Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Identifying Key Factors Of Rail Transit Service Quality: An Empirical Analysis For Istanbul, Erkan Isikli, Nezir Aydin, Erkan Celik, Alev Taskin Gumus

Journal of Public Transportation

Providing a high quality of service in public transportation is essential to reduce dissatisfactions stemming from traffic congestion and noise. Public transport providers need to find ways to dilute the effects of immoderate use of private cars in big cities while maintaining a sufficient level of customer satisfaction. This study aimed to identify the key service quality (SQ) factors that drive passenger satisfaction in Istanbul’s rail transit (RT) system using data obtained from an extensive survey conducted by the Istanbul Public Transportation Co. A total of 11,116 passengers who used rail transport from May 15–June 3, 2012, and June 17–July …

Advances In Composite Manufacturing Of Helicopter Parts, Tobias A. Weber, Hans-Joachim K. Ruff-Stahl

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This study investigates and compares different methods for improving standard autoclave composite manufacturing in order to find suitable approaches to a more efficient composite production. The goal is not only a reduction in manufacturing times and costs but also quality enhancement. Improved part quality while decreasing costs enables a manufacturer of composite parts to expand its market share, especially in the helicopter market, which has been constantly shrinking over the last two years. Various approaches such as improved tooling technology, the use of automated systems for lamination as well as outsourcing are examined to provide an overview of possible advancements …

Developing Innovation Capability In A Mass Production Organization, Mark Douglas Dolsen

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

DEVELOPING INNOVATION CAPABILITY IN A MASS PRODUCTION ORGANIZATION

by

MARK DOLSEN

May 2017

Advisor: Dr. Ratna Babu Chinnam

Major: Industrial Engineering

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Auto parts manufacturing is a key element of the North American automotive supply chain, and a significant component of the economy of Ontario, Canada. Employment in this sector declined 40% from 2003 to 2010 as the industry experienced a recession, and many firms relocated to lower wage jurisdictions as the Canadian currency strengthened against the US dollar. Experts contend that the solution for the industry lies in innovation; however, recommendations found in the current …

Modeling Supply Chain Resiliency, Jeff A. Hazel

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Engineered Resilient Systems (ERS) is a Department of Defense (DoD) program focusing on the effective and efficient design and development of complex engineered systems throughout their life cycle. There is a growing literature with qualitative definitions of resilience and quantitative models for systems with one performance measure. This paper uses a quantitative resilience framework (the Framework for ERS) that includes system design options, reliability, threats, vulnerabilities, responses, and consequences assessed in multiple system performance measures. The framework assists in establishing a model for any system to evaluate resiliency. This paper applies this framework using Multiple Objective Decision Analysis (MODA) to …

Developing A Logistics Risk Assessment Tool, Daniel C. Fritsche

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Economies around the world have thrived in the wake of the development and keen understanding of effective supply chain management practices. As a result, organizations have become more dependent on other organizations to move their products and services to completion due to complex sourcing and shipping arrangements that have precipitated from the formation of sophisticated supply chains. A supply chain is in general a flow of products or services. When this flow is disrupted or halted, disastrous consequences can ensue. In the worst cases, such as with a disaster relief organization like the American Red Cross, disruptions in supply chains …

Designing A Mobile Space Habitat Analog, Victor Kitmanyen, Matthew Burkhard, Timothy Disher

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

No abstract provided.

Renewable Energy Investment Planning And Policy Design, Alireza Ghalebani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we leverage predictive and prescriptive analytics to develop decision support systems to promote the use of renewable energy in society. Since electricity from renewable energy sources is still relatively expensive, there are variety of financial incentive programs available in different regions. Our research focuses on financial incentive programs and tackles two main problem: 1) how to optimally design and control hybrid renewable energy systems for residential and commercial buildings given the capacity based and performance based incentives, and 2) how to develop a model-based system for policy makers for designing optimal financial incentive programs to promote investment …

A Simulation Model For Decision Support In Business Continuity Planning, Marissa Anne Mosunich

Master's Theses

Enterprises with a global supply network are at risk of lost revenue as a result of disruptive disasters at supplier locations. Various strategies exist for addressing this risk, and a variety of types of research has been done regarding the identification, assessment and response to the risk of disruption in a supply chain network.

