Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Rfid For Inventory Of Medical Records, Johny Wu

Biomedical Engineering

The purpose of this project is to explore the feasibility and economic viability of the implementation of a radio frequency identification (RFID) system in a large-scale, medical office setting. Practitioners in fields such as; medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers do not have a sufficient method for tracking filing forms. RFID has the potential to reduce wait time, improve checking-in time, and decrease the possibility of interchanging documents between patients.

The purpose of this RFID system is to improve upon the filing system already in place in any office setting. The major consideration behind this …

Development And Validation Of A Model For Granular Material Volume Measurements, Pourya Fasounaki

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Keeping inventory record of packed grains in silos poses challenges since the bulk material’s different segments do not discharge uniformly, leading to formation of random peaks and valleys on the surface. To facilitate obtaining accurate volume measurement of the grains by taking into account this non-linear behavior on the surface, laser or plumb-bob level-sensing devices are employed at different part of the surface to probe the level of material under those regions.

The main goals of this research is to study the behavior of granular material in silo while discharging downward and by doing so, differentiate certain flow patterns formed …

Current Trends Of Fmri In Vision Science: A Review, Nasser H. Kashou

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

Studying brain functional activities is an area that is experiencing rapid interest in the field of neuroimaging. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has provided vision science researchers a powerful and noninvasive tool to understand eye function and correlate it with brain activities. In this chapter, we focus on the physiological aspects followed by a literature review. More specifically, to motivate and appreciate the complexity of the visual system, we will begin with a description of specific stages the visual pathway, beginning from the distal stimulus and ending in the visual cortex. More importantly, the development of ascending visual pathway will …

Response Strategies For Critical Supply Shortages In Healthcare, Christopher Adkins

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The shortage of critical medical supplies in healthcare facilities is of obvious concern to both medical professionals and patients. Speci cally, the growing concern in this area is motivated, at least in part, by our dependence on generic pharmaceuticals. In the absence of FDA restrictions on the production of critical generic goods (e.g. morphine), manufacturers possess little financial incentive to produce numerous products whose patents have expired, but remain critical to patient care. Therefore, faced with crippling shortages, hospitals are left seeking ad-hoc solutions for meeting patient demand of these items. This work considers quantitative response strategies to mitigate the …

Patient And Nurse Considerations In Home Health Routing With Remote Monitoring Devices, Jessica Spicer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We build on the current consistent vehicle routing problem literature by formulating a novel multi- objective mathematical model of the home health scheduling and routing problem that includes the option of assigning some patient visits to remote monitoring devices, with the objectives of mini- mizing total cost, achieving nurse consistency and creating balanced nurse workloads. A heuristic solution approach that approximates the efficient frontier of this multiobjective problem is pre- sented and validated, and the results of using this methodology to solve several realistic instances are included. We also analyze the assignment of patients to devices and present some managerial …

Research And Development Effort In Developing The Optimal Formulations For New Tablet Drugs, Zhe Li

All Dissertations

Seeking the optimal pharmaceutical formulation is considered one of the most critical research components during the drug development stage. It is also an R&D effort incorporating design of experiments and optimization techniques, prior to scaling up a manufacturing process, to determine the optimal settings of ingredients so that the desirable performance of related pharmaceutical quality characteristics (QCs) specified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be achieved. It is widely believed that process scale-up potentially results in changes in ingredients and other pharmaceutical manufacturing aspects, including site, equipment, batch size and process, with the purpose of satisfying the clinical …

A Comprehensive Human Factors Analysis Of Off-Duty Motor Vehicle Crashes In The United States Military, Rebecca Iden

All Dissertations

Researchers have always had great interest in traffic safety and the phenomenon of motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). Though scores of service members are severely injured or killed in off-duty MVCs each year, few studies have addressed the MVC phenomenon within the military population and none have conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the causal factors associated with MVCs involving military personnel.
The main purpose of this dissertation was to gain a greater understanding of the causal factors associated with serious and fatal off-duty personal MVCs for military service members with the ultimate goal of preventing future losses. The HFACS-MVC framework was …

A New Metaheuristic Algorithm Motivated By The Rooting Phenomena In Plants, Behzad Nemati

All Theses

In this thesis, we present a new metaheuristic algorithm for analyzing challenging optimization problems. Initial testing reveals the potential for the algorithm, which is based on the rooting phenomena found in plants in nature, to quickly produce effective solutions to challenging combinatorial optimization problems in the class NP. We present computational results describing the proposed metaheuristic's efficacy for an important class of scheduling problems and discuss areas of future work and application.

