Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Retrospective Study And Predictive Modeling Of The Impact Of Social Determinants Of Health On Sepsis Outcomes, Mwembezi Aaron Nyelele

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sepsis, a life-threatening organ failure caused by the body’s abnormal and harmful response to an infection, remains a major global and national health challenge. In the United States, it contributes significantly to hospital mortality and imposes a substantial economic burden, with billions spent annually on treatment. Early diagnosis is difficult due to the nonspecific nature of sepsis symptoms, often leading to delays in care and poorer outcomes. As the incidence and severity of sepsis rise, identifying factors that influence outcomes is increasingly critical. Emerging research has shown that Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), including economic stability, education, neighborhood and built …

Effect Of Workload And Trust On Automation Levels In Human-Robot Collaboration, Abhiram Maddula

LSU Master's Theses

Automation is becoming increasingly common in manufacturing and assembly plants. The future lies in hybrid workspaces where the strengths of humans and robots complement each other, with robots excelling in precision, speed, and strength, and humans excelling in creativity, emotional intelligence, and complex decision-making. Collaborative robots can foster a more efficient and productive work environment by bridging the gap between human and machine capabilities. This study examines how semi-automated and automated modes impact human-robot collaboration, focusing on mental workload, trust, and task performance.

In this experiment, 58 participants performed a primary task alongside a collaborative robot assembling a miniature lamppost …

Evaluating Laser Tracking For The Improvement Of Quality Control Methods Of Precast Concrete, Blake A. Barbay

LSU Master's Theses

Current quality control (QC) methods of precast concrete are outdated and present challenges of human error and lengthy inspections. Current research into modernizing QC practices revolves around the implementation of laser scanners, with less focus on the possibility of using laser trackers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation of laser trackers into the QC process of precast concrete by comparing time, accuracy, and cost to the traditional method of using a tape measure. The time studies and accuracy tests were performed in the pre- and post-pour of the precast concrete process at a precast concrete plant …

Creating A Wholistic Manufacturing Score To Highlight The Effects Of Hidden Inefficiencies In Automated Manufacturing Caused By Soft Dedication And Preventative Maintenance Failures, Oded Tal

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The semiconductor industry is one of the most advanced manufacturing sectors, operating at an unparalleled scale and complexity. A new manufacturing facility costs between $500 million and $15 billion, and the industry's investment in automation is unmatched. However, the intricate and cyclical nature of semiconductor manufacturing creates very complex manufacturing facilities where the boundaries between planning and real-time operations often blur.

For the industry to keep improving, there is a need to create a new method that allows comparison among different manufacturing environments to uncover hidden losses that may be obscured by automation.

To better understand these hidden losses, the …

Development And Operationalizing Of The Learning Experience Design Process To Create Integrated Stem Interventions, Vanessa Begat

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Globally, the demand for people prepared to enter Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers is increasing. To help fill this demand, many formal and informal STEM educational interventions have been implemented in the K-12 domain. However, due to the lack of a clearly defined framework for documenting the nature and scope of the intervention (National Research Council, 2014), the interventions vary greatly in their success, sustainability, and replicability. This research is grounded in Educational Design Research and uses the principle of Learning Experience Design (LXD) to develop a framework for thoughtfully designing and documenting a STEM intervention. This framework …

Assessing Team Performance And Cohesion Of Isolated Multicultural Teams Using Digital Escape Rooms, Susannah J. Aronson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

History has shown that when multicultural teams are together for long periods of time, conflict can occur. When put in an isolated environment, these conflicts can become dangerous. This study looked at physically isolated multicultural teams through the lens of systems engineering and if a publicly available escape room video game could measure the team’s individual level team performance and cohesion. The author also evaluated the relationship between these success measures, cultural intelligence, and fusion collaboration. Results showed the escape room video game was a reliable and valid instrument to measure individual level team performance and cohesion. The validity correlation …

