Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Implications Of Variability Of Electromyographic Measurements For Assessing Localized Muscle Fatigue, Hamad Nasser Alasim

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The impact of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) is enormous due to a combination of direct and indirect costs associated with healthcare, lost workdays and human suffering. Because of the established relationship between Localized Muscle Fatigue (LMF) development and WMSDs, and in order to reduce and/or prevent WMSDs in workplaces, different fatigue assessment methods have been developed. Surface Electromyography (SEMG) is a commonly used LMF assessment technique. The SEMG signals are typically analyzed in time and frequency domains to predict LMF based on a relative change with respect to initial, or under no-fatigue conditions. Quantifying such change, however, relies on the …

Assessment Of Heat Stress For Outdoor Work Conditions In Saudi Arabia, Jamal Alanazi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Outdoor workers have an increased risk of heat stress in Saudi Arabia since it is one of the hottest places in the Middle East. Recently, the government decided to limit outdoor work hours during the months of June, July, and August every year, and banned working under the direct sunlight from 12:00 to 03:00 p.m., although outdoor workers in the petroleum, natural gas, or emergency maintenance work industries are exempt from this prohibition. Traditionally, the efforts by safety and health professionals to mitigate work-related heat injury has been directed toward the assessment of environmental heat stress (e.g., wet-bulb globe temperature), …

Metaheuristics For The Generalized Quadratic Assignment Problem, Roseline Mostafa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The generalized quadratic assignment problem (GQAP) is the task of assigning a set of facilities to a set of locations such that the sum of the assignment and transportation costs is minimized. The facilities may have different space requirements, and the locations may have varying space capacities. Also, multiple facilities may be assigned to each location such that space capacity is not exceeded. In this research, an application of the GQAP is presented for assigning a set of machines to a set of locations on the plant floor. Two meta-heuristics are proposed for solving the GQAP: tabu search (TS) and …

Sustainability-Based Expert System For Additive Manufacturing And Cnc Machining, Josage Chathura Pamuditha Perera

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The development of technologies which enable resource efficient production is of paramount importance for the continued advancement of the manufacturing industry. In order to ensure a sustainable and clean energy future, manufacturers should be able to contrast and validate existing manufacturing technologies on a sustainability basis. In the post COVID-19 era of enterprise management, the use of artificial intelligence to simulate human expert decision making abilities will open new doors to achieving heightened levels of productivity and efficiency. The introduction of innovative technologies such as CNC machining and 3D printing to production systems has redefined the manufacturing landscape in a …

Development Of A Task Analysis Tool To Estimate Shoulder Strain During A Lifting Task, Christopher Wayne Moore

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Musculoskeletal disorders of the shoulder have a huge impact on the workplace and employees. Due to the complexity and high mobility of the shoulder, developing a task analysis tool with a focus on the shoulder is difficult, and while there are some ergonomic analysis tools that do consider the shoulder to varying degrees in the analysis, none focus purely on the shoulder. Therefore, this research was undertaken in an attempt to develop a shoulder-based task analysis tool for the shoulder. However, since the scope of work involving the shoulder is so vast, the tool in this research focuses on unobstructed, …

Analysis Of The Integration Of Dfm Techniques And Effective Machining Parameter Selection In Metal Parts Manufacturing, Omar Ahmed Al-Shebeeb

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation investigates the minimization of part design with self-locating features. The research focuses primarily on self-fastening characteristics, standardization of parts, and minimal use of fasteners. Further, the present research studies the design for base parts in the construction of a moving joint system, in order to locate potential part and system design improvements. This process may then be extended to industrial applications in the manufacturing industry. Relatively little work to date has examined the significance of Design for Manufacturing Techniques (DFMT), with their inherent machine element systems and machining parameters to investigate which DFMT has the most influence on …

Effect Of Metacarpal Gloves On Pinch And Grip Strength, Aaron Anthony Fonner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Hand Injuries are common in industrial settings. In 2014 alone, there were 137,440 total cases of hand injuries in the United States that required days away from work. Hand injuries can be classified into six general categories: lacerations, fractures and dislocations, soft tissue injuries and amputations, infections, burns and high pressure injuries. Some of these injuries can be prevented with proper personal protective equipment. In recent times, metacarpal gloves are widely used to protect the workers against hand/metacarpal injuries in various industries including mining. The benefits of wearing metacarpal gloves for protection are unquestionable, but little is known about how …

Analysis Of User Preference With N95 And Powered Air-Purifying Respirators In A Healthcare Work Environment, Brittany Renee Carver

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

For those working in the healthcare field, personal protective equipment is vital. Healthcare workers are often first responders when it comes to dealing with patients who are infected or when a disease outbreak occurs. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all healthcare operations to provide employee protection against blood borne pathogens. With the increase of life-threatening disease outbreaks, such as SARS in 2003 and Ebola in 2014, it is of the upmost importance to make sure respirators are best suited for users and acceptable for long term use. It has been shown through previous studies that due to …

