Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Essays On Applications Of Transportation Network Design And Optimization, Amirali Ghaharikermani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we address different transportation problems. The three main outcomes are: designing a battery swap station network, studying gaps in Empty Container Management literature, designing a model with similar characteristics to the vehicle routing problem as well as implementation scenario for it to be applied for a real-world case.

For the designed battery swap station, a model is developed for customer demand satisfaction that permits construction of different types of BSS in the planning network. Our solution methodology is a Tabu Search algorithm combined with a dynamic programming initialization. Numerous tests showed that the proposed TS approach provides …

Convergent Set-Based Design In Integrated Analysis Of Alternatives: Designing Engineered Resilient Systems, Zephan Wright Wade

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a comprehensive package for understanding and expanding set-based design quantification through the definition and demonstration of Convergent set-based design (SBD). Convergent SBD is a technique developed for the Engineered Resilient Systems program sponsored by the Department of Defense. Convergent SBD contributes a repeatable methodology with the goal of mathematically eliminating inefficient sets. The study of Convergent SBD led to the development of dominance identification criteria equations using comparison of statistical means. The demonstration of Convergent SBD also illustrates the effect of mission resilience in the tradespace and the impact mission resilience has on preference. Finally, Convergent SBD …

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation Of Metal Additive Manufacturing., Venkata Karthik Nadimpalli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) is increasingly being used to make functional components. One of the barriers for AM components to become mainstream is the difficulty to certify them. AM components can have widely different properties based on process parameters. Improving an AM processes requires an understanding of process-structure-property correlations, which can be gathered in-situ and post-process through nondestructive and destructive methods. In this study, two metal AM processes were studied, the first is Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) and the second is Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF). The typical problems with UAM components are inter-layer and inter-track defects. To improve the …

Predicting The Impact Of Resource Delays On A Construction Project’S Critical Path Using Monte Carlo Simulation, Colby Weishaar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The construction industry is a complex and evolving industry, making the project manager’s job of planning, organizing, and making decisions a difficult one. One of the most difficult decisions throughout a project is determining what resources are needed to complete a task by the deadline. Uncertainties cause risks within the schedule often creating delays for which the project manager must develop a mitigation plan once risks are identified. After conducting a review of the literature, no research was found examining the use of an analytical model to estimate the delays caused within the resource allocation process. If an analytical model …

Simulation-Based Analysis And Optimization Of The United States Army Performance Appraisal System., Lee A. Evans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, a discrete event simulation framework is considered to replicate the dynamics, structure, and regulatory constraints placed on the officers in the U.S. Army. Using performance appraisal data provided by the United States Army Human Resources Command, we create a multi-objective response function that quantifies the human behavior associated with evaluating subordinates. Utilizing simulation-optimization techniques for model validation enables estimating unknown input parameters, such as human behavior, based on historical data. Furthermore, the model allows users to analyze the effects of current constraints on the evaluation system and the effects of proposed personnel policy changes.The effectiveness of the …

Multi Self-Adapting Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm (Msapso)., Gerhard Koch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The performance and stability of the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm depends on parameters that are typically tuned manually or adapted based on knowledge from empirical parameter studies. Such parameter selection is ineffectual when faced with a broad range of problem types, which often hinders the adoption of PSO to real world problems. This dissertation develops a dynamic self-optimization approach for the respective parameters (inertia weight, social and cognition). The effects of self-adaption for the optimal balance between superior performance (convergence) and the robustness (divergence) of the algorithm with regard to both simple and complex benchmark functions is investigated. This work …

Quantitative Methods For Select Problems In Facility Location And Facility Logistics, Bin Li

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presented three logistics problems. The first problem is a parallel machine scheduling problems that considers multiple unique characteristics including release dates, due dates, limited machine availability and job splitting. The objective of is to minimize the total amount of time required to complete work. A mixed integer programming model is presented and a heuristic is developed for solving the problem. The second problem extends the first parallel scheduling problem to include two additional practical considerations. The first is a setup time that occurs when warehouse staff change from one type of task to another. The second is a …

Optimal Allocation Of Resources In Reliability Growth, Mohammadhossein Heydari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reliability growth testing seeks to identify and remove failure modes in order to improve system reliability. This dissertation centers around the resource allocation across the components of a multi-component system to maximize system reliability. We summarize this dissertation’s contributions to optimal resource allocation in reliability growth.

