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Industrial Engineer

VOLUME 48 : NUMBER 1: $17.50JANUARY 2016

Value stream analysisfor lean facility design

How many employeesdo you really need?

New manufacturing focusat New Mexico State

Old military aircraft requirehigh maintenance

Engineering and management systems at work
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2/39January 2016 | Industrial Engineer 31

VALUE STREAMDESIGNING A FACTORY

actur

could be viab hed b

By Klaus Erlach and Erin Sheehan


3/39

Valuestreamdesigningafactory

32 Industrial Engineer | www.iienet.org/IEmagazine

The design of optimal produc-

tion procedures is a factory

planners most important and

central duty. This undertak-

ing must overcome various ob-

stacles, such as factory-specific

restrictions and conflicting manufac-turing objectives. Additionally, as soon

as an ideal state is nearly reached, the

goal posts are shifted again, as customer

wishes, production technologies and le-

gal requirements are subject to constant

change. As a result, the never-ending

task of optimizing production and its

requirements on factory design are ever

present in all factory operations.

For the last 15 years, following the re-

lease of Lear i g to Seeby Mike Rother

and John Shook, companies have used

the value stream method to improve

the transparency of their processes and

highlight production system waste for

potential improvement projects. While

mapping alone may provide some ben-

efit, Fraunhofer IPA in Stuttgart, Ger-

many, has taken this practice to the next

level, using value stream maps to me-

thodically redesign production systems

to their lean ideal state.

This art icle details the effectiveness of

the value stream method for production

system design, describing the procedures

and guidelines that have been tried and

tested in numerous industries. This

method has proved effective at increas-

ing the competitive edge of manufac-

turing sites, even in high cost countries

like Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the

United Kingdom and the United States.

Value stream methodThe value stream method starts with an

analysis phase, or value stream analysis,

that consists of an extended value stream

mapping followed by two performance

checks of the production system.

The second phase, or value stream

design, redesigns the analyzed produc-

tion system from scratch. This is a group

activity with process experts and a value

stream design moderator. The modera-

tor takes the experts through the pro-

duction operations backward from the

customer perspective following a set of

eight value stream design guidelines.

Finally, in value stream management,

mechanisms are put in place to maintain

the optimal operating point.

Preliminary steps include selecting

an appropriate value stream, or creat-

ing product families, and calculating

customer takt time. Depending on the

process complexity and product palette,

selecting which value stream to analyze

can require some effort. To consider

relevant interactions between product

variations, it is recommended to con-

sider a group of products that fully uses

the equipment of a factory segment.

These products ideally have the same

workflow (e.g., stamping, painting, as-

sembly) and similar characteristics (ma-

terial, size) as shown in Figure 1. This

means this equipment is exclusively usedfor this product family.

With a cohesive product family, the

customer takt time can be calculated

and checked against the available capac-

ity of each manufacturing operation in

the next phase.

Phase 1:Value stream analysisThe value stream analysis encompasses

the systematic mapping of a production

systems current state. This consists of

surveying each production operation,

noting key parameters of the material

flows and the information flow.

The information obtained can be

transferred into a value stream depiction

using standard symbols and language.

This allows the waste to be identified

clearly, making factory operations trans-

parent to the improvement team and

management.

The analysis uses a snapshot method,

taking measured values from a factory

visit to represent typical factory condi-

tions. In the first round, the production

flow is mapped by way of interviews,

measuring and counting.

The underlying concept of any val-

ue stream analysis is the focus on the

customers point of view because the

customers perspective has to dictate

the requirements placed on the overallproduction system and on each indi-

vidual operation. Therefore, the team

of experts should start their first round

of value stream mapping from the ship-

ping end, thinking about what custom-

ers want while team members walk the

shop floor upstream along the material

flow. During the mapping activity, the

experts collect relevant process param-

eters, including machine cycle times,

numbers of product variations, setup

TFIGURE 1FIGURE 1

Formative criteriaProduct families can be formed based on the order of operations or the products

common attributes.
http://www.iienet.org/IEmagazinehttp://www.iienet.org/iemagazine



times and quality rates. The inventory

before the process is counted by hand if

possible.

In a second value stream mapping

round, the information flow is sketched

using data collected through interviews

with the production planning and con-

trol department. The collected data in-

clude the order processing procedures,

frozen zones, order sequencing criteria

and order penetration points. Relevant

production parameters are sketched onsite by hand, requiring minimal effort.

The result is a transparent and well-

arranged depiction of a complete value

stream, including production processes

and material and information flows on

a single sheet. This changes our per-

spective from the details of individual

processes and resources to the logistic

linkage of the different production pro-

cesses.

To gauge the performance of the cur-rent value stream, two current-state per-

formance checks are done at the end of

the mapping activity.

The first performance check answers

the simple question: How much of the

lead-time is productive? By calculating

the flow rate, or the ratio of total pro-

cessing time (value-added time) to the

lead-time, the room for improvement is

clear.

The second performance check ad-

dresses the topic of balancing. After the

cycle time of each operation is calcu-

lated, along with a correction factor for

lost availability, quality or setups, these

calculations can be shown in a balanc-

ing chart against the customer takt time.

Figure 2 shows how the capacity of

each process stacks up to the customer

demand for a sample value stream. The

simple comparison of process perfor-

mance with customer demand shows

bottlenecks and waste through over-capacity.

Phase 2: Value stream designWith the aid of eight well-proven de-

sign guidelines of value stream design,

an optimized future state of production

can be developed in a systematic man-

ner. This leads to radically shortened

lead-times as well as significantly higher

transparency in production control.

The objective of the guidelines (shownin Figure 3) and the process is to create

an ideal state of the production system,

specifying the required machines, their

mode of operation, their logistical link-

ages, buffer sizes and the control logic

of the system. The approach consists of

applying the eight guidelines in a set or-

der to yield the same results, regardless

of the user.

The first guideline, adjusting to takt

time, ensures that the machine capacity

of each operation reflects the customer

demand, while considering setups,

availability and quality. Ideally, each

process should have a slight overcapacity

of less than 5 percent.