Optimal Planning And Design Of Operations And Maintenance Systems For Offshore Wind Farms, Md Imran Hasan Tusar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Feasible and sustainable sources of power are a critical issue nowadays. Offshore wind farms (OWF) can be a solution to power generation problems, but it is relatively more expensive— their installation cost is more than twice of their comparable size onshore counterparts. The cost that matters most is the operations and maintenance (O&M) cost. Expensive and sophisticated transfer vehicles and highly skilled technicians are needed to conduct O&M activities, resulting in a remarkably higher O&M cost for an offshore wind farm project. Offshore wind turbines can capture more wind than onshore turbines because of their larger structure and location in …

Application Of Learning Processes For Improving Last-Mile Logistics Optimization At Scale, Seyedeh Shaghayegh Rabbanian

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The escalating demands of omnichannel retailing, rapid urbanization and shifting customer behaviors have propelled last-mile vehicle routing logistics to the forefront of research. This last-mile phase, recognized as a significant contributor to costs and pollution in the supply chain, necessitates efficient route optimization to minimize expenses and environmental impact. This research delves into machine learning based techniques for solving large-scale Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), a fundamental concern in last-mile logistics, aiming to optimize delivery vehicle routing amidst diverse customer nodes and operational constraints. Three primary research subproblems are analyzed: utilizing machine learning for constructive solutions, Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS) metaheuristic, …

Multichannel Low-Cost Sensor For Iaq Monitoring: Implementation And Guidelines, Isaac Ntiamoah

LSU Master's Theses

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is adversely affected by both indoor and outdoor environments, and rental homes occupied by low-income families suffer the most. Poor indoor air can be detrimental to the health of occupants, especially for susceptible populations like those with respiratory diseases such as asthma. Although IAQ monitoring is necessary, it is a challenging, costly, and time-intensive task. Moreover, the protocol for assessing IAQ in residential settings varies, and additional research is needed to establish a standard operating procedure that incorporates new monitoring technologies, such as low-cost air sensors. However, there is a dearth of comprehensive, evidence-based protocols for …

Quality Control For Net Zero Energy Modular (Nzem) Homes And In-Factory Solar Plus Storage (Sps) System, Min Bahadur Pun Kayat

LSU Master's Theses

A Net Zero Energy Modular (NZEM) home provides an opportunity to achieve the quality and cost savings benefits of modular construction of zero energy homes. Compared to traditional code-built homes, the NZEM home has a better insulation system, leakage-proof envelope system, energy efficient lights and appliances, high-performance windows, and solar plus storage (SPS) system. The onsite construction industry is scrutinized for its poor productivity and quality standards compared to other sectors. In NZEM construction, the factory environment removes issues that can arise during onsite construction, including weather delays and material damage, leading to higher production costs. Most factories currently use …

The Impact Of Case Management Intervention For Insured Asthma Patients In Louisiana, An Empirical Study, Mohamed Mohamed Ohaiba

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Asthma is a chronic condition whose symptoms are managed/prevented using medication and interventions. The overarching objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of patients' demographics on case management enrollment and healthcare utilization, as well as to develop machine learning models to predict high-cost patients.

To accomplish these goals, the Man-Whiteness test, the chi-squares test, logistic regression and odds ratios, and machine learning models were implemented. The average cost of the non-enrolled CM group was significantly higher than the enrolled group (p-value .0001). In addition, the non-enrolled groups had considerably more visits to the emergency department than the other …

Integration Of Solar + Storage Installation Upstream In Modular Construction, Ondrej Labik

LSU Master's Theses

High initial costs, mainly due to inefficient construction processes, remains the greatest barrier for residential adoption of solar+storage (SPS) system. Modular construction, having a factory-controlled environment and control over the home design, is well suited to address these issues (e.g., efficiencies, waste, inventory control, quality). Furthermore, these areas have great potential in modular construction to address the high initial cost issue. This study focuses on the integration of SPS installation upstream in modular housing. Although moving the SPS installation process into the factory has many barriers (e.g., including change of scope of work at some workstations without affecting the whole …

