Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Computer Aided Process Planning System For Generating Alternative Process Plans, Rao T. Gali

Masters Theses

Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) has a key role in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) as an interface between design and manufacturing. Current CAPP systems treat process planning as a static function, and always generate the same machine and process combinations. Thus, these CAPP systems are inadequate for advanced manufacturing facilities such as Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS). This thesis presents research conducted for the design and development of a CAPP system called Alternative Computer Aided Process Planning (A-CAPP) which generates alternative process plans by interacting with production planning and machine loading functions to satisfy system capacity constraints.

A-CAPP is a variant …

Tardiness Heuristic For Scheduling Flexible Manufacturing Systems, Ali S. Kiran, Sema E. Alptekin, A. Celal Kaplan

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This paper evaluates the tardiness performance of a sampling-based adaptive heuristic in a dynamic manufacturing environment. A test bed, following a real world manufacturing system, has been developed. The proposed algorithm has been implemented in this simulated environment. After fine tuning the algorithm, it has been tested in various shop conditions. The results of these simulation studies are summarized.

A Modified M/G/1/N System And Its Application, Bernice Annette Figueroa

Theses

We study a single server queueing system with finite buffer, Poisson arrivals and exceptional service requirements for the first customer in each busy period. The system is studied as a Markov Chain and the limiting probability distributions are obtained. The explicit form sorution for the queue length distribution, blocking probability, waiting time distribution as well as the busy period are derived through the Laplace-Stieltjes transform method. These results are then applied to a tandem system with a finite buffer in front of the first station and no intermediate buffer between the two stations. Finally, similar results are obtained for the …

Surface Mapping And Automatic Tool Path Generation, Labiche Ferreira

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

With the use of machine vision systems in the manufacturing cycle of a product, the lead time for producing the final product has been substantially reduced. Efforts in the past have aimed at automating the tasks right from the drawing board stage to final production of the product. Such technologies include CAD, CAM, and CAPP. However the task of tool path (NC code) generation has not yet been fully automated. In the current techniques, the user plays a crucial role in the NC code generation process. There is an increasing trend for using machine vision systems in the fabrication of …

The Production Data-Based Similarity Coefficient Versus Jaccard's Similarity Coefficient, Hamid Seifoddini, Manocher Djassemi

Industrial Technology and Packaging

This paper compares the performance of Jaccard's similarity coefficient with the production data-based similarity coefficient. A number of machine-component charts taken from the literature or randomly generated are used to form machine-component groups. Then, the sum of intercellular and intracellular material handling costs for each machine-component group is calculated and used as a basis for performance evaluation of the two similarity coefficients.

Simulation Based Modeling And Scheduling Of A Generalized Flow- Line, Srinivas Anne

Theses

Simulation is a state of art technique, widely used to analyze the behavior of complex and dynamic real time systems. This study consists of two parts. The first part involves in the development of a simulation model of a real time flow line, used to assemble Printed Circuit Boards. The desired performance measures of the system, like, utilization, starving, blocking, failure and maintenance are recorded. The model developed can be used as a test pad to analyze scheduling rules and heuristics. This is illustrated in the second part of the study which consists of studying the behavior of the Apparent …

An Ergonomic Study Of Meat Processing Operations, Edgar Delgado

Masters Theses

In this study, physical stresses imposed on the different parts of the musculoskeletal system were assessed using a subjective ratings of perceived discomfort (RPD) scale in the meat industry. The effects of a microbreak system on the perceived discomfort of employees were studied. In addition, a comparison of human physical capacities (i.e., anthropometric, strength, and endurance measures) for Caucasian-American and Hispanic-Mexican employees in the meat industry was performed. These measures were also compared against those of employees engaged in manual material handling tasks. Twenty-eight employees participated in the study.