The second guideline, process in-

tegration, states that two successive pro-

cess steps with high reliability and no

process-driven resting time should be

integrated into one step if possible. This

eliminates the buffer and the lead-time

between the processes.If guideline two is not possible be-

cause of a necessary resting time or

low reliability, guideline three calls

for connecting the two processes with

a first-in, first-out (FIFO) buffer. Both

guidelines two and three could be ap-

plied to either single-piece processing or

batch processing as long as the upstream

and downstream operation processes

parts in the same sequence.

Sometimes a change in productionsequence is required, such as when alter-

nating batches of stamped parts must be

joined downstream in assembly or when

alternating batches of painted parts in

a paint shop must be sequenced with a

mixed model line downstream. Guide-

line fourcalls for using kanban to con-

trol both cases.

To manage the complexity of a man-

ufacturing system, it is important for all

orders to enter the system at a defined

FIGURE 1FIGURE 2

Bottlenecks and wasteThis balancing chart is for a damping coupler spring value stream.


5/3934 Industrial Engineer | www.iienet.org/IEmagazine

Valuestreamdesigningafactory

entry point, which guideline five

calls a pacemaker process. Additionally,

to ensure the smoothest and steadiest

loading of the production system, or-

ders should be combined into uniform

release units. This creates a steady flow

and prevents fluctuations in capacity, as

described in guideline six.

Since production of some types of or-

ders may use different resources or ma-

terials, it is important to mix the orders

well when entering them into the pro-

duction system (guideline seven). This

prevents strong fluctuations in the prod-

uct mix from overloading nonbottle-

neck resources in the short term, whichcould create dynamic bottlenecks,

also known as the bull-whip effect.

Even small deviations in machine ca-

pacity will cause unneeded inventory

and increased lead-time. To prevent this,

each process may only produce as fast as

the downstream bottleneck. Guideline

eight describes how to use the bottle-

neck to control the production rhythm.

The Fraunhofer IPA value stream

design workshops require the partici-

pation of middle management, mate-

rial handling, production planning and

control, shipment, quality control and

purchasing, along with the lean expert.

The workshop starts on a clean slate,

allowing an ideal workflow to be cre-

ated while avoiding old roadblocks in

thought. The group applies the method

by applying the eight guidelines of value

stream design in their numerical order.

The workshop starts with assuring

each individual process is as close to the

customers takt time as possible, balanc-

ing the capacities. Finally, the buffers

between the processes are dimensioned,

and the logic behind the production con-trol (e.g., leveling) and scheduling is set.

The book Value Stream Desi stresses

that the eight design guidelines provided

by the value stream design method have

to be applied strictly in their numerical

order. The workshops must follow the

value stream design method and be led

by a goal-oriented moderator.

The result is a transparent factory

that promptly meets customer demand.

Clear information flows, low-inventory

material flows and production processes

in perfect tune with customer takt times

characterize all production segments

and their respective value streams.

An example in TennesseeThe Electrolux cooking range fac-

tory in Springfield, Tennessee, invited

Fraunhofer IPA to apply the value

stream design method in 2014 with the

goal of improving flexibility while re-

ducing throughput time.

The production process consisted of

stamping the sheet metal parts in lots

on one of six transfer presses and then

painting or enameling them in one offive paint flows, depending on the re-

quired heat resistance and durability.

Each of the transfer presses fed multiple

paint flows, which makes planning and

controlling production complex, along

with requiring a large amount of floor

space for unpainted inventory.

This unpainted inventory buffer had

to bridge the long setup times on the

press shop. But the inventory also had

to be adequate enough to supply parts

FIGURE 1FIGURE 3

Step to the futureThese eight guidelines can help your organization value stream design an optimized future state.



for each paint stream because, at times,

parts for only one paint stream were be-

ing produced. The factorys tight layout

required holding part of this inventoryin a separate warehouse, adding extra

costs for material handling and rent.

Downstream on the assembly lines,

the products were assigned to lines by

type (self-clean vs. manual, electric vs.

gas). Manpower utilization was com-

plex because of the current assembly line

setup, along with the fact that different

products required varying labor con-

tent. During the value stream workshop,

team members suggested adding an ad-

ditional assembly line to eliminate the

need for a third shift and increase worker

utilization by only running high work

content products.In the press shop, it was clear that a

fixed assignment of parts to certain

transfer presses would reduce planning

efforts through segmentation. Seg-

mentation is the division of job-shop

organizational structure where all ma-

chines are assigned jobs by capacity to a

dedicated machine structure where ma-

chines exclusively process a smaller set of

parts. Since the press shop had six dif-

ferent customers (the different paint and

enamel streams in the paint shop), it was

only natural to divide the machine ca-

pacity of the press shop by this criterion.

In a data analysis, the team deter-mined exactly what parts required

which type of transfer press and paint

stream as well as the monthly demand

for each part. Since the same parts rarely

went to different paint streams, it was

possible to assign each transfer press to

a maximum of two paint streams. With

this segmentation, at least three paint

streams were being actively supplied

with parts at any time, requiring a sig-

nificantly smaller buffer.

VSM adds blessings outside of manufacturing

Value stream mapping can bring benefits beyond the manufacturing sector, at least according to

Financial Advisormagazine.

Savant Capital Management in Rockford, Illinois, and Chicago won the Best-In-BusinessImpact Award from Charles Schwab Advisor Services, with much credit going to the firms value

stream mapping process. The operational improvement process helped Savant add capacity

without sacrificing quality, increasing trading volume by 82 percent with no new hires.

In addition, the VSM initiative has enabled paperless tracking and management of asset

transfers by building a new interface and optimizing its data warehouse system.


7/39



Assessing your workloadRegularly chec

is a mBy Raj Sanne



Assessingyourworkload

In manufacturing, we come across many different types

of processes, including sheet metal, machining, chemical,

process, mining, electronics and assembly operations. All

of these processes, whether they are automated or still

require manpower, must be monitored in some way to

ensure that they are being operated safely and making

products that meet quality and customer requirements.In process industries the number of people required to op-

erate a plant depends on factors like technology, automation,

criticality of processes and safety. As technology matures and

processes become more automated, manpower requirements

should decrease over the long term.