Chapter 2 seeks to deploy limited testing resources across the components of a series-parallel system in effort to maximize system reliability under the assumption that each component’s reliability exhibits growth according to an AMSAA model with known parameters. An optimization model for this problem is developed and then extended to consider the allocation of …

Demonstrating Set-Based Design Techniques- A Uav Case Study, Colin Small

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense (DoD) and Engineered Resilient Systems (ERS) community seek to improve decision making in the Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) process by incorporating resilience and leveraging the capabilities of model-based engineering (MBE) early in the design process. Traditional tradespace exploration utilizing Point-Based Design (PBD) often converges quickly on a solution with subsequent engineering changes to modify the design. However, this process can lead to a suboptimal solution if an incorrect initial solution is chosen. Enabled by MBE, Set-Based Design (SBD) considers sets of all possible solutions and enables down-selecting possibilities to converge on a final solution. Using a …

A Multi-Objective Affinity-Based Savings Algorithm For Improving Processes In Centralized Warehousing Operations, Mckenlee M. Coco

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traditional approaches to improving material management processes in warehousing operations tend to focus on one of three major areas: facility design, order picking and sorting, and order batching. In an effort to improve total system savings, a new affinity function is developed and applied to batching logic to create a multi-objective problem. The proposed multi-objective function incorporates user input to increase adaptability to changing demand and flexibility to changing requirements. Computational experience shows the new function leads to solutions that deviate no more than 25% from the most efficient distance based picking route by the same batching logic, while creating …

The Implementation Of Opportunistic Multiple Spacecraft Per Antenna Concepts On The Msu-Sta Deep Space Station 17, Murphy C. Stratton

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science, Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Murphy C. Stratton on April 30, 2018.

Improvement Of Quality Processes- Asset Condition Assessment Tool And Process For Vanderlande Industries, Mariantonia Hoyos Lopez, Tori Shonk

Senior Design Project For Engineers

Vanderlande Industries is the global market leader in the value added logistic process automation for airports, the parcel market, warehouses, and e-commerce. The company’s extensive portfolio of integrated solutions results in fast, reliable and efficient automation technology. The VI Marietta office supports airport sites that have an operational BHS. These sites hire VI to operate and maintain the site. Preventive, corrective, and emergency maintenance is completed on the equipment to maintain operational success. Usually, the U.S. sites that are supported have BHS systems that are old and worn down. It is important for VI to determine the risk of maintaining …

Class A Average Handle Time Standard, Stephanie Lee

Senior Design Project For Engineers

This report provides an analysis and evaluation on the Average Handle Time performed at Class A. The Universal, Shipping, International, Tracking, InfoNotice, Amazon, Field Support Group, and Preferred Customer Associates call types are evaluated in this study. An Average Handle Time Standard is created, while meeting the appropriate sample size, covering multiple site locations, at various times of the day and days of the week, and meeting corporate quality expectations. Methods of cost analysis, Six Sigma, and optimization are utilized in this study. The V-Process Model is used to verify the system. The implementation and results served as the verification …

Carlex Glass Laminated Side Glass Process Optimization, Jake Massingill, Marshal Turner

Senior Design Project For Engineers

The intent of this project is to determine how many racks of glass should be inserted into the autoclave at a given time in order to maximize productivity of the Laminated Side Glass line. Based on this value, the total number of workers necessary at finishing and the cycle time of the bag furnace were determined. This was achieved by building a model of the line in Arena and analyzing it. The model demonstrated that twelve is the optimal number of racks to insert at a given time, only one team of two workers is necessary per shift, and that …

Atlanta (Kennesaw) Ereturn Project, Shannon Ard, Trisha Donnelly-Nelson, Scott Michael

Senior Design Project For Engineers

The Siemens Energy, Inc. Tool and Instrument Facility is an internal tool rental center that assembles tool kits and ships them to power generation sites. When miscellaneous, broken or extra tools are returned, they are sent to the eReturn area, where tools are processed and reentered into inventory. The current eReturn system is long and complex. The cluttered area causes tools to remain in eReturn for extended periods before being reentered into the inventory. The additional time causes unnecessary ordering and prevents tools from being used in more kits. The team's objective is to determine a solution that will allow …

