Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Incremental Dcop Search Algorithms For Solving Dynamic Dcop Problems, William Yeoh, Pradeep Varakantham, Xiaoxun Sun, Sven Koenig

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Distributed constraint optimization problems (DCOPs) are well-suited for modeling multi-agent coordination problems. However, most research has focused on developing algorithms for solving static DCOPs. In this paper, we model dynamic DCOPs as sequences of (static) DCOPs with changes from one DCOP to the next one in the sequence. We introduce the ReuseBounds procedure, which can be used by any-space ADOPT and any-space BnB-ADOPT to find cost-minimal solutions for all DCOPs in the sequence faster than by solving each DCOP individually. This procedure allows those agents that are guaranteed to remain unaffected by a change to reuse their lower and upper …

Decentralized Decision Support For An Agent Population In Dynamic And Uncertain Domains, Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Shih-Fen Cheng, Thi Duong Nguyen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This research is motivated by problems in urban transportation and labor mobility, where the agent flow is dynamic, non-deterministic and on a large scale. In such domains, even though the individual agents do not have an identity of their own and do not explicitly impact other agents, they have implicit interactions with other agents. While there has been much research in handling such implicit effects, it has primarily assumed controlled movements of agents in static environments. We address the issue of decision support for individual agents having involuntary movements in dynamic environments . For instance, in a taxi fleet serving …

Message-Passing Algorithms For Large Structured Decentralized Pomdps, Akshat Kumar, Shlomo Zilberstein

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Decentralized POMDPs provide a rigorous framework for multi-agent decision-theoretic planning. However, their high complexity has limited scalability. In this work, we present a promising new class of algorithms based on probabilistic inference for infinite-horizon ND-POMDPs---a restricted Dec-POMDP model. We first transform the policy optimization problem to that of likelihood maximization in a mixture of dynamic Bayes nets (DBNs). We then develop the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm for maximizing the likelihood in this representation. The EM algorithm for ND-POMDPs lends itself naturally to a simple message-passing paradigm guided by the agent interaction graph. It is thus highly scalable w.r.t. the number of …

Adaptive Decision Support For Structured Organizations: A Case For Orgpomdps, Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Nathan Schurr, Alan Carlin, Christopher Amato

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In today's world, organizations are faced with increasingly large and complex problems that require decision-making under uncertainty. Current methods for optimizing such decisions fall short of handling the problem scale and time constraints. We argue that this is due to existing methods not exploiting the inherent structure of the organizations which solve these problems. We propose a new model called the OrgPOMDP (Organizational POMDP), which is based on the partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP). This new model combines two powerful representations for modeling large scale problems: hierarchical modeling and factored representations. In this paper we make three key contributions: …

Effect Of Gold Content On The Reliability Of Snagcu Solder Joints, Jianbiao Pan, Julie Silk, Mike Powers, Patrick Hyland

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Electroplated Ni/Au over Cu is a popular metallization for PCB finish as well as for component leads, especially wire-bondable high frequency packages, where the gold thickness requirement for wirebonding is high. The general understanding is that less than 3 wt% of Au is acceptable in SnPb solder joints. However, little is known about the effect of Au content on the reliability of SnAgCu solder joints. The purpose of this study is to determine the acceptable level of Au in SAC305 solder joints. Three different package platforms with different Au thicknesses were assembled on boards with two different Au thicknesses using …

Grain Refinement Vs. Crystallographic Texture: Mechanical Anisotropy In A Magnesium Alloy, D. C. Foley, M. Al-Maharbi, K. T. Hartwig, I. Karaman, L. J. Kecskes, S. N. Mathaudhu

United States Army: Publications

A magnesium alloy was subjected to severe plastic deformation via an unconventional equal channel angular extrusion route at decreasing temperatures. This method facilitates incremental grain refinement and enhances formability by activating dynamic recrystallization in the initial steps and suppressing deformation twinning. Compression experiments in three orthogonal directions demonstrated high strength levels in the processed sample, up to 350 MPa in yield and 500 MPa in ultimate strengths. Notable flow stress anisotropy is correlated with the processing texture and microstructure.

Acuta Enews April 2011 Vol. 40, No. 4

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Partial Budgeting Analysis Of Conventional Pump Over Versus Pulsair Cap Management System For A Large–Scale California Winery, Zachary Thomas Hicks

Agribusiness

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the financial feasibility of implementing an automated gas injection system from Pulsair as an alternative to the traditional pump over cap mixing technique that is used during the alcoholic fermentation stage of winemaking.