This thesis establishes a decision model to support Business Continuity Planning at the first-tier supplier level. The decision model incorporates discrete-event simulation of supply chain networks (through Simio software), Monte Carlo simulation, and risk index optimization. After modeling disruption vulnerability in a supply chain network, costs …

A Scalable Algorithm For Locating Distribution Centers On Real Road Networks, Saeed Ghanbartehrani, Jose D. Porter

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

The median problem is a type of network location problem that aims at finding a node with the total minimum demand weighted distance to a set of demand nodes in a weighted graph. In this research, an algorithm for solving the median problem on real road networks is proposed. The proposed algorithm, referred to as the multi-threaded Dijkstra’s (MTD) algorithm, is then used to optimally locate Wal-Mart distribution centers on the 28-million node road network of the United States with the objective of minimizing the total demand weighted transportation cost. The resulting optimal location configuration of Wal-Mart distribution centers improves …

Evaluating Transaction Pairing Strategies For Vehicle-Based High-Density Storage Systems, Debjit Roy, Harit Joshie

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

Vehicle-based storage and retrieval systems present an attractive choice for distribution center automation because it provides the flexibility in managing demand fluctuations without affecting transaction throughput times. In this research, we contend that while dual-command cycles can reduce the vehicle travel times for processing transactions, it may not be the best policy for reducing transaction throughput times when transactions arrive at random time instants. We develop stochastic models to test the transaction throughput time performance with multiple pairing strategies and present operational insights.

Continuous Approximation Of Multi Cycle Time For Multi Aisles Automated Storage And Retrieval Systems., Yassine Boudghene Stambouli, Latefa Ghomri

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

Knowing that, in an automated storage and retrieval system, the travel time of the storage/retrieval machine is an important parameter which affects the whole system performances, several works were dedicated to its evaluation and its modeling, in single, dual and multi command. These models were proposed for different configurations of AS/RS; such as unit load, multi-aisles and Mobile Racks. These models are based mainly on a discrete approach and the analytical expressions represent the system functioning exactly. In this paper we present a general approach for analytical modeling of multi command cycle time by giving particularly the modeling of the …

Outsourced Storage And Fulfillment Facility To Enhance The Service Capabilities Of Shopping Mall Tenants, Zachary Montreuil, Mike Ogle

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

This paper proposes development of an Inventory and Fulfillment Center (IFC) that will provide a new range of outsourced, centralized storage and services for shopping mall tenants. The paper describes the competitive issues faced by shopping mall tenants, the requirements and features of a centralized, outsourced storage and fulfillment facility, and development of an agent-based model in AnyLogic® to demonstrate the concept. The range of research and business challenges introduced by this new concept are also presented.

New Design Guidelines For In-Plant Milk-Run Systems, Thorsten Schmidt, Ingolf Meinhardt, Frank Schulze

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

Tugger trains became a popular means of supply in material handling intensive production systems. In contrast to forklift trucks they interlink a supermarket with multiple delivery locations along a transport route in a milk-run. But the efficiency gain (higher transport capacity, reduced labor costs) has its price: Compared to forklift trucks, planning and dimensioning of in-plant milk-run systems is more complicated. The paper discusses features and drawbacks of a recent standardization approach of the Association of German Engineers (VDI) and highlights the variety of technical restrictions which have to be considered when a milkrun system is designed. It shows, that …

The Storage Replenishment Problem In Rectangular Warehouses, Haldun Sural, Claudia Archetti, Melih Celik

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

In warehouses, storage replenishment operations involve the transportation of items to capacitated item slots in forward storage area from reserve storage. These items are later picked from these slots as their demand arises. While order picking constitutes the majority of warehouse operating costs, replenishment operations might be as costly in warehouses where pick lists generally consist of only a few lines (e.g., order fulfillment warehouses). In this study, we consider the storage replenishment problem in a parallel-aisle warehouse, where replenishment and order picking operations are carried out in successive waves with time limits. The aim is to determine the item …

Performance Comparison Of Automated Warehouses Using Simulation, Nand Kishore Agrawal, Sunderesh S. Heragu, Chinnatat Methapatra

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of two types of warehouses, both of which use autonomous vehicles (AVs). One warehouse uses movable racks (MR) for storing mini-loads, whereas the other uses fixed racks (FR). In general, warehouse automation not only increases the speed of the fulfillment process but also makes the picking process more accurate. We simulate three scenarios for the MR and FR systems using Simio. Four performance measures are considered for the comparison – the average order processing time (WR), the average utilization of AVs (U), the average order processing queue length (Nq) and …