This is a case study of workload in a process industry that

converts wood to rayon fiber in an Asian country. The compa-

ny has been in existence for more than 60 years and has plants

in a number of locations in several Asian nations. The process

was developed and patented by the company many years ago.

The processWood required for processing is grown on dry land by farm-

ers who are contracted to supply the material. After the trees

grow to their required size, they are cut down into logs and

transported to the plant by trucks. When the logs arrive at the

plant, a sample is sent to the lab to determine moisture levels

and the content of other chemicals before processing. Payment

to the farmers is based on meeting these quality requirements

specified by the company. The logs are weighed before being

sent for unloading at the chipper house.

Logs are unloaded from trucks using material handling

equipment and placed in trays near chippers. The logs are

fed into chippers for shredding to less than 2 inches in size.

Then they are stored in a silo that is located next to the chipper

house. From the silo, conveyors transport the chips to digest-

ers, where they are processed into pulp. Wood is cooked in

digesters with water, steam and other chemicals.

The digester, which is made of sheet metal, is a vessel about

60 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter. The six digesters operate 24

hours a day and seven days a week. The wood is cooked under

pressure, which means the digester must be operated safely to

prevent the high pressure from causing an explosion. The di-

gesters process about 650 tons of wood per day.

After being processed into pulp, the resulting product is

bleached and washed to reduce moisture content to 30 per-

cent. Pulp, which is semi-liquid, travels on a screen to a bal-

ing area where it is baled into 3-by-3-by-3-foot blocks. Theblocks are sent to a spinning mill that is next to the plant for

downstream processing into yarn. A brief list of processes and

departments covered is given below:

Unloading wood from trucks to chippers (three chippers)

Chipper house

Digester house

Washer

Bleacher

Dryer

Baling press (compresses pulp into blocks)

Agriculture operations

Guest house covering all activities of cleaning, cooking

Maintenance to support operations

Drivers who operate company vehicles, including cars,

trucks and school buses

Laboratory

The company used to have a similar plant in a different loca-

tion. But this site suffered from a lack of availability of wood

its most important raw material. So the company opened a

new plant in a different location that employed about 2,000

people. After a couple of years, operations management de-

cided that the plant was using more manpower than the pro-

cesses actually required. They justified this feeling because the

previous plant, which had the same capacity and technology,

operated with 25 percent fewer people than the new plant.

The union, of course, did not share this view. To reach an

objective determination, both parties agreed to use the ser-

vices of an independent consulting firm to evaluate actual re-

quirements.

FIGURE 1FIGURE 1

Gathering and crunching dataThe team used traditional industrial engineering techniques to determine the activities required, their frequency and the time it took to

complete them.

Position: Digester operator Date: Study time: From to

Task Frequency per shift Time per occasion Total workload

(a) (b) (c) (d) = (b)*(c)

Open and close the digesters valves Four times in a shift 1 minute (includes walking time) 4 minutes

Total workload/shift -(d)

I



Study methodologyA team of engineers was involved in the project, which last-

ed more than three months. A list of jobs and the number

of people working by shift for each process/department was

furnished by management.

Studies were done using various industrial engineering

techniques like observations, time study, work sampling, esti-mation and historical data. These examinations depended on

the position and activity being studied.

Each job was studied to determine what activities were car-

ried out, their frequency and the time it took to do each task.

This covered routine and nonroutine tasks. From this, a snap-

shot of workload calculation for each position in each shift

was done. Figure 1 shows an example of the matrix the team

devised.

For drivers, the team examined three months of log books

maintained for all vehicles. This data determined the daily

shift load and an estimate of the actual number of drivers re-

quired by the operations.

The manpower calculation was based on the available time

of 480 minutes per shift. After deducting all breaks, the net

available was 430 minutes per shift per person. Based on total

workload of -(d) and available time, the workload or utiliza-

tion for each position was calculated with the following equa-

tion:

Workload or utilization (%) = ((-d)/430)*100

The team determined that utilization should be at least 95

percent for each position. Wherever a group of people worked

jobs in close proximity, some activities were reallocated to bal-

ance the workload, ensuring that no employee was overloaded

in terms of tasks.

In cases when activities were not done on a daily basis, they

were prorated on a daily basis for the purpose of calculating

the workload. In cases where direct study or observations

could not be done, the time was estimated based on discus-

sions and the best guess estimate of the engineer. It was as-

sumed that activities done in other shifts would be similar to

what was covered in the project.

Study findingsThe study findings were shared with area managers to validate

that all activities were covered and that the workload calcula-

tions were objective. Based on the study, the plant had about 23

percent more manpower than it needed to handle its current

method of operations. In agreement with the union, manage-

ment decided to implement the findings in a phased manner

through attrition. Replacements would not be recruited.

This study brings out the importance of constantly review-

ing all manpower to ensure maximum utilization of assets, a

necessity for your organizations long-term profitability and

growth. This review preferably should be done whenever

there is a change made to the processes or, at the very least,

every three to five years.

This concept also applies to standard hours in sheet metal,

machining, welding, assembly and other processes because

those operations affect production calculations like capacity

planning, scheduling, incentive, productivity and takt time.At the very least, such calculations should be done regularly

for high-dollar products that form a significant part of your

organizations sales.Y

Raj Sa e is a i dustrial e gi eer with more tha 10 years of experi-

e ce i a ufacturi g i volved i peratio al improveme ts i iffer-

e t sectors. He has worked as a i dustrial a d mecha ical e gi eer

i erospace a d automotive compa ies. He spe t more tha 5 years

co sulti g about productivity improveme ts i usi esses i dia. He

has bachelors degrees i ath, physics, chemistry a d i dustrial e gi-

eeri g from u iversities i dia. He is worki g o is MBA.

Assessing your workload

Altering workloads and shortening the length of work shifts

can make things safer, but it often can cost organizations more

money.

For years, emergency medical services workers in

Charleston County worked 24-hour shifts. But in a bid to make

things safer and partially in response to a lawsuit alleging

unpaid overtime the South Carolina county spent $1 million

to hire 15 new employees and cut shifts to 12 hours, accordingto the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.