Atlanta Traffic Optimization Final Design Review, Biram Nicol, Vick Abwavo, Brandon Harris

Senior Design Project For Engineers

To solve the Metro-Atlanta traffic problem, we have embarked in numerous efforts to find feasible goals that had worked in other states with similar situations. In dealing with the traffic problem around the Metro area, we have designed a rail system to counter if our proposed idea of eliminating trucks within the Metro area is realized. This will be a more cost-effective area as the rail system is set to pay for itself after a decade and half of operation.

This idea might be considered radical, but our findings showed that 39.50% of freight is transferred by rail according to …

Grady Health Systems Linen Optimization, Kyleia Hutton, Samira Abdi

Senior Design Project For Engineers

Grady Memorial Hospital, under Grady Health Systems (GHS), is the fifth largest public hospital systems in the United States of America. In the Southeast region, Grady Memorial Hospital is a premier level I trauma institution, that also provides other medical service specialties that accumulate a diverse, and knowledgeable set of medical professionals. Within this report, there are various recommendations that our team has presented based on different scenarios that could be present within the interaction of the linen management department and other departments at Grady Health Systems. These recommendations will aid in determining the best decision that can be made …

Feasibility Study Of Mohawk Industries Water Bottle Recycling Program With Automated Compactor/Baler, Brody Cook, Chris Yeager, Parker Cook

Senior Design Project For Engineers

Mohawk Industries requested a senior design project for a feasibility study of a compactor/baler program. The compactor/baler program has the potential to reduce Mohawk Industries’ polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling center costs, thereby increasing the company’s profits. Mohawk Industries uses PET from recycled plastic bottles as a raw material to extrude carpet yarn fibers. Currently, Mohawk Industries has two methods to obtain the PET required to extrude the carpet yarn fibers: purchase recycled bottles from landfills/recycling centers and extrude into PET pellets, or purchase PET pellets from an outside source at a much higher cost. The compactor/baler program would introduce a …

Service Drive 2020 - Fine Design, David Sirotinsky, Ling Marshall

Senior Design Project For Engineers

This report explores a cloud network solution for the automotive industry. The project scope was defined with a problem statement. Robust connectivity solutions offered by the OEM manufacturers provide data communication between the customer and the connected car, but lack data communication from the customer to the private franchise dealers. This antiquated business model creates variation in operation from one dealer to the other and creates a challenge to apply a standardized solution. One fundamental requirement is to provide a network solution that can seamlessly integrate into existing hardware, software and process infrastructure.

The project group conducted interviews with two …

Sauce Repackaging Test: Atlanta, Hannah Smith, Gideon Larios, Christopher Gilbert

Senior Design Project For Engineers

Overview

This project belongs to the Chick-fil-A Supply Chain Innovation Team. This team has designed a new packaging product, which breaks down their current packing product into smaller load units. The Atlanta Sauce test was the first live implementation of this new product, the inner pack. The Supply Chain Team began preparing for this test in May 2017. In this test, the team were specifically looking for product issues, benefits, product user behaviors, and areas of improvement.

Objective

The purpose of this project was to research the implementation of a new sauce packaging. During this research, the current sauce replenishment …

Ejm Chain Fall Tooling Optimization, Migual Medina, Esraa Abdulmahdi, James Algarin

Senior Design Project For Engineers

The following report describes the progress made by the EJM Chain Fall Tooling Optimization Team since the In-Progress Review. The team has finalized the facility layout design for the chain fall area including the concept of operations, functional requirements, and performance specifications. The scope of the project is completing the new procedures for reducing waste and completing the AutoCAD drawing of the final design. The team researched the objectives accomplished by the new layout design. The goal of the project is to reduce the safety hazards and increase productivity. The team shifted the focus to the salvage, recycling, and waste …

Quality Function Deployment Method And Its Application On Wearable Technology Product Development, Mir Salahuddin

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate consumers and product developer’s expectations of wearable technology products in the context of the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) framework. The specific objectives were to: 1) Explore the quality features that consumers consider most important when purchasing wearable technology product. 2) Explore the technical features product developers consider most important in the development of wearable technology. 3) Identify the technical features that wearable technology product developers need to focus on to meet the customer requirements.