Effect Of Automation Level On Cognitive Workload When Collaborating With A Robotic Assistant, Mitchell A. Champagne

LSU Master's Theses

Manufacturing robotics have been used for decades to perform repetitive tasks, or tasks that require increased levels of speed, strength, or precision to meet production and specification requirements. Determining the appropriate degree of automation for both the human and robot collaborative team members is critical to optimize production as well as user experience. If the degree of automation is too high, the human will be out of the loop which can result in the loss of situational awareness and be detrimental to intervention time and accuracy. If the degree of automation is too low, then the human may experience greater …

A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach With Prioritized Experience Replay And Importance Factor For Makespan Minimization In Manufacturing, Jose Napoleon Martinez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this research, we investigated the application of deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to a common manufacturing scheduling optimization problem, max makespan minimization. In this application, tasks are scheduled to undergo processing in identical processing units (for instance, identical machines, machining centers, or cells). The optimization goal is to assign the jobs to be scheduled to units to minimize the maximum processing time (i.e., makespan) on any unit.

Machine learning methods have the potential to "learn" structures in the distribution of job times that could lead to improved optimization performance and time over traditional optimization methods, as well as to adapt …

Designing For The Future: Sensor And Gauge Assembly Work Cell Design, Kaitryana Leinbach

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Analysis And Simulation Of Energy Performances Of Additive Manufacturing Systems, Mohammad Hassan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) is an evolving technology that offers distinct advantages over conventional subtractive manufacturing by fabricating a variety of complex-shaped parts with mass customization. Selective laser melting (SLM), electron beam melting (EBM), and fused filament fabrication (FFF) are popular AM processes. A recent growing trend in AM suggests the necessity of an energy study to explore energy performance measures. In this research, a comprehensive energy study is performed for various AM processes with three objectives. The first objective of this study is to assess relationships between energy performance measures and two key process parameters (infill patterns and infill percentages) …

An Improved Earned Value Management Method Integrating Quality And Safety, Brian Briggs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The construction industry invests significant time and money to improve quality and safety while reducing cost and schedule impacts. The industry has a sincere desire to improve construction project management methods to improve efficiency. Historically, quality and safety underperformances result from undermanaged quality control and safety activities. The cost and schedule impacts associated with poor quality work have always had an impact on construction operations. The unprecedented challenges and uncertainties of COVID-19 highlighted the need to improve the Earned Value Management (EVM) method within construction to reflect these quality and safety activities. The central goal of this dissertation is to …

The Effect Of Aircraft Manufacturing Riveting Tools On Hand-Arm Vibrations And Muscle Fatigue, Lou Toua Vi

LSU Master's Theses

The overall objective of this research was to compare four types of rivet guns varying by manufacturer and piston material (Tungsten vs. Steel), two rivet gun handle positions (Horizontal and Vertical), and three bucking bars including two with similar dimensions bars made of tungsten and steel, and a Honsa new technology spring dampener and tungsten combined bucking bar based on their impact on hand-arm vibrations and the effect of these vibration levels on muscle fatigue. This objective was covered in three parts. The first part consisted of examining the impact of these factors on riveters’ vibration exposure and muscle fatigue, …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Continuing Education At Emergency Medical Services, Tasmia Mustaquim

LSU Master's Theses

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) require staff to recertify periodically, which involves a significant amount of continuing education. Great effort is given to designing and delivering a continuing education program, but it is also important to know if the training had all of the intended impacts. Nationally, there is no evidence-based system in place for training evaluation at EMS. This research proposes a framework being used at East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Medical Services (EBRP-EMS) to evaluate a course, generate reports to indicate the performance of staff, and identify areas of improvement.