Can Fitts' Throughput Be A Predictor Of Muscle Fatigue – A Study Based On Metacarpal Gloves?, Sachin Sah

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, Fitts’ throughput was used to estimate throughput for metacarpal gloves. Fitts’ throughput combines speed and accuracy during target transfer/movement tasks into a single performance index. It was hypothesized that the throughput will be affected by the glove condition and it will exhibit a relationship with the physiological response of hand muscles and perceived exertions. Fifteen healthy participants (10 males, 5 females) were recruited for data collection. Each participant performed a series of target transfer tasks using four glove conditions: (1) a pigskin leather (glove 1); (2) a synthetic fiber glove (glove 2); (3) a goat-grain leather glove …

Energy Efficiency Evaluation Of Blower Heater Non-Purge Compressed Air Dryers, Alexandra M. Botts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There are several compressed air dryers available for industrial use including, refrigerant, desiccant, and membrane. This research focuses on twin tower regenerative closed loop desiccant dryers, specifically: blower heater non-purge (BHNP) with and without cooling water pumps, Compressed-air Heater Purge (CHP), Blower Heater Purge (BHP), and Pressure Swing Heaterless (PSH). These styles of dryers are used mainly in industries that require extremely dry air such as, food manufacturing, medical air, or sensitive technology manufacturers. The research was conducted by collecting and analyzing real time current draw data on air compressors and associated dryers at eight different facilities (13 compressor systems) …

Chemometric Calibration Of Surface Enchanced Raman Spectra For Quantitative Analysis, Xiaofei Shi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Raman spectroscopy, recognized as a powerful analytical technique, has been widely employed in many fields especially in the detection of hazard material containing in food or water. However, multiplexed analyte quantification based on Raman spectra remains a challenge due to the difficulties in accurate and precise modeling of the relationship between multiple analyte concentrations and dense spectral data with noise.

In this work, a statistical procedure was developed to efficiently generate high-quality calibration models quantifying the analyte concentrations versus spectra relationship. The resulting calibration models are able to provide estimated concentration ranges (which reflect both point and uncertainty estimates) for …

Performance Study Of An Unconventional Breathresponse Papr Against A N95 Ffr And Conventional Paprs, Huihui Yang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are the first responders when infectious pathogens occur. Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) are one of the most widely used personal protective equipment for healthcare workers. Currently, few studies have been performed with HCWs in the actual healthcare work environments to assess discomforts, acceptance and protective efficiency towards wearing and use of PAPRs. The main purpose of this dissertation was to introduce and assess a brand new unconventional PAPR (Koken breath-response PAPR). The protection performance and user preferance of this unconventional PAPR were studided and compared to that of a N95 FFR and traditional PAPRs.

Firstly, a laboratory …

Towards A Framework For Smart Manufacturing Adoption In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Sameer Mittal

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Smart Manufacturing (SM) paradigm adoption can scale production with demand without compromising on the time for order fulfillment. A smart manufacturing system (SMS) is vertically and horizontally connected, and thus it can minimize the chances of miscommunication. Employees in an SME are aware of the operational requirements and their responsibilities. The machine schedules are prepared based on the tasks a machine must perform. Predictive maintenance reduces the downtime of machines. Design software optimizes the product design. Production feasibility is checked with the help of simulation. The concepts of product life cycle management are considered for waste reduction. Employee safety, and …

Pharmaceutical Scheduling Using Simulated Annealing And Steepest Descent Method, Bryant Jamison Spencer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the pharmaceutical manufacturing world, a deadline could be the difference between losing a multimillion-dollar contract or extending it. This, among many other reasons, is why good scheduling methods are vital. This problem report addresses Flexible Flowshop (FF) scheduling using Simulated Annealing (SA) in conjunction with the Steepest Descent heuristic (SD).

FF is a generalized version of the flowshop problem, where each product goes through S number of stages, where each stage has M number of machines. As opposed to a normal flowshop problem, all ‘jobs’ do not have to flow in the same sequence from stage to stage. The …

A Lab-Based Study Of N95 Ffrs Against Cigarette Smoke Under Varying Concentrations And Sealing Conditions, Jacob Davis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Respirators are a common form of protection when working in environments where workers are exposed to harmful agents. One exposure that has not been rigorously tested is cigarette smoke. Air sampling was conducted to test the effectiveness of four different respirators N95 Respirators for various concentrations of cigarette smoke and seal conditions and for different respirators. The Moldex 2200, Moldex 2300 (exhalation valve), Gerson 1730, and 3M 8210V (Exhalation valve) were used for testing. The set concentrations were 100,000: 200,000: and 400,000 cm3 with an error allowance of 20% for each concentration. Different flow rates (15, 30, 50, and 85 …