There were various costs involved in this project that were determined and explained through the use of the partial budgeting method. The costs that were thoroughly analyzed included equipment, labor, utility, and initial investment costs for the Pulsair system as well as the related pump over operation costs. After the two methods associated numbers were evaluated, they were then …

Design And Implementation Of An Automated Pick And Place System For Johanson Technology, Inc., Alex M. Felker

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Johanson Technology, a capacitor and microelectronic part manufacturer, located in Camarillo, CA has forecasted a 50% increase in demand for single layer capacitors for the year 2011. Johanson chose to hire an intern to design and implement a robotic pick and place system to meet this demand. A complete automated system composed of a Stäubli RS20 robotic arm, CS8C-M Controller, and Electrosort Bowl Feeder needed to be integrated into an environment where no system currently existed. A bill of materials and parts list indicated that the entire system would be a fixed cost of $50,104. This proved to be the …

Process Improvement Of Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, Connie Chou, Brett Witherall

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This report seeks to improve the operations of the Kaiser Permanente’s Central Refill Pharmacy. In particular, the need for better workstations became evident when witnessing the cluttered appearance of the packing workbenches in the facility. Furthermore, one of Kaiser’s largest problem areas is the physical strain caused by the repetitive motion required of the packing job function. A redesign of the packing workstations has been developed on Microsoft Visio in order to reduce clutter, be more space efficient, and decrease eye and arm movement associated with employee strain. The most significant additions are an automated slide that transfers packages from …

Exploring The Effects Of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control In Mitigating Traffic Congestion, Georges M. Arnaout

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this research is to examine the impact of CACC (Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control) equipped vehicles on traffic-flow characteristics of a multilane highway system. The research identifies how CACC vehicles affect the dynamics of traffic flow on a road network and demonstrates the potential benefits of reducing traffic congestion due to stop-and-go traffic conditions. An agent-based traffic simulation model is developed specifically to examine the effect of these intelligent vehicles on the traffic flow dynamics. Traffic performance metrics characterizing the evolution of traffic congestion throughout the road network, are analyzed. Different CACC penetration levels are studied.

The positive …

Improving Compressed Air Energy Efficiency In Automotive Plants: Practical Examples And Implementation, Nasr Alkadi, J. Kelly Kissock

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The automotive industry is the largest industry in the United States in terms of the dollar value of production [1]. U.S. automakers face tremendous pressure from foreign competitors, which have an increasing manufacturing presence in this country. The Big Three North American Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)-General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler-are reacting to declining sales figures and economic strain by working more efficiently and seeking out opportunities to reduce production costs without negatively affecting the production volume or the quality of the product. Successful, cost-effective investment and implementation of the energy efficiency technologies and practices meet the challenge of maintaining the …

Evaluation System Design And Academic Performance Analysis Using Clustering And Simulation, Volkan Cakir

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The starting point of this study was to understand the possible causes of evaluation system change in a military academic environment. With that motivation the objectives of this study were defined as examining student profiles in a military academy, establishing the nature of academic performance, comparing student groups that were identified by course scores, analyzing student performance changes over time and developing a manageable evaluation system and curriculum by comparing different scenarios.

An analysis was performed on the literature on academic performance prediction, cluster analysis methodologies and their development, and specifically summarized cluster analytic academic performance studies where these two …

Towards An Organizational Strategic Vitality Theory: A Study Of A Public Sector Board Of Directors, Keith L. Woodman

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Boards of directors govern practically all organizations of significant size in the public and private sector. Improving the understanding of how boards function is critical because when boards fail, the results can be devastating. Little is understood about the functioning of boards of directors in the public sector, which accounts for a significant amount of the gross national product of the world's economy. The author observed a public sector board of directors for one year. Using the grounded theory research method to analyze the observations, he generated a theory of organizational strategic vitality that describes how a board of directors …

Evaluation Of An Innovative System For Improving Readability Of Passive Uhf Rfid Tags Attached To Reusable Plastic Containers, Jay A. Singh, S. Roy, B. Roesner

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a contactless identification technology that has proven to work well in conjunction with reusable plastic containers (RPCs). The impact of this technology on returnable containers has been explored by several past studies. This study evaluates an innovative system for improving readability of passive UHF RFID tags in conjunction with RPCs. The system involves an energy transfer device (ETD), which when attached to the RPCs, passively transfers radio frequency signals to interior regions of a unitized load thereby improving the readability of all RFID tags attached to the RPCs. This study included an evaluation of the …

Nurturing Systems Thinking: Developing A Framework Based On The Human Factors Analysis And Classification System (Hfacs) To Improve Systems Development Processes, Arjun Vijayanarayanan