Based on this study, it can be concluded that: (a) RPD …

Lpsolver: A Linear Program Solving Package For Educational And Instructional Modeling Applications, Paul Savory, Jeffrey Arthur

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

LPSOLVER is a computer program developed to be a learning tool for students studying linear programming. This technical paper contains and overview of what LPSOLVER is and how to use it. The program allows one to enter linear programs in three different formats which are discussed in Section IV. Described in Section VI are the two methods available for solving linear programs. Other features of LPSOLVER are discussed in Section VII. Appendix A describes all the various files that LPSOLVER uses/creates. A listing of error messages is given in Appendix B. Information about how the program was implement is contained …

Synergy Of Artificial Neural Networks And Knowledge-Based Expert Systems For Intelligent Fms Scheduling, Luis Carlos Rabelo, Sema E. Alptekin, Ali S. Kiran

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

In this paper we describe a hybrid architecture that integrates artificial neural networks and knowledge-based expert systems to generate solutions for the real time scheduling of flexible manufacturing systems. The artificial neural networks perform pattern recognition and, due to their inherent characteristics, support the implementation of automated knowledge acquisition and refinement schemes through a feedback mechanism. The artificial neural network structures enable the system to recognize patterns in the tasks to be solved in order to select the best scheduling rule according to different demands. The knowledge-based expert systems are the higher order elements which drive the inference strategy and …

A Systematic Evaluation Technique For Assisting In The Identification And Prevention Of Wrist Stress In The Work Place, Karen Kleinfeld

Masters Theses

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a cumulative trauma disorder involving compression of the median nerve within the wrist. This disorder has become an industrial epidemic, striking workers whose daily activities involve repetitive motion, wrist deviation, awkward finger postures, and excessive forces to the hand. In an effort to identify and control existing trauma, as well as prevent the onset of further cases of CTS, a systematic evaluation technique has been developed to assist in the ergonomic analysis of the work place. This assessment technique identifies and quantifies occupational risk factors of a task that may predispose workers to CTS. With this …

Modcad: A Graphic Predetermined Time Standards Software For The Ibm P.C., Raad A. Dawood

Masters Theses

MODCAD is a software program designed to give MODAPTS (MODular Arrangement of Predetermined Time Standards) the capability to generate workplace layouts that can be used in conjunction with the time study analysis. Software packages have been developed for MODAPTS such as MODAPTS Plus and Task Master that allow the user to input the predetermined codes of MODAPTS.

AutoCAD (a computer aided design software) is used to combine MODAPTS codes and workplace layout drawings in a single environment by customizing the standard AutoCAD menus and icons to include the MODAPTS codes and routines. AutoLisp (AutoCAD resident language) is used to write …

A Study Of The Effect Of Flexibility On Manufacturing Performance, Prashanth B. Nagendra

Theses

Manufacturing flexibility has been a major topic of research in recent years. Researchers and managers are concerned about the role of flexibility in manufacturing performance. The strategic and economic impact of flexibility is of vital importance for managers in today's competitive industry.

This thesis initially provides an in-depth.perception of the prior research conducted in the area of manufacturing flexibility. Manufacturing flexibility, in this study, has been classified into four major types. Simple definitions and operational measures are provided for each of these primary types. The different factors effecting these flexibilities are identified. A new concept called the Cause-Effect-Flexibility-Technology diagrams based …

A Suggested Model Program For Cim Education, Sema E. Alptekin

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

No abstract provided.

Adaptive Scheduling And Control Using Artificial Neural Networks And Expert Systems For A Hierarchical/Distributed Fms Architecture, Luis Carlos Rabelo, Sema E. Alptekin

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

An adaptive expert scheduler was developed that learns by itself and adapts to the dynamic FMS environment. This hybrid system uses a symbiotic architecture composed of expert systems (ESs) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) and provides a learning scheme guided by past experience. The artificial neural networks recognize patterns in the tasks to be solved in order to select the best scheduling rule according to different criteria. The expert systems, on the other hand, drive the inference strategy and interpret the constraints and restrictions imposed by the upper levels of the control hierarchy of the flexible manufacturing system. The level …

Application Of Risk Analysis In Investment Decision Making For New Products, Chul Paik

Masters Theses

This study presents the development of a quantitative model to deal with the decision to invest or not invest in the development and production of a new product. It is most applicable to new products which present a high probability of economic failure. The model employs only simple mathematics and statistics, so the decision maker can easily understand the model.

The model uses as input data three variables. These include: (1) the risk of product failure, (2) the maximum loss a company can afford in an investment, and (3) the estimated project cost. These three variables combined furnish as output …

An Ergonomic Training Program For Manual Handling Tasks, Akhilesh Agrawal

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to test whether or not muscular endurance of individuals engaged in industrial manual handling tasks can be improved through a short and intensive training program. This investigation also involved the study of the effect of muscular endurance training program on muscular strength.