The Qualtrix online survey system was used to collect demographic, quantitative and essay length written responses from participants. …

Ensemble Machine Learning To Predict Family Consent For Organ Donation, Md Ehsan Khan

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

There is ever increasing disparity between number of organs needed for transplantation and numbers available for donation to save lives. As a result, thousands of people die every year waiting for organs. Therefore, it is now more important than ever before to take serious actions to decrease this disparity. One way to bridge gap between organ demand and supply is to increase family consent for organ donation. This research studied the factors associated with family consent. Machine Learning approach had been used in very few literature to understand factors related to family consent. This study uses six Ensemble Machine Learning …

A Systems Analysis Of Factors Influencing Household Solar Pv Adoption In Santiago, Chile, Jeffrey P. Walters, Jessica Kaminsky, Lawrence Gottschamer

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Societal uptake of household solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is the result of a complex and interdependent array of technical, social, political and economic factors. This novel study employs a systems lens to examine both technical and non-technical barriers to renewables, with a focus on interactions that are empirically influential on PV uptake. Using local solar expert stakeholder input into a participatory systems approach, this study provides a structural analysis of factors influencing household solar adoption. The approach is applied and assessed for household solar PV systems in Santiago, Chile, to gain insight into the interconnected factors driving technology adoption. Barriers …

Improving The Truck Driver Job, Kerry Melton

Operations Management Presentations

Freight transportation has increased dramatically over the last 35 years as freight and shipment demand have expanded resulting in truck driver and equipment capacity issues and infrastructure problems. Freight transport tonnage in the U.S. is predominately truck transportation consisting of more than 70% of all freight distribution with a 25% growth expectation over the next 5 years. Within the trucking industry, over-the-road (OTR) truckload transportation consists of 50% of all truck tonnage shipped. Due to high OTR truckload demand, OTR driver capacity issues have plagued the truckload industry for years. Additionally, high OTR driver turnover and poor driver job retention …

Compressed Air Systems Evaluation And Improvement, Lukas Swoboda

Honors Theses

This project was centered on recommending a new air compressor system for the Fluid System Connectors division of Parker Hannifin in Otsego, Michigan. The recommended compressor for the plant is a 250hp variable speed drive Ingersoll Rand Compressor. It is recommended that this compressor, along with two 35hp compressors already purchased by Parker be tied together using an automated system. In addition to the compressor, a flow controller was recommended to be implemented into the system.

Given that leaks are also a problem in the system, it is recommended that the majority of air leaks in the system be fixed …

Ranking Of Human Senses In Relation To Different In-Flight Activities Contributing To The Comfort Experience Of Airplane Passengers, Joyce Bouwens, Suzanne Hiemstra-Van Mastrigt, Peter Vink

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Bubb, Bengler, Grünen, and Vollrath (2015) identified six environmental comfort factors and ordered them from most important to least important (smell, light, vibrations, sound, climate and anthropometry). This paper attempts to verify whether this suggested order of comfort-related factors also applies to the expectations of aircraft passengers. For this purpose, two studies were carried out. First, a survey was conducted among 183 aircraft passengers between 19 and 64 years old. In this survey, respondents were asked to rank six comfort factors by selecting the most important factor from 15 pairs of factors (e.g. light versus smell). The respondents indicated anthropometry …

Cyclomatic Complexity Applied To Sysml Diagrams, Maliha Lubna

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

A Method For Robust Requirements Definition, Marc Gethers

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Leadership Style And Lean Expressed Through Respect, Proactivity, And Innovative Work Behavior, Reiner Martens

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

This dissertation is based on the idea that a leadership style is necessary to implement a lean culture within an organization. This research study employed a systematic literature review, from which a lean leadership model was developed. Based on the two principles of a lean organizational culture, 1. respect for people and 2. continuous improvement, three measurable variables were identified, respect, proactivity, and innovative work behavior. These three variables were connected to the lean leadership model. Leadership styles based on the full range model of leadership were used as independent variable(s). The overarching results of this study were: (1) transformational …