Charleston County Emergency Medical Services was

answering more calls each year, and fatigue was taking a toll as

the daylong shifts typical for firefighters no longer made sense

for paramedics and emergency medical technicians.

Some workers didnt like the fact that their opportunities

for overtime were diminished, officials said. But EMS Director

Doug Warren said the primary concern is safety.

Warren told the journal that the science is clear: Someone

who has worked more than 14 hours is fatigued and has

reactions equivalent to an intoxicated person. People in that

condition shouldnt be driving ambulances or doing complex

math to mix medications.



Education in 3-DThe c actur

moves to the classroom

By Linda Fresques



Just as the Industrial Revolution brought about major changes

in manufacturing from hand production to new mechanized

processes, the sector is once again at the precipice of major

transformation.

Success in this new era of manufacturing has been deemed

critical to Americas future. While many things feed a healthy

manufacturing ecosystem, a skilled workforce is essential to carry itforward. Therefore, the revolution is now extending into the class-

room. New Mexico State Universitys College of Engineering is re-

sponding to the demand by adapting its curriculum, introducing new

technologies in laboratories, and creating an atmosphere of innovation

and entrepreneurship.

Time to catch upWith the introduction of digitization, new custom-designed materials

and specialized equipment such as three-dimensional printers, a high-

technology, high-performing manufacturing sector is emerging a

sector that enables both product and process innovation.

Advanced manufacturing processes and equipment allow for the in-

tegration of process improvements, rapid design changes, customiza-

tion, and cost-effective, low-volume production. Combined with new

scientific discoveries, novel ideas and approaches, dynamic production

processes are giving life to innovative new products.

However, U.S. leadership in producing and exporting manufac-

tured goods is waning. The Presidents Council of Advisors on Science

and Technology report, Our trade balance in advanced technology

manufactured products long a relative strength of the United States

shifted from surplus to deficit starting in 2001, and a trade deficit of $17

billion in 2003 further widened to $81 billion by 2010.

The council further noted that the United States has been steadily

losing manufacturing-related research and development, along with

the related high-skill jobs, as well as our ability to compete in the man-

ufacture of products such as laptop computers, flat-panel displays and

lithium ion batteries, al l U.S. innovations.

The presidents advisors also call for an innovation policy: While

the United States should avoid industrial policy making bets on par-

ticular companies and industries we should be unabashed in pursuing

an innovation policy. The objectives of such a policy would be to

provide for a business and tax environment that attracts and retains

companies that invest in knowledge production and the manufacture

of innovative products here.As shown in Figure 1, the manufacturing sector brings a number of

benefits that reverberate throughout the U.S. economy. Manufactur-

ing is no longer a source of low-paying jobs for low-cost labor abroad

advanced manufacturing provides the opportunity for high-quality,

good-paying jobs for American workers. The U.S. is lagging behind

nations such as Germany and Japan, both of which produce high-qual-

ity goods with a skilled labor force.

The long-term success of the U.S. innovation system depends on a

workforce that includes scientists and engineers with advanced degrees,

along with factory-floor engineers to manage the changing manufac-

turing processes and sophisticated equipment.

J



Educationin3

D

Bringing innovation to campusAt New Mexico State University, the pipeline to supply engi-

neers begins with sparking a sense of innovation in students.

The NMSU College of Engineering is refining its focus

to include not only sought-after engineering education but

also new areas of innovation and entrepreneurship to better

serve our graduates and industry, said College of Engineer-

ing Interim Dean Steven J. Stochaj. Now, as the engineering

industry, both nationally and globally, shifts its focus on inno-

vation and advanced manufacturing, our faculty are changing

to meet those needs.

Last year, New Mexico State became one of 12 U.S. univer-

sities selected to take part in the National Science Foundations

first cohort of the Pathways to Innovation program. Led by

the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation

(Epicenter) at Stanford University in collaboration with Ven-

turewell, the Pathways to Innovation program was created to

help universities incorporate entrepreneurship and innovation

into undergraduate engineering education. The program has

equipped New Mexico State in its role to strengthen regional

and global competitiveness.

According to a recent report from the U.S. Department

of Commerce, the majority of U.S. job creation during the

last two decades has occurred in young, startup companies.

While the United States remains a global leader in innovation

and entrepreneurship, global competition continues to grow.Therefore, it is critical that the institutes that drive innova-

tion improve their ability to develop products and services that

have economic value.

New Mexico State faculty and administrators have begun

to design and implement a plan to integrate entrepreneurship

into the curriculum. As Tom Byers, director of Epicenter and

professor at Stanford University, said, engineering students to-

day need more than just technical skills students need the

tools and attitudes to help them identify opportunities and

bring their ideas to life.

As part of the Pathways program, six New Mexico State

engineering students are now among 291 students from 114

higher education institutions across the United States named

University Innovation Fellows. These students are intended

to become agents of change at their schools. Patricia Sullivan,

associate dean for outreach and public service for the College

of Engineering, said the growing team of University Inno-

vation Fellows are championing a student-led movement to

build a community of innovation and entrepreneurship across

the College of Engineering.

They bring unique backgrounds and enthusiasm to cata-

lyze student engagement as agents of change, Sullivan said.

The fellows are a national community of students in engi-

neering and related fields who work to ensure that their peers

gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to compete

in the economy of the future. To accomplish this, the fellows

advocate for lasting institutional change and create opportu-

nities for students to engage with entrepreneurship, innova-

tion, creativity, design thinking and venture creation at their

schools.

It is so critical for students to have an entrepreneurial

mindset in todays economy, said Humera Fasihuddin, leader

of the University Innovation Fellows program for Epicenter.

They need more than just technical skills to solve the big

problems our world is facing. Fellows are having a powerful

impact at their schools. They are working alongside students,

faculty and their university leaders to help all students learnan entrepreneurial mindset, dream big and pursue their career

aspirations.