The study revealed that, over a six-week period, the muscular endurance can be improved significantly. After sixteen sessions of training, the endurance time increased over 500% for manual materials handling tasks and over 1200% for upper extremity manual handling tasks. The endurance training program, however, did not increase both static and dynamic …

A Sugar Movement Planning System For Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation, Nirmala Hindupur

IIMB Management Review

Public distribution of essential commodities is a vital sector of the Indian
economy. This sector, with its diverse activities, has tremendous scope for
efficiency improvement and cost control through the implementation of
Computer-Aided Management (CAM) Systems. Because of its vital importance,
this area is one of the thrust areas selected by CAM Centre, ASCI, Hyderabad
for the development of CAM systems.
The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. (KSCSC) is one of the
organizations identified for the development of CAM systems.
This paper describes the Sugar Movement Planning System designed
and developed under the GAM project by the author at …

Robotic Safety Utilizing A Safety Engineering Approach, Brian Gallagher

Theses

Robotic safety is examined and explained using a safety engineering perspective. After reviewing robot fundamentals and defining the need for safety, hazard assessment and risk analysis techniques are studied. Reasons for a comprehensive robot safety program are discussed. Currently available accident statistics are examined to better understand the hazards associated with robot installations. Robotic safety procedures and methods are listed which can help reduce the severity or frequency of hazards. Various safeguarding sensors and types are analyzed for they are the "last line of defense" to reduce hazards to an acceptable level. The American Robot Safety Standard, ANSI/RIA R15.06 - …

Integrating Scheduling And Control Functions In Computer Integrated Manufacturing Using Artificial Intelligence, Luis Carlos Rabelo, Sema E. Alptekin

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Proper integration of scheduling and control in Flexible Manufacturing Systems will make available the required level of decision-making capacity to provide a flexibly-automated, efficient, and quality manufacturing process. To achieve this level of integration, the developments in computer technology and sophisticated techniques of artificial intelligence (AI) should be applied to such FMS functions as scheduling. In this paper, we present an Intelligent Scheduling System for FMS under development that makes use of the integration of two AI technologies. These two AI technologies — Neural Networks and Expert Systems — provide the intelligence that the scheduling function requires in order to …

Group Set-Up For Printed Circuit Board Assembly, Tali F. Carmon, Oded Z. Maimon, Ezey M. Dar-El

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The current practice in the assembly of electronic components on printed circuit boards (PCBs) is serial production. a process characterized by very long set-up times. However, with the advent of efficient on-line process information .. new production control methods are now possible. This paper proposes a different production method, called the group set-up (GSU) method, which can significantly reduce set-up times. The traditional and the GSU production methods are compared, and it is shown that the GSU always performs better than the traditional method in terms of total production flow (throughput) and labour time However, the traditional method performs better …

A Systematic Transition To Flexible Manufacturing, Sema E. Alptekin, Daniel L. Webber

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The transition from basic automation to flexible manufacturing is an expensive and tedious procedure. It requires meticulous planning and almost clairvoyant forecasting to insure that the initial flexibility obtained is sufficient to allow growth and expansion in the future. This paper will suggest a systematic and methodological approach to achieve optimal flexibility and describe the present results of its application to an ongoing system transformation. Conclusions based on existing levels of completion are presented along with identification of critical and non critical flexibility requirements. The considerations and steps taken are summarized in a procedural format which may then be applied …

A Productivity Measurement System For Human Resources Management, Vivian C. Keenan

Theses

A Productivity Measurement System was designed to meet the needs of a company's Human Resources management. This thesis presents the design, testing, and implementation of this system.

During the design stage, the jobs and main activities were identified and the key volume indicators were established. Data was collected using time studies, work sampling techniques and historical data. Time studies and historical data were used primarily to measure the information for the activities. Work sampling techniques proved to be very effective in obtaining measurements for personal time and unavoidable delays.

The data was analyzed and time standards were set for the …

Optimal Allocation Of Water Among Industries In Dar Es Salaam City, Tanzania, J. I. Matondo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Dar es Salaam is the city with the largest number of industries in Tanzania. However, the water demand for these industries is more than the supply. Therefore, there is a water use competing problem among the industries. Dynamic programming technique has been applied to optimally allocate the available water among the industries with the objective of maximizing the net benefits. Results reveal that, industries with the highest net return per unit of water will get the first priority of being allocated water.