Job Sequencing In A Miniload System, Lennart Baardman, Kees Jan Roodbergen

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

More and more warehouses shift towards the use of automated systems. One such system is a miniload system. In this system, a crane retrieves bins from their storage locations and brings the bins to the picking station, where a worker takes the requested products from the retrieved bins. After a product has been picked, the bin is put back by the crane in its original location. A buffer is present at the picking station to absorb fluctuations in speed between the picker and the crane. The problem of scheduling jobs in this system has received little attention in the literature. …

Dual-Tray Vertical Lift Modules For Fast Order Picking, Daria Battini, Martina Calzavara, Alessandro Persona, Fabio Sgarbossa

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

In the last years, new solutions for order picking systems have been developed both from industry and academics, especially for small items. They include innovative flexible automatic parts-to-picker systems and optimized picker-to-parts ones. One of these solutions consists in the use of Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs), a storage column in which small items are stored in extractable trays. In this paper, we study a new system composed by dual-tray VLMs where the operators perform picking and sorting activities. We propose several actions in order to improve the productivity of the entire system: 1) class based storage assignment of items inside …

Throughput Rate Of A Two-Worker Stochastic Bucket Brigade, Yossi Bukchin, Eran Hanany, Eugene Khmelnitsky

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

Work-sharing in production systems is a modern approach that improves throughput rate. Work is shifted between cross-trained workers in order to better balance the material now in the system. When a serial system is concerned, a common work-sharing approach is the Bucket-Brigade (BB), by which downstream workers sequentially take over items from adjacent upstream work- ers. When the workers are located from slowest-to-fastest and their speeds are deterministic, it is known that the line does not suffer from blockage or starvation, and achieves the maximal theoretical throughput rate (TR). Very little is known in the literature on stochastic self-balancing systems …

A Performance Measurement Framework And Solution Approach For The Integrated Facility Layout Problem With Uncertain Demand, Melih Celik, Begun Efeoglu, Haldun Sural

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

The integrated facility layout problem (IFLP) focuses on the simultaneous determination of the relative locations of multiple copies of capacitated equip- ment or machinery in a facility, as well as the material ow between these units. In this paper, we consider the IFLP in the existence of uncertain demand for the products of the facility. Motivated by the framework for next generation facility layouts by Benjaafar et al. (2002), we extend the approaches in the lit- erature for distributed facility layouts to the case of dynamic demand and the possibility of relayouts, and propose a heuristic solution approach to minimize …

Transport Items And Physical Internet Handling Boxes: A Comparison Framework Across Supply Chains, Eric Ballot, Benoit Montreuil

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

Pallets, cardboard boxes, and plastic crates are widely used tools to operate supply chains. As such they have many impacts on handling effort, shipment protection, transport mean utilization as well as repositioning and recycling efforts and they represent billions of assets spread all over the world. The historical and local origins of the designs and the sharing among many stakeholders do not ensure at all any kind of global optimization. The purpose of this paper is to define and explain a research effort to better measure and evaluate the efficiencies and inefficiencies for supply chain stakeholders for themselves and globally. …

Energy And Cycle Time Efficient Warehouse Design For Autonomous Vehicle-Based Storage And Retrieval System, Banu Yetkin Ekren, Tone Lerher

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

This study explores the best warehouse design for an autonomous vehicle based storage and retrieval system (AVS/RS) minimizing average energy consumption per transaction and average cycle time per transaction, simultaneously. In the design concept, we consider, rack design in terms of number of bays, number of tiers, number of aisles; number of resources, namely number of autonomous vehicles and lifts and; velocity profiles of lifts and autonomous vehicles in the AVS/RS. We completed 1,296 number of experiments in simulation to obtain Pareto solutions representing the “average energy consumption per transaction” and “average cycle time per transaction” trade-offs based on designs …

Determination Of Cycle Times For Double Deep Storage Systems Using A Dual Capacity Handling Device, Katharina Dorr

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

Double deep storage is an efficient method to improve space utilization in warehouses. Contrary to intuition, it also can be efficient when considering retrieval times, since the aisles of a warehouse with double deep storage may be shorter than comparable warehouses with single deep storage. AS/RS-machines equipped with two load-handling units might further improve the situation, since two storage units (for instance pallets or cases) can be stored and retrieved, effectively allowing quadruple command cycles, bringing in total two storage units into the aisle and retrieving two storage units at the same time. In this paper, we present a method …

A Simulation Model To Evaluate The Layout For Block Stacking Warehouses, Shahab Derhami, Jeffrey S. Smith, Kevin R. Gue