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Large systems engineering projects have an astonishingly high failure rate. The reasons hypothesized for such a high failure rate include the neglect of nonsalient system elements such as social and human or organizational aspects of systems. Social and human factors have long been known to be critical elements of systems that are frequently ignored (e.g., Goguen, 1994). Systems engineering processes can benefit and be improved by effective utilization of a framework that helps developers expand their attention and efforts beyond the salient aspects of the system and the development process. In the aviation field, the Human Factors Analysis and Classification …

A Structured Project-Risk Management And Life Cycle Framework For Complex Systems: Ship Repair And Maintenance (Sr&M) Projects, Michael Craig Plumb

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation contributes to insights regarding the implications of using Project Risk Management (PRM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in managing projects for a complex system. The PRM approach apprehends many forms of risk both internal and external within a given project and assists the manager in determining the level of importance of each individual project phase and component to optimize project success. The life cycle approach to project management is used with short-term limitations with respect to a product's life cycle over several years. The literature discusses many tools and techniques that assist project managers in implementing optimal solutions, …

Random Keys Genetic Algorithms Scheduling And Rescheduling Systems For Common Production Systems, Elkin Rodriguez-Velasquez

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The majority of scheduling research deals with problems in specific production environments with specific objective functions. However, in many cases, more than one problem type and/or objective function exists, resulting in the need for a more generic and flexible system to generate schedules. Furthermore, most of the published scheduling research focuses on creating an optimal or near optimal initial schedule during the planning phase. However, after production processes start, circumstances like machine breakdowns, urgent jobs, and other unplanned events may render the schedule suboptimal, obsolete or even infeasible resulting in a "rescheduling" problem, which is typically also addressed for a …

Optimization Models And Approximate Algorithms For The Aerial Refueling Scheduling And Rescheduling Problems, Sezgin Kaplan

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Aerial Refueling Scheduling Problem (ARSP) can be defined as determining the refueling completion times for fighter aircrafts (jobs) on multiple tankers (machines) to minimize the total weighted tardiness. ARSP can be modeled as a parallel machine scheduling with release times and due date-to-deadline window. ARSP assumes that the jobs have different release times, due dates, and due date-to-deadline windows between the refueling due date and a deadline to return without refueling. The Aerial Refueling Rescheduling Problem (ARRP), on the other hand, can be defined as updating the existing AR schedule after being disrupted by job related events including the …

A Method To Improve The Sustainment Of Systems Based On Probability And Consequences, Michael Ashton Gaintner

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The FROST Method is presented which improves the efficiency of long-term sustainment of hardware systems. The FROST Method makes sustainment and scheduling decisions based on the minimization of the expected value of current and future costs. This differs from current methods which tend to base decisions not on the expected value of costs, but on the expected inventory demand found through projections using data which is often inaccurate.

Distributions are used to account for randomness and inaccuracy in inputs such as failure rates and vendor-claimed dates for end of production. A Monte Carlo technique is then used to convert these …

A Hybrid Lehmer Code Genetic Algorithm And Its Application On Traveling Salesman Problems, Jun Zhang

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Traveling Salesman Problems (TSP) is a widely studied combinatorial optimization problem. The goal of the TSP is to find a tour which begins in a specific city, visits each of the remaining cities once and returns to the initial cities such that the objective functions are optimized, typically involving minimizing functions like total distance traveled, total time used or total cost.

Genetic algorithms were first proposed by John Holland (1975). It uses an iterative procedure to find the optimal solutions to optimization problems.

This research proposed a hybrid Lehmer code Genetic Algorithm. To compensate for the weaknesses of traditional genetic …

Examination Timetabling With Mathematical Programming An Application In Turkish Air Force Academy, Emrah Koksalmis

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this thesis is the educational timetabling problem, which is a very challenging problem to solve especially with a high number of the departments, branches, classes, and students. Due to the large scale of educational timetabling problems and preferences of the stakeholders, it is almost impossible to form a general model that solves all of the timetabling problems in the literature. This resulted in the need to develop and employ specific models for specific institutions.