The Evaluation Of Efficiency Determination Of Screening Device (Pressure Screen) By Image Analysis, Rajeev Kumar Goyal

Masters Theses

The Omnicon 3600 image analyzer was used in the study of the evaluation of screening efficiency determination methods. It is very difficult to get a good over all contaminant mass balance across a pressure screen because of the factors involved such as sampling around a screen, time spent in collecting the samples, and possible size reduction of the contaminants by the pump and screen. The image analyzer gives the contaminant analysis in terms of the total number of particles, total area of all the particles, the mean particle area and a histogram of the contaminant size distribution. The histogram data …

Proposed Scheduling Methods For Printed Circuit Board Assembly, Tali Freed, Ezey M. Dar-El, Oded Z. Maimon

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The current practice in the assembly of electronic components on printed circuit boards (PCB's) is serial production, a process characterized by very long set-up times.

However. with the advent of efficient on-line process information, new production control methods are now possible. This paper proposes two new production methods - the Grouped Set-up (GSU) method and the Sequence-Dependent Scheduling (SDS) method, which can significantly reduce set-up times.

It is shown that the GSU always performs better than the SDS method in terms of total production flow (throughput). while the SDS performs better than the GSU method in terms of work-in-process (WIP) …

Learning Curve Model For Interrupted Production, Behzad Zarkoob

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally the learning curve technique has been applied to the case of continuous production. In such cases the cost par unit declines by a constant or staged percentage due to the learning phenomenon. Although this technique has been an important management tool to predict cost and productivity, there are other factors that wil~ affect the learning curves and its forecasts. One of these factors is "forgetfulness," which is caused by program interruptions for a significant period of time. It is expected that due to the interruption a relearning process may have to take place. The objective of this report is …

A Student Performance Evaluation Method For An Intelligent Simulation-Based Tutoring System, Camille Marie Dixon

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Intelligent simulation-based tutoring systems (ISTS) present intriguing and complex environments for the training of high performance skills. These skills involve the manipulation of objects within time and space constraints.

As with any tutoring system, there must exist a performance measurement methodology. Within an ISTS there is a module which functions as a tutor and a module which functions as a student modeler. These fundamental modules are required to make effective individualized tutoring decisions. However, each of these modules rely on information from a performance measurement system or evaluation system.

The objective of this research was to establish a performance evaluation …

Mrp, Jit, And Opt: A Comparison On The Production Floor, Donna M. Denicole Christopher

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

In order to compete in manufacturing, industry realizes it must work more efficiently with its resources. Three manufacturing techniques have been developed to assist industry in this challenge --MRP, JIT, and OPT. This paper compares these three techniques. It concentrates on the factors that affect production after vendor materials are in-house. A brief discussion of some of the implementation difficulties a company may face during the transition to a new philosophy is also addressed. Finally, a case study of a low volume, highly technical military project is evaluated and analyzed.

Management Considerations Of Productivity Issues For Local Government, Scott M. Gilbertson

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This report examines the issues needed to be addressed by a municipal manager and provides guidelines to follow when establishing a productivity measurement and improvement program. Examined in detail is the relationship of the municipality's quality of service delivery in relationship to productivity. The concerns of productivity in the public sector at the national and local levels are also identified.

Numerous difficulties are encountered when attempting to measure and improve productivity. Many of these difficulties are presented and several are discussed in detail. To overcome the identified difficulties, there are a number of techniques available, some of which are recently …

Some Reasons Why New Technologies Are Not Always Successful - Specifically Directed Toward Cim, Shuk Fong Lai

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

To keep the competitive edge, many companies constantly implement new technologies. However, the implementation of these new technologies are not always successful. Why?

Problems with implementation of new technologies can be either technical or managerial. This paper presents research limited to management problems and suggests the necessary changes. It also outlines the important factors in the decision-making process and the criteria for a successful implementation of a Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) system. Many experts believe that CIM is the ultimate solution to slow and reverse the decline of the U.S. global manufacturing market. However, some companies that have implemented CIM …