Fellows have created student design and maker spaces,

founded entrepreneurship clubs and organizations, worked

with faculty to design courses, and hosted events and work-

shops. In the last academic year alone, fellows created 553 ac-

tivities, 22 new spaces and 65 innovation and entrepreneurship

resources at their schools.

Getting new tech into students hands

Along with the Pathways program, last year saw the grand

FIGURE 1FIGURE 1

The blessings of making thingsManufacturings benefits cascade throughout the U.S. economy.

9% More wages in manufacturing jobs than jobs in overall economy

12% More wages in manufacturing jobs than in service jobs

53.5% R&D workers employed by manufacturers in U.S. industry

18% U.S. manufacturers production of global manufacturing output (U.N. data for 2008)

$1.1 trillion U.S. export trade in manufactured products (in 2010)Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology



opening of the Aggie Innovation Space presented by Intel

Corp., which gives students the opportunity to explore out-

side of the traditional classroom setting.

The space was created to foster innovation and entrepre-

neurship by offering students access to state-of-the-art re-

sources. It also serves as a gathering point where students can

connect to work on projects or their own ideas. There, stu-

dents have access to experienced mentors, new technologies

and the latest engineering design software and tools.

The Aggie Innovation Space is equipped with 3-D print-

ers, an electronics station, programmable development boards,

electronic components, robotics kits, software and low-resolu-

tion prototype materials to enhance the creation of innovative

technologies.

Were trying to discover how this university can be of

greater service in developing our economy and developingbusinesses in New Mexico, and it all starts with a good idea,

often times from a student, frequently from a faculty member.

But we need to have a facility where they can then begin to

work on the idea, to create the prototypes, said NMSU Presi-

dent Garrey Carruthers.

As a student, New Mexico State aerospace engineering

graduate Sam Pedrotty used the spaces 3-D printers to de-

velop a low-cost rocket educational tool to help teach students

from middle school to undergraduate levels. His focus was to

simplify the learning process of propulsion engineering for

high school students interested in aerospace engineering.

Electrical and mechanical engineering student Dakota Bur-

row used the space to develop an app that can control a robot,

eliminating the need for expensive computer equipment. Stu-

dent organizations, such as the Society of Automotive Engi-

neers Mini Baja Team, regularly use the space to prepare for

nationwide competitions.

Making it formalInside the classroom, associate professor of industrial engineer-

ing Delia Julietta Valles-Rosales has been at the forefront of

bringing advanced manufacturing into the curriculum.

She has developed research projects that involve the optimi-

zation of manufacturing processes to protect the environment;

reducing manufacturing costs and scrap; designing and plan-

ning the best facilities; reducing process cycle time; selecting

the appropriate raw material; facilitating collaboration amongcompanies and academia; reducing fatigue among employees;

and increasing the pool of women and minorities in engineer-

ing careers.

Since 2012, Valles-Rosales has been the partial recipient of

a $3.2 million grant awarded to four universities to promote

sustainable energy for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The University of Texas at El Paso is the lead institution for

the project titled BGREEN (Building Regional Energy and

Educational Alliances). Texas A&M University-Kingsville

and Texas State University-San Marcos also are included in

the grant.

New Mexico State University industrial engineering professor Hansuk Sohn (from

left), agricultural economics professor Ram Acharya, industrial engineering professor

Delia Julietta Valles-Rosales, civil engineering professor Nirmala Khandan and civil

engineering graduate student Yalini Arudcheluam examine a prototype of a photobioreactor

inside Khandan's laboratory. The professors and their students are collaborating on an

interdisciplinary project aimed at improving efficiency of algae fuel production.

PhotocourtesyNMSU

Patricia Sullivan is associate dean for

outreach and public service for the

New Mexico State University College of

Engineering.

PhotocourtesyDarrenPhillips/NMSU



Educationin3

D

Valles-Rosales has redesigned graduate and undergraduate-

level courses on manufacturing processes to include biofuels

process modeling and simulation, algae and other biomass re-

sources planting, harvesting, processing, life product cycle as-

sessment, bioproduct design and manufacturing, and product

degradation/reliability analysis.

Valles-Rosales has been working with 3-D printing for ap-

proximately 20 years, conducting research into using biomass

to create the filaments used in 3-D printers. Her Manufac-

turing Modeling and Simulation Laboratory is equipped with

several 3-D printers, ranging from the affordable MakerBots

to sophisticated Stratasys printers.

The 3-D printers are extremely useful to students for rapid

prototyping so that students can conduct analysis on a design

concept to develop final product specifications, said Valles-

Rosales.

Young Ho Park, associate professor of mechanical and aero-

space engineering, whose specialties are solid mechanics and

materials, is using Valles-Rosales lab for capstone projects re-

quired of all senior engineering students prior to graduation.

Computer-aided design is an important element of the

design process, said Park. 3-D printing technology now of-

fers an opportunity to make the image-based structural object

into a real object that can be touched and tested. My capstoneproject students use 3-D printing to make a proof of concept

model for testing the efficacy of their design before building it

in its final form.

Working under the tutelage of Park and mechanical engi-

neering graduate assistant James Sakai, mechanical engineering

seniors are involved in interdisciplinary projects on campus.

Biologist Graciela Unguez and a team of researchers found

that electric fish, a vertebrate animal just like humans, can re-

generate their tails following amputation after activating their

stem cells.

Parks engineering students designed and fabricated a tiny

fish-sized backpack that can measure the cell regeneration on

the fish.

Another group of engineering students are assisting Antonio

Lara, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, with a

method to remove uranium from groundwater, a legacy of

uranium mining in the Four Corners area (the southwestern

corner of Colorado, northwestern corner of New Mexico,

northeastern corner of Arizona and southeastern corner of

Utah) that left residents with serious problems.

Lara is using common clays found in New Mexico that have

a unique structure that al lows them to capture metallic ions in

solution. Lara needed clay pellets of uniform size and shape to

perform accurate proof-of-concept tests. One group of engi-

neering students developed a prototype of a complex fabrica-

tion machine. Another group of students completely changed

the approach and created a mold frame to create uniformly

sized pellets easily and inexpensively.