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

Storing pallets of Stock Keeping Units (SKU's) on top of another in lanes on a warehouse floor is known as block stacking. This storage system is widely used in manufactoring systems and distribution centers. The arrangement of lanes in the layout of this system significantly impacts utilization of the storage space and transportation costs. Existing research that studies the layout for this system focuses exclusively on determining the optimal lane depth with respect to space utilization and ignores transportation costs. In this study, we develop a stimulation model that computes several performance metrics to evaluate both of these objectives for …

A Novel Approach To Analyze Inventory Allocation Decisions In Robotic Mobile Fulfillment Systems, Tim Lamballais, Debjit Roy, M.B.M De Koster

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

The Robotic Mobile Fulfillment System is a newly developed automated, parts-to-picker material handling system. Storage shelves, also known as inventory pods, are moved by robots between the storage area and the workstations, which means that they can be continually repositioned during operations. This paper develops a queueing model for optimizing three key decision variables: (1) the number of pods per product (2) the ratio of the number of pick to the number of replenishment stations, and (3) the replenishment level per pod. We show that too few or too many pods per product leads to unnecessarily long order throughput times, …

Simulation-Based Energy And Cycle Time Analysis Of Shuttle-Based Storage And Retrieval System, Tone Lerher, Banu Yetkin Ekren, Anil Akpunar

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

This study explores the best warehouse design for shuttle-based storage and retrieval system (SBS/RS) minimizing average energy consumption per transaction and average cycle time per transaction, simultaneously. For that we provided average energy consumption per transaction versus average cycle time per transaction graphs, for different design scenarios of the studied SBS/RS warehouse. In the design concept, we considered, rack design in terms of number of bays, number of tiers, number of aisles, as well as velocity profiles of lifts in the system. We completed 144 number of experiments by simulation to see the trade-offs based on the design scenarios and …

Non-Traditional Aisle Design For A Manufacturing Facility Layout, Dale T. Masel, Dean Marinchek

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

Methods for designing a facility layout typically assume that the aisles for interdepartmental travel will be parallel to the exterior walls of the facility. However, by putting aisles at an angle to the exterior walls, more direct routes between departments can be created, reducing travel distance. This paper describes a method to create a facility layout that does not have orthogonal aisles and testing of the resulting layouts shows that travel distance is reduced.

Operational-Level Optimization Of Inbound Intralogistics, Hector J. Carlo, Yeiram Martinez

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

This study is concerned with optimizing inbound operations at distribution centers (DCs), warehouses, and cross-docks with staging areas. The objective of the problem is to minimize the makespan required to move all unit loads from the trailers to the flow racks, and from the flow racks to their respective storage locations. It is assumed that a set of inbound trailers with known composition have been assigned and sequenced to inbound dock doors. The following three inbound logistics decisions are simultaneously considered: i) unloaders’ assignment and scheduling, ii) loads-to-flow rack assignment, and iii) assignment and haulers’ scheduling. In this study we …

Understanding Worker Blocking And The Design Process, Russell D. Meller, Lisa M. Thomas

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

Designing a distribution center (DC) is a complex process that consists of answering dozens of interrelated questions. From our perspective, the penultimate question is one of which picking methodology is optimal. To answer this question requires a full evaluation of picking methodologies in terms of their ability to meet the expected throughput requirements of the system. In manual picking systems, as throughput requirements increase, worker interaction and blocking increase as well. This implies that being able to estimate the amount of worker blocking in a system is critical to a design effort. Most of the prior research in this area …

Introducing The Concept Of Hyperconnected Mobile Production, Suzanne Marcotte, Benoit Montreuil

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

Many globalized businesses are trying to cope with growing competition by strategically expanding their dedicated network of production facilities so as to be able to offer and to deliver time and price competitive offers to their clients across the world. In this paper, exploiting Physical Internet principles, we introduce the concept of hyperconnected mobile production that can alternatively enable businesses to dynamically expand and contract as necessary their production capacity in regions worldwide. First, hyperconnected mobile production exploits open fabs from multiple parties readily available in those regions. Second, these fabs are to rely on plug-and-play production modules. These modules …

A High-Density, Puzzle-Based System For Rail-Rail Container Transfers, Kevin Gue

14th IMHRC Proceedings (Karlsruhe, Germany – 2016)

We describe a high-density, puzzle-based storage and transfer system for containers in a rail-to-rail hub for the Physical Internet. The system uses a new algorithm called GridHub, which is able to transfer items in all four cardinal directions simultaneously within a grid. We show how the GridHub system might be used in a rail-rail transfer hub to transfer containers between one side of the grid and a train.