith Rabadi

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Though metaheuristics have been frequently employed to improve the performance of data mining algorithms, the opposite is not true. This paper discusses the process of employing a data mining algorithm to improve the performance of a metaheuristic algorithm. The targeted algorithms to be hybridized are the Meta-heuristic for Randomized Priority Search (Meta-RaPS) and an algorithm used to create an Inductive Decision Tree. This hybridization focuses on using a decision tree to perform on-line tuning of the parameters in Meta-RaPS. The process makes use of the information collected during the iterative construction and improvement phases Meta-RaPS performs. The data mining algorithm …

Systems Theory As The Foundation For Understanding Systems, Kevin Macg. Adams, Peggy T. Hester, Joseph M. Bradley, Thomas J. Meyers, Charles B. Keating

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

As currently used, systems theory is lacking a universally agreed upon definition. The purpose of this paper is to offer a resolution by articulating a formal definition of systems theory. This definition is presented as a unified group of specific propositions which are brought together by way of an axiom set to form a system construct: systems theory. This construct affords systems practitioners and theoreticians with a prescriptive set of axioms by which a system must operate; conversely, any set of entities identified as a system may be characterized by this set of axioms. Given its multidisciplinary theoretical foundation and …

A Heuristic For The Analysis Of Truncated Standard Normal Distribution Assemblies, John Walter Ralls, Cesar Ariel Pinto, Shannon R. Bowling, Resit Unal, Charles B. Daniels, S. Long (Ed.), E.H. Ng (Ed.), C. Downing (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The analysis of data sets and process conditions commonly assume the use of standard normal distributions and truncated standard normal distributions (TSND). The use of these distributions has application to various engineering disciplines along with numerous other industries (e.g., financial industries, medical fields, management, etc.). For engineering managers, the use of truncated standard normal distributions has particular relevance when evaluating process conditions commonly associated with assembly tolerances, manufacturing, and associated measures of quality. This article summarizes a heuristic approach for the analysis of assembly-level truncated standard normal distributions and associated research from a recent dissertation (Ralls, 2014). This article provides …

Employee-Task Assignments For Organization Modeling: A Review Of Models And Applications, Cansu Kandemir, Holly A. H. Handley, S. Long (Ed.), E.-H. Ng (Ed.), C. Downing (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In this study, we present a review of task assignment problems in organizations, an area that has become more important as tasks become more complex and personnel skills become more specialized. The challenge is to design task assignments that meet all requirements and result in the best organizational performance. The consequences of poor design include failed tasks, reduced efficiency, and inability to meet deadlines. Moreover, inequity of workload between employees can cause lack of job satisfaction, loss of motivation and also boredom.

In general, work processes in organizations consist of different tasks, which require different expertise. Personnel usually have various …