Other design and fabrication projects using 3-D printing

include a specialized nozzle and filter for a College of Ag-

riculture and Consumer Sciences aquaculture feed program

to grow shrimp from cotton byproducts. Electrical engineers

developed a self-balancing robot and a solar panel for a payload

on a nanosatellite. Civil engineers made prototypes of con-

crete block walls. Mechanical engineers created prototypes ofchannels for heat exchangers.

Industrial engineering graduate student Brendan Sullivan

provided 3-D technology support for an aerospace engineer-

ing doctoral student and two aerospace faculty members by

prototyping an innovative gyroscope and test strips for mate-

rial validation.

The cost of 3-D printers has been significantly reduced, so

there may come a time when they will be standard equipment

in offices, Sakai said.

This opens up opportunities to produce lower end, rapid

prototypes. It also enables high-end designs, like parts used in

Transferring hype into reality

Although additive manufacturing has been known to industrial engineers since its advent in the 1980s, recent technical advances have

helped generate a lot of media hype.

Researchers worldwide are working to turn at least some of that hype into reality. The University of Louisville, for example, is

opening a 10,000-square-foot Additive Manufacturing Competency Center, which will be a hub for students and professionals to train

on 3-D printing and advanced manufacturing, Forbesreported. The university is collaborating with UL, the safety science corporation.

Northwestern University reports that its laboratories are working on using 3-D printing to test solid oxide fuel cell technology,

which produces electricity from the electrochemical oxidation of fuel without burning. This particular kind of fuel cell could be the

answer to reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The University of Groningen in the Netherlands has developed an antimicrobial plastic that allows for 3-D-printed teeth that

also kill bacteria, according to New Scientistmagazine. And researchers at the University of California Riverside have 3-D printed a

material that repels water while absorbing and storing toxins, which would allow ocean swimmers to clean the water as they splash in

the waves.



the aerospace industry that have never been possible to make

with regular machining before.

The printers allow students to create prototypes that are

not easily built by hand or custom parts that might not other-

wise be available. Machining metal parts on a CNC may not

be within students budgets.

Gaining industry experienceNew Mexico States College of Engineering has an extensive

history of providing engineering assistance to state manufac-

turers and businesses. Working with products as varied as chi li

pepper de-stemmers to motorcycle air-cleaner covers, one ele-

ment remains constant: Students have the opportunity to gain

valuable, real-world experience.

Under the umbrella of our Engineering New Mexico Re-

source Network, our outreach efforts are an example of the

colleges commitment to advancing economic development

statewide, said Patricia Sullivan. It is also ideal for our stu-

dents who graduate with so much experience. Their job op-

portunities are greatly expanded.

Sullivan, who also led development of the Aggie Innovation

Space, is responsible for these student enrichment opportuni-

ties that take place outside of the classroom. She developed and

launched the Engineering New Mexico Resource Network,

formalizing engineering-based outreach programs geared to-

ward enriching workforce development and economic com-

petitiveness.

In addition, she led the universitys involvement in a pro-

gram that received funding from the U.S. Department of

Commerce Economic Development Administration as part

of the Consortium for Border Technology Manufacturing to

foster a resurgence in manufactur ing and related employment

in southern Arizona and New Mexico.

Additionally, Valles-Rosales is taking her students into

businesses to introduce them and have them solve real-world

manufacturing problems for real customers.

Valles-Rosales and Sullivan also are leads for student en-

gagement at New Mexico State in the Partnership for the Ad-

vancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE),

an international effort led by General Motors. New Mexico

States PACE student team has led facility design, ergonomicsand rapid prototyping initiatives for their international team

effort to design and build innovative transportation devices for

global markets. The blended academic, international and cor-

porate experience has elevated student learning, with access to

rapid prototyping being a major differentiator.

Advanced manufacturing technologies also are changing

the way businesses manage and operate, with new technolo-

gies challenging traditional layout and facility design. Oppor-

tunities provided through the New Mexico State industrial

engineering program are equipping students with real-world

experience in the design and redesign of businesses.

Precision Technology, a local business, was launched by Jose

Carrera in the 1990s. The company serves a worldwide clien-

tele and employs less than 50 people who manufacture more

than 500 products used in the assembly of the wire harnesses

that are part of automobiles and other electronic products. The

pieces hold the wires in place during the assembly process and

are shipped to places as far afield as Romania, the Philippines,Morocco, Poland and Mexico.

Carrera designed and built his own plastic-injection mold-

ing machine, the foundation of his business. His shop now

comprises 25 various machines. He opened up his shop for a

class tour of the facility, and Valles-Rosales asked if her indus-

trial engineering students might use the business as a lab class.

The students observe and videotape the step-by-step pro-

cesses of manufacturing to study human factors and time stud-

ies for analyzing efficiencies and ergonomics in workstation

design. Another class led by Valles-Rosales and fellow indus-

trial engineering professor Hansuk Sohn used industrial engi-

neering concepts to establish systems to monitor quality and

identify and solve quality problems within the manufacturing

process.

Yet another group of students analyzed the facility layout

and design to propose efficiencies in the work flow of employ-

ees and use of materials, including a mathematical schedul-

ing system that wil l help Carrera satisfy his customer demands

with orders ranging from one to thousands of pieces.

Through this experience Ive gained an idea of how we

can improve quality and employee safety, said Carrera. The

impact of the information that Ive gained is tremendous. And

the students bring that spark that we al l had at one time. That

spark is so valuable its beautiful, really.

Giving students an edgeWhile entrepreneurship is a very business-focused aspect of

the curriculum, engineering is innovation. Obviously, gradu-

ates can work in the corporate world or existing businesses, us-

ing their innovation to keep those companies competitive. But

the focus on innovation expands their choices, giving them

tools to create their own businesses, Stochaj said.

If they dont want to work for someone else, they can and

do create their own company or invention, Stochaj said. Y

Li da Fresques is program ma ager for the New Mexico State U iver-

sity College of E gi eeri g. She has bee ech ical writer a d editor

for 30 years.