The Kirkpatrick Model, which is a 4-level evaluation, is …

Barriers And Facilitators Influencing Compliance With Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Protocol: A Qualitative Study, Paige Boudreaux

LSU Master's Theses

Standardization in many industries has proven to lead to improved productivity and efficiency, however, standard practice in healthcare has proven difficult due to patient and physician variation. Evidence-based practices provide an opportunity to create more standardization. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) programs are attempting to standardize the surgical pathways of patients by implementing standard evidence-based steps, beginning in the surgeons office and continuing through a patients discharge (Ljungqvist, Scott, & Fearon, 2017). Implementing ERAS to standardize the surgical care of patients has shown to improve patient outcomes, reduce length of stay and reduce readmissions, however, there is a lack of …

Rfid Item-Level Tagging In A Grocery Store Environment, Brian Truman

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this research was to investigate how effective item-level Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging would be using current RFID technology as a replacement for barcodes in a supermarket/grocery store environment.

To accomplish this, an experiment was be performed that utilized commercially available RFID technology. Passive Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID Tags were affixed to various grocery store items of different material categories (Food, Metal, Plastic, Liquid, and Glass), and placed in a metal shopping cart. Eight (8) antenna arrangements were created, comprised of different combinations of four (4) antennas in different locations around the cart.

The experiment was …

Systems Approach To Evaluating Mih-Cp (Mobile Integrated Healthcare – Community Paramedicine): A Case Study Of East Baton Rouge Parish (Ebrp) Emergency Medical Services (Ems) Community Paramedicine Program Initiative, Oluwakemi Aiyedun

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study applied a holistic method of healthcare program assessment, known as systems approach, to evaluate the efficacy of the East Baton Rouge Parish (EBRP) EMS Community-integrated Health Program (CIHP). The author developed assessment metrics following the Quadruple Aim Framework: IHI (Institute for Healthcare Improvement) Triple Aim + Provider Experience.

Results showed that the CP program in this study delivers high ratings on patient experience and provided a 51% return on investment (ROI) through reduced emergency service utilization, ED visits and inpatient hospital admissions. However, findings did not demonstrate meaningful improvement in patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and self-efficacy …

Identifying Key Factors Associated With High Risk Asthma Patients To Reduce The Cost Of Health Resources Utilization, Amani Ahmad

LSU Master's Theses

Asthma is associated with frequent use of primary health services and places a burden on the United States economy. Identifying key factors associated with increased cost of asthma is an essential step to improve practices of asthma management.

The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with over utilization of primary health services and increased cost via claims data and to explore the effectiveness of case management program in reducing overall asthma related cost.

Claims data analysis for Medicaid insured asthma patients in Louisiana was conducted. Asthma patients were identified using their ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes, forward variable …

The Effect Of Rest Period On Fatigue Using Electromyography During Manual Lifting, Nandakumar Prabhakar

LSU Master's Theses

Manual materials handing (MMH) is the main cause and concern for injuries in the working population which lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). MSDs significantly contribute to the cost of workers’ compensation and loss of productivity, thus impacting economy of the United States. MSDs are mainly caused due to over exertion and fatigue experienced by workers involved in manual materials handling. In addition to over-exertion and fatigue, lack of short and frequent rest intervals between tasks contributes to the risk of MSDs. The objective of this research was to study the effect of rest period on muscle fatigue using electromyography (EMG) …

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. …

The Evaluation Of The Integration Of Sustainability In Industrial Engineering Education At Louisiana State University, Kloe’ M. Liner

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Mixed Methods Study Of The Performance And Dynamics Of University Technology Transfer And Commercialization, Berk Dogan

LSU Master's Theses

The technology transfer and commercialization encompasses various activities involved in acquiring intellectual property rights for the inventions, marketing of the inventions, and diffusing into the public domain through commercialization. Although many scholars have studied technology transfer within the academic institutions' context, the process has been assumed to be sequential. The technology transfer process is a complex process to be generalized as a linear sequential process. A mixed methods approach has been used to triangulate the findings from the literature review and descriptive analyses to conceptualize an alternative model that reflects the actual process more accurately. It was found that the …