A System-Generated Password And Mnemonic Approach To Optimize The Security And Usability Of Text-Based Passwords, Sanjaykumar Ranganayakulu

All Theses

In this study a novel password generation policy called the system-generated password and mnemonic was designed and implemented. The intent of this policy was to optimize both the security and usability of text-based passwords. After implementing the policy we evaluated its usability and compared it with three other existing policies: user-generated password, system-generated password and user-generated mnemonic for a system-generated password. In order to have a fair comparison among the policies we maintained a constant level of security of 30±2 entropy as dictated by NIST level 2 standards.
The study involved 64 participants, equally divided into four groups, 16 in …

Improving Health Care Quality And Safety: The Development And Assessment Of Laparoscopic Surgery Instrumentation, Practices And Procedures, Bernadette Mccrory

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Adverse events due to medical errors are a leading cause of death in the United States exceeding the mortality rates of motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer and AIDS. Improvements can and should be made to reduce the rates of preventable surgical errors since they account for nearly half of all adverse events within hospitals. Although minimally invasive surgery has proven patient benefits such as reduced postoperative pain and hospital stay, its operative environment imposes substantial physical and cognitive strain on the surgeon increasing the risk of error. In order to mitigate errors and protect patients, a multidisciplinary approach was taken …

Integrating Courses Through Project Based Learning, Lizabeth Schlemer, Sema E. Alptekin, Karen R. Bangs

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Integrating three courses (one sophomore level, two senior level) through Project Based Learning (PBL) within the Industrial Engineering curriculum at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo is presented. Three courses (IME 443 Facilities Planning and Design - senior level; IME 420 Simulation - senior level; and IME 223 Process Improvement Fundamentals - sophomore level) were linked by various mechanisms: Common industry projects, common students in two of the three courses; senior students having access to sophomores in their teams to carry out time consuming tasks such as time studies, and sophomores having access to seniors as team members, …

Sustainable Purchasing Practices: An Investigation Into Current Industry Awareness And Practice., Francis X. Palisi

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

This research study illustrates the growing importance of sustainable purchasing practices and answers two important questions: what is the current awareness of U.S. organizations on sustainable purchasing practices with regards to evaluating, selecting, and retaining suppliers and to what extent are these practices being implemented? The research conducted is based upon an in-depth literature review of green purchasing and sustainability initiatives. With an ever increasing global economy with no intention of slowing down it is ever important to look towards sustainability practices and the biggest impact organizations can make is in the purchasing department. The researcher begins by explaining their …

Safety, Ergonomics And Human Factors Engineering On Biomedical Devices Design, Alejandra Sandoval Vazquez^, Noe Vargas Hernandez*

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Spring 2012

No abstract provided.

Examining Combat Effectiveness In Asymmetric Engagements With Balanced Forces Using The Information Age Combat Model, Nevan E. N. Shearer

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

With advances in networked communications, the capabilities of command and control (C2) have come to play an increasingly larger role in battlefield success. Within the past two decades a new military strategy has evolved, known as Network-Centric Operations (NCO), which puts information superiority on the frontline. Moreover, the information advantage that is gained through information superiority is translated into a tactical war-fighting advantage.

A research gap has been identified in the investigation of networked combat force configurations in the realm of asymmetric engagements. Specifically, the research question is, how should an information age combat force be networked in order to …

Determining Kanban Size Using Mathematical Programming And Discrete Event Simulation For A Manufacturing System With Large Production Variability, Abigail Michele Gaston

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In order to become more competitive and aggressive in the marketplace it is imperative for manufacturers to reduce cycle time, limit work-in-process, and improve productivity, responsiveness, capacities, and quality. One manner in which supply chains can be improved is via the use of kanbans in a pull production system. Kanbans refer to a card or signal for productions scheduling within just-in-time (JIT) production systems to signal where and what to produce, when to produce it, and how much. A Kanban based JIT production system has been shown to be beneficial to supply chains for they reduce work-in-process, provide real time …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between An Engineering Manager's Purpose-Seeking Beliefs And Behaviors And The Engineering Manager's Perception Of Employee Creativity, Initiative And Purpose-Seeking Behavior, Charles Burton Daniels

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Organizations have placed an overwhelming emphasis on extrinsic motivation of its workforce, normally in the form of financial incentives, in an attempt to assure individual and organizational high performance. While a significant level of financial resources is expended in this attempt to predict and influence employee behavior, no objective evidence exists of a favorable return of investment. In fact, the primary impact of most extrinsic motivation might actually be demotivation – the opposite of the intended use.