The aging of aircraft is an issue of big strategic con-

cern for the United States Air Force, which operates

planes that have been around since the Vietnam War,

a conflict that ended in the 1970s. Although these

workhorses are still meeting mission requirements

and performing well, the Air Force cannot afford to

be lackadaisical about the future service capability of existingaircraft. Machines eventually break and become unfixable.

In many cases, the present depressed budgetary climate

within the Department of Defense precludes any immediate

and aggressive investments in new aircraft. This behooves the

Air Force to further hone operational expertise and commit-

ment in servicing, maintaining and refurbishing existing air-

craft.

The tools and techniques of industrial engineering are

broadly evident in maintenance shops throughout the U.S. Air

Force. The premise of this article is to bring this fact to light

to encourage a coordinated continuation of existing mainte-

nance best practices with the hope that the maintenance infra-

structure can be augmented and improved.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) Mildenhal l base in the United

Kingdom is home to an impressive demonstration of applying

practical industrial engineering tools to the KC-135 Health of

the Fleet program at the 100th Aircraft Maintenance Group.

The techniques that keep these aging airborne fuel tankersflying span the full spectrum of any industrial establishment,

covering the following elements:

People: Managing the human resources and expertise with-

in the squadron to strengthen teamwork, morale and com-

munication

Tools: Tracking of tool state-of-the-art capabilities, acquir-

ing the tools and effectively putting the tools to use to ex-

ecute maintenance missions

Process: Reviewing and honing the steps in a maintenance

task to create an environment of continuous improvement

T

Coordinated maintenanceBy Adedeji B. Badiru, Lt. Col. LeeAnn Racz and Maj. Rofelio L. Grinston

A KC-135

Stratotanker sits

in a hangar as

it undergoes a

full isochronal

inspection last year

at RAF Mildenhall,

England. The tail

was also removed

to repair a cracked

rudder on the jet.

U.S.AirForcephotobyKarenAbeyasekere



RAF Mildenhall case exampleThe 100th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron achieved mainte-

nance accolades that would be the envy of the largest indus-

trial establishments. In a 24-month study period from March

2013 to February 2015, the squadron statistical ly documented

overall equipment effectiveness, which is a measure of aircraft

performance, from a baseline of 55 percent to an enviable levelof 84 percent.

These phenomenal results were achieved largely by exten-

sive use of the process known as Air Force Smart Operations

for the 21st Century (AFSO21). The process is analogous to

the lean or Six Sigma process used in industry. In fact, the

100th Aircraft Maintenance Group held no less than 37

AFSO21 events, most of which lasted three to five days. Each

of these events was aimed at achieving the true north metric

of increasing effectiveness by 10 percent over 12 months.

In pursuit of this overall goal, the group focused on four

specific metrics: aircraft availability, aircraft break rate, logis-

tics departure reliability and breakage repeat/recur rate. In

fact, in a six-month review of problematic systems, the squad-

ron achieved aircraft availability of 81.1 percent, above the Air

Mobility Command standard of 80.3 percent. Break rate went

down to 9.2 percent, below the standard of 11.2 percent, and

logistics departure reliability was at 94.1 percent, well above

the 90.7 percent standard.

A series of AFSO21 events incrementally tackled continu-

ous process improvement. The first significant event targeted

the aircraft wash cycle. Prior to the event, the wash cycle hov-

ered at a turnaround time of 36 hours. By identifying and im-

plementing efficiencies, the wash cycle downtime was slashed

by 52 percent, thereby increasing aircraft availability.

The squadron realized additional efficiencies by imple-

menting the use of an aircraft simulator for required train-

ing, a simulator that previously had been underutilized. Not

only did the simulator free aircraft for use in nontraining tasks,

but it also enabled pilots and maintainers to train together and

break down communication barriers.

The squadron also dismantled communication barriers be-

tween pilots and maintenance personnel, increasing aircraft

availability by clearly identifying the training needs using spe-

cific aircraft features, along with building aircraft availabilitywith those criteria into the maintenance schedule. The prac-

tice of having the maintenance schedule approved by the base

leadership meant that the customer seldom required deviations

from that schedule.

Another AFSO21 event ensured that experienced mainte-

nance personnel participated in flight debriefs. This measure

allowed personnel to streamline the debrief process and more

easily triangulate the root cause of aircraft discrepancies that

pilots had observed.

Using communication, personnel cooperation and func-

tional coordination, the squadron overcame:

Split operations

Exercise interruptions

Transient support

Requirements for flying

scheduling effectiveness

One notable example of

these achievements is re-

ducing the time it took to

build mobility equipment

bins from up to 48 hours

down to eight hours. Pre-

viously, each bin was pack-

aged from scratch. By

leveraging the ingenuity

of the team members who

performed the work, they

pre-loaded test equipment

bins using pre-inspected

standardized configurations.

The isochronal inspection section was tasked with conduct-ing in-depth inspections of aircraft that had to have a number

of their components dismantled and reassembled. The team

took the novel approach of partnering with the supply sec-

tion to identify and pre-stock commonly used supplies before

inspection. In addition, the squadron co-located the supply

section with the maintenance section to ease communication

between the specialties. Team members also standardized their

processes, pre-positioned tool boxes in specific locations and

ensured that personnel with certain specialties were available

at standard times for various phases of the inspection.

These changes to the inspection processes cut aircraft down-

KC-135 Stratotankers from the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF

Mildenhall fuel jets, like this F-15E Strike Eagle, to keep them

airborne during extended missions.

U.S.

Ai

rForcephotobySeniorAirmanKateThornton

The tail of a KC-135 Stratotanker

lies at an angle while being

removed last year during a full

isochronal inspection at RAF

Mildenhall.

U.S.

AirForcephotobyKarenAbeyasekere



time from 27.4 days in January

2013 to less than 15.4 days in

November 2014 an impressive

accomplishment in a high-stress

maintenance environment. In-

deed, the maintenance teams

achieved their stated mission ofproviding world-class scheduled

maintenance on 15 assigned

KC-135 aircraft. Their per-

formance indicators outpaced

other KC-135 organizations

and provide varying strategic

options to the Joint Chiefs for

European Commanders sole

KC-135 fleet.