The purpose of this study is to develop a mathematical programming model that solves the examination timetabling problem in Turkish Air Force Academy …

Empirical Characterization Of Ballistic Impact Flash, Thomas P. Talafuse

Theses and Dissertations

Fires onboard aircraft are leading mechanisms for mishaps and losses during peacetime and combat operations. Typical ignition sources causing fires onboard aircraft include electrical sparks and hot surfaces. However, impact and penetration of common threats encountered during combat operations, such as armor piercing incendiary projectiles and missile fragments, generate short-lived, but thermally-intense clouds (flashes) capable of igniting fires. Fire simulations supporting system-level survivability analyses depend on accurate characterization of these flash clouds, however, such accurate representations are not currently available. This research presents the modeling approach developed to estimate the boundary model representations of impact flashes. The research presents generalized …

Fusion Schemes For Ensembles Of Hyperspectral Anomaly Detection Algorithms, Brooks R. Turnquist

Theses and Dissertations

Hyperspectral imaging is playing an ever increasing role in our military's remote sensing operations. The exponential increase in collection operations generates more data than can be evaluated by analysts unassisted. Anomaly detectors attempt to reduce this load on analysts by identifying potential target pixels which appear anomalous when compared to what are determined to be background, or non-target, pixels. However, there is no one individual algorithm that is best suited for all situations and it can be difficult to choose the best algorithm for each individual task. Fusion techniques have been shown to reduce errors and increase generalization, eliminating the …

Tailoring The Statistical Experimental Design Process For Lvc Experiments, Casey L. Haase

Theses and Dissertations

The use of Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) Simulation environments are increasingly being examined for potential analytical use particularly in test and evaluation. The LVC simulation environments provide a mechanism for conducting joint mission testing and system of systems testing when scale and resource limitations prevent the accumulation of the necessary density and diversity of assets required for these complex and comprehensive tests. The statistical experimental design process is re-examined for potential application to LVC experiments and several additional considerations are identified to augment the experimental design process for use with LVC. This augmented statistical experimental design process is demonstrated …

A Methodology Using Simulation Results For Test And Evaluation, Jonathon S. Hosket

Theses and Dissertations

Each year the Air Force spends billions of dollars on Test and Evaluation to ensure acquisition programs roll out the best possible products. In 1997, the National Research Council assembled to evaluate the overall procedure used in procuring various platforms with system planning, research, development and engineering (SPRDE) and program management (PM) processes. In their final report, they claimed that the full advantages of statistical practices, simulation, model-test-models, and incorporation of prior test information into current test practices have not been fully utilized. To examine one of the report's recommendations, this thesis defines and explores a methodology using simulation to …

Measuring The Utility Of A Cyber Incident Mission Impact Assessment (Cimia) Process For Mission Assurance, Christy L. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Information is a critical asset on which virtually all modern organizations depend upon to meet their operational mission objectives. Military organizations, in particular, have embedded Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) into their core mission processes as a means to increase their operational efficiency, exploit automation, improve decision quality, and shorten the kill chain. However, the extreme dependence upon ICT results in an environment where a cyber incident can result in severe mission degradation, or possibly failure, with catastrophic consequences to life, limb, and property. These consequences can be minimized by maintaining real-time situational awareness of mission critical resources so appropriate …

A Simulation Of The Ecss Help Desk With The Erlang A Model, Michael E. Chua

Theses and Dissertations

During steady states, the Level 1 help desk might expect about 500 to 600 calls per month. That is about 0.39 to 0.46 calls per user per month, which represents the workload once ECSS is established and most of the users have already received training for the system. The optimal level for this workload is about 12 agents to operate the entire 24 hour period. At this level, the Level 1 help desk would minimize the amount of customers that renege from the system to about 15 to 22 percent and still maintain acceptable utilization percentages of about 52% to …

Weighted Key Player Problem For Social Network Analysis, Ryan M. Mcguire

Theses and Dissertations

Social network analysis is a tool set whose uses range from measuring the impact of marketing campaigns to disrupting clandestine terrorist organizations. Social network analysis tools are primarily focused on the structure of relationships between actors in the network. However, characteristics of the actors, such as importance or status, are generally the output of the social network analysis rather than an input. Characteristics of actors can come from a number of sources to include information gathering, subject matter experts or social network analysis. Further, the strength of relationships between actors in social networks are often assumed to be all equal. …

Utilizing Social Network Analysis In Support Of Nation Building, Brandon J. Bernardoni

Theses and Dissertations

Social network analysis is a powerful set of techniques used by social scientists to study the formal and informal interrelations in a community. Since 9/11 these techniques have been increasingly utilized by the defense and intelligence communities to analyze terrorist networks to aid in thwarting our foes. This study investigates the use of social networks and structural holes to facilitate nation building in failed and failing states. Investigation of the underlying social structure of a community, identifying st ructural holes and gaps within the government, Security Stabilization Transition and Reconstruction Operations (SSTRO) efforts can be focused to strengthen the host …