In this research the prevailing literature was examined and a conclusion about the power of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation was synthesized to …

Agile Knowledge Management; A Review, Reconceptualization, And Extension To Military Applications, Dogan Ozturk

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to explore the conceptual background of agility in knowledge management, re-conceptualize it and extend it to military applications with a special focus on Counterinsurgency (COIN).

An initial qualitative exploration of agility in knowledge management was performed. Three different concepts and their interrelationships were analyzed: (1) knowledge management, (2) agility in operations, and (3) military organizations in the COIN environment. Findings from this initial qualitative analysis were used to inductively redefine, re-conceptualize and extend the concept of Agile Knowledge Management (AKM), as well as, to compare and adapt the AKM concept to the military environment …

A Case Study Investigation On Purchasing Green Transport And Logistics Services, Pietro Evangelista, Maria Huge-Brodin, Karin Isaksson, Edward Sweeney

Conference papers

In the context of green supply chain management, green purchasing has received increased attention over the past decade and the strategic importance of introducing green aspects into purchasing practices has been recognised. Despite this growing importance, little has been written in relation to purchasing green transport and logistics services. Considering the strong environmental impact associated with transport and logistics activities, much remains to be learned concerning buyer’s practices when sourcing more sustainable services from third party logistics companies (3PLs). The aim of this paper is to explore practices of buying green transport and logistics services in three different European countries …

A Discrete Event Simulation Of Network Centric Operations: Modeling Unbalanced Combat Configurations In Symmetric Engagements, Mahmoud Turki Khasawneh

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Network Centric Operations (NCO) has been dubbed the most significant revolution in military affairs (RMA) in the past 200 years. The promise of NCO is based on the notion that information sharing and connectivity is fundamental to the effectiveness of a combat force. This due to the ability of a properly networked force to self-synchronize itself as it engages enemy forces. The purposeful arrangement of assets in a combat force is what makes it 'properly networked'. What is a purposeful arrangement of combat assets? How should a force organize to enhance information sharing and connectivity? And how does connectivity within …

A Unified Enterprise-Wide Cost Modeling Framework For Engineering Applications Based On Systems Engineering Principles, Yousuf S. Mohammed

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In the present research the problem of enterprise-wide cost modeling is approached from a systems engineering standpoint. What this does is to use each stage of product life cycle to obtain useful information that helps in estimating the cost of the system. Once a generic framework is developed for estimating the core cost, layers of other factors that affect the cost are applied to the core cost, such as risk and uncertainty, maintainability, supply-chain and socioeconomic conditions. The cost model is expanded to accommodate a product domain ranging from a simple object to a system in the following hierarchy: System, …

An Analysis Of Factors Affecting The Effective Use Of Knowledge Management In Counter Improvised Explosive Device (C-Ied) Operations, Umit Gencer

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates factors that influence effective use of Knowledge Management (KM) in Counter Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) operations in the military.

The study suggests that effective KM program is determined by the interaction of three organizational capabilities: knowledge infrastructure, knowledge process, and leadership orientation.

A self-administrated survey was conducted on 300 NATO staff officers who have served in C-IED environments. A structural equation modeling technique was used to test a set of hypotheses using 118 completed responses collected from the survey.

The results suggest that out of the 11 constructs within the model; two are rated as 'attribute needs …

Rapid Prototype Development Of A Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Powered By A Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System, Michael P. Molesworth, Jacob K. English

Theses and Dissertations

Remotely-Piloted Aircraft (RPA) provide users with unique mission capabilities, particularly on-demand overhead surveillance. However, a capability gap has been identified between the range and endurance of RPAs powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) and the reduced acoustic signature and smaller logistical footprint associated with electric-powered RPAs. This research, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, aims at advancing systems engineering education by evaluating the utility of a tailored systems engineering approach. The tailored systems engineering approach used herein focuses on conducting a concept evaluation study on the rapid prototype development of a parallel hybrid-electric RPA (HE-RPA) and its …

Effect Of Gold Content On The Microstructural Evolution Of Sac305 Solder Joints Under Isothermal Aging, Mike Powers, Jianbiao Pan, Julie Silk, Patrick Hyland

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Au over Ni on Cu is a widely used printed circuit board (PCB) surface finish, under bump metallization (UBM), and component lead metallization. It is generally accepted that less than 3 wt.% Au in Sn-Pb solder joints inhibits formation of detrimental intermetallic compounds (IMC). However, the critical limit for Au content in Pb-free solder joints is not well established. Three surface-mount package platforms, one with a matte Sn surface finish and the others with Ni/Au finish, were soldered to Ni/Au-finished PCB using Sn-3.0Ag- 0.5Cu (SAC305) solder, in a realistic manufacturing setting. The assembled boards were divided into three groups: one …

Assessing Aviation E-Marketplaces: A Mmulti-Criteria Approach., Emilio Esposito, Pietro Evangelista, Michele Mastroianni, Renato Passaro, Edward Sweeney, Claudia-Maria Wagner

Books/Book chapters

After a proliferation of logistics e-Marketplaces during the dot.com boom of 1998-2000, there has been a high rate of failure and survivals are developing much more slowly than expected. This is the case in the aviation industry where a large number of B2B e-Marketplaces emerged according to the focus of aviation companies’ strategies on electronic B2B in the late 1990s. However, the current use of e-Marketplaces in the industry is low and many of them have ceased trading. The traditional e-Marketplaces model has been characterised by poor quality portals and a lack of technical standards. Such an approach is unsustainable …

The Morphology Evolution And Voiding Of Solder Joints On Qfn Central Pads With A Ni/Au Finish, Julie Silk, Jianbiao Pan, Mike Powers

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

In this paper, we report on a comprehensive study regarding the morphology evolution and voiding of SnAgCu solder joints on the central pad of two different packages – QFN and an Agilent package called TOPS – on PCBs with a Ni/Au surface finish. Samples were isothermally aged at the equivalent of 0, 2, 7 and 14 years service life. Representative solder joints were cross-sectioned and analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) in order to investigate the evolution of the solder joint morphology as a function of Au content and isothermal aging. IMC thickness was …

New Window On Optical Brain Imaging; Medical Development, Simulations And Applications, Chemseddine Mansouri, Nasser H. Kashou

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

In this chapter we hope to give a technological review of near-infrared light and systems, discuss optode design considerations including background on the fiber design as it relates to this field and finally touch on current trends and applications. For the latter, we will focus on diffusion theory and simulation of photon propagation using a head model. We will follow this with concluding remarks.

A Study Of Queuing Theory In Low To High Rework Environments With Process Availability, Adam J. Brown

Theses and Dissertations--Manufacturing Systems Engineering

In manufacturing systems subject to machine and operator resource constraints the effects of rework can be profound. High levels of rework burden the resources unnecessarily and as the utilization of these resources increases the expected queuing time of work in process increases exponentially. Queuing models can help managers to understand and control the effects of rework, but often this tool is overlooked in part because of concerns over accuracy in complex environments and/or the need for limiting assumptions. One aim of this work is to increase understanding of system variables on the accuracy of simple queuing models. A queuing model …

Network-Based Data Collection For A Project-Based Freshman Class, Samuel Bogan Daniels, Cheryl Q. Li, David Harding

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

The hands-on experience for engineering students is often lacking with class sizes increasing and classroom resources under constant pressure. Even with smaller class sizes and studio classrooms there is only so much equipment and technical support to run experiments and allow for student interaction. Network-based data collection and control may alleviate some of these issues and allow for more hands-on experiences, although remote, in the classroom. This paper discusses the interesting problems and not so obvious pitfalls of setting up some simple network-based data acquisition systems for a multidisciplinary freshman level engineering course. The course as currently taught includes some …

Throughput Analysis And Bottleneck Management Of Production Lines, Hatice Ucar

Wayne State University Dissertations

Companies are increasing their manufacturing excellence in order to stay competitive in the globalizing market. Plants are becoming more complex year by year due to increasing product classes, hardware complexity, etc... The design and operation of manufacturing systems is of greater importance today than it was in the past. Many studies have been carried out on the design and operation of manufacturing systems by academicians and practitioners over the years, however, there is still no agreement on how to best predict and improve the factory performance (Gershwin, 2000). The studies are based on either analytical approaches or simulation-based approaches. Success …

Sampling Based Progressive Hedging Algorithms For Stochastic Programming Problems, Nezir Aydin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Many real-world optimization problems have parameter uncertainty. For instances where the uncertainties can be estimated to a certain degree, stochastic programming (SP) methodologies are used to identify robust plans. Despite advances in SP, it is still a challenge to solve real world stochastic programming problems, in part due to the exponentially increasing number of scenarios. For two-stage and multi-stage problems, the number of scenarios increases exponentially with the number of uncertain parameters, and for multi-stage problems also with the number of decision stages.

In the case of large scale mixed integer stochastic problem instances, there are usually two common approaches: …