How they did itThe squadron garnered these

successes through the following

industrial practices:

Clarify and validate

the problem.

Identify the root cause of the problem, which included

chaotic communications, poor continuity, insufficient and

nonprioritized training, poor guidance and lack of personal

accountability.

Establish countermeasures and tasks, which included priori-

tizing training and providing comprehensive guidance for

all levels, giving the dock controller control (i.e., empower

the personnel), and making real-time status available to all,

all the time.

Success was accompanied with concerted and sustained fo-

cus from leadership and the team members. Whereas there had

been a long-held assumption that AFSO21 would have little

success in aircraft maintenance activities, the leaders took the

time to pursue and achieve buy-in from the rest of the team.

Small successes at the beginning started to challenge the no-

tion that AFSO21 events consumed time rather than saving it.Eventually, small wins led to more significant efficiencies.

After approximately nine months, there were undeniable posi-

tive results, with a momentum of success at 12 months. Finally,

the culture had shifted to the new way of doing things at 18

months.

The overall maintenance strategy of the 100th Aircraft

Maintenance Squadron is summarized in Figure 1, which

presents a systems framework for the design of a maintenance

strategy.

The left column in the figure articulates the mission-centric

focus of maintenance in the presence of customer require-

ments, internal process specifications, operational learning andgrowth of operations. Within the blocks in the figure, the flow

of the process follows the specification of the objective, a de-

termination of the performance measures and actual tracking

of performance, followed by actions that actualize the desired

end goals of the maintenance operation.

Other factors embodied in Figure 1 include performance

target, parity goal, mission criticality, capability and gap as-

sessment. The second column in the figure covers specific ele-

ments in the maintenance objective, such as keeping aircraft

flying safely, efficiently, effectively and mission capable. Also

conveyed in the figure are the expectations to deliver process

FIGURE 1FIGURE 1

Map your strategyThis systems framework summarizes the overall maintenance strategy of the 100th Aircraft

Maintenance Squadron.

Design of maintenance strategy

Miss

ion

Customers

Learningand

growth

Internalprocess

Keep aircraft flying safely,

efficiently, effectively andmission capable

Deliveraugmentation

and capabilities

Make

process interoperable

and modular

Field, modify and maintain

infrastructure to meet

mission requirements

1. Objective 2. Measure 3. Performance

4. Action

Strategy map

Target:Absolute parity 100%Threshold:90%

Mission criticality, capability

Target/threshold

Actual

Gapassessment

Coo

rdinatedmaintenance

FIGURE 1FIGURE 2

Many attributes, one missionTypical industrial and systems engineering applications can

come together for a coordinated maintenance plan.

Missionrequirements

Schedule

Cost

Budget

Aircraftperformance

Acquisitionlife cycle

Coordinatedmaintenance
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20/39



Paula Romo has a passion for serving people. After working almost five years for a large

mining company in Chile, she returned to the U.S. to explore a career in the public

sector.

The industrial engineer had been exposed to Six Sigma while working in copper

mining in South America. Since 2008, she has worked for local government agencies

in Florida, and during that time she earned her MBA. In March 2013, she was hired by

the city of Fort Lauderdale as a senior performance analyst in a division that was eager

to improve its processes and practices but was struggling to overcome difficulties in time

management and a lack of advanced problem-solving know-how.

Several local governments across the United States have gone as far as implementing

robust industrial engineering methodologies such as lean and Six Sigma so that public

services could better meet the needs of residents.

Fort Lauderdale was no exception. Romo works in the citys Division of Structural In-

novation, which drives vision-based strategic planning that reflects community needs

and operates under the office of the city manager, working closely with departments

like public works, parks and recreation, transportation and sustainable development. The

division also is a dedicated champion of a strategic management system within the citymanagers office that advances strategy management, performance excellence and pro-

cess improvement.

Its kind of like a management philosophy really, where the idea is its very much

about results-oriented government.

The good, the bad and the kaizenThe Division of Structural Innovation leads continuous process improvement efforts in

the city managers office that reduce the time and costs of everyday businesses processes.

Before Romos arrival, the city had hired a consultant, and division employees had par-

ticipated in various kaizen events.

Kaizen events get people to work together, showcasing problems in ways not donebefore a powerful concept, Romo said. The employees liked it and wanted to do more.

But making time for projects and additional training was difficult, Romo said. The bad

side was that a lot of time was required to collect data and understand the process to pre-

pare for kaizen events, and the consultant wasn't hired to implement projects.

And then once we were done the consultants end of responsibility was Heres your

implementation plan. These are the things you must do, Romo said. Some things [re-

quire] some sort of analysis or do this, do that. And it really depends on who you have

available and the skill sets and timelines, so that was very difficult.

Romos role expanded to incorporate her expertise in performance management,

budgeting, time studies and simulation. From there, it was a matter of determining

where to start much easier asked than done.

Ready to start

Solutions in practicecase study



We created an evaluation matrix, and we [talked to] the

different staff like the city manager, the assistant city manager

and the directors, Romo said. And then based on that we

weighed it out and we created a ranking mechanism, and we

said, OK, these are the biggest issues were dealing with right

now, so this is your work plan.

Whats it worth to you?In the wake of increased opportunities for implementation, the

division immersed itself in a process improvement program

emphasizing training, project selection, tracking, mentoring

and championing. Romo said internal training developed 75

lean Six Sigma yellow belts, 20 lean Six Sigma green belts and

others who would serve as change warriors.

The goal was basically to get to a point where we can have

yellow belts or green belts that can take on pieces of these

implementations, she said. And itll depend on your skill set.

If youre a yellow belt maybe its something as simple as justchanging the form, and if youre a green belt then maybe its

something more expanded like meter reading. So it varied, but

we had to train people to be able to do those things.

Prioritizing projects is now accomplished under the guid-

ance of three different categories scaled against how much ef-

fort must be applied and the overall impact of the projects

completion. Just Do It or JDI, in which the task is consid-

ered low-hanging fruit, may include an assignment like rede-

signing a form. A kaizen may turn a task into a one- to two-

week engagement where all parties come together to resolve a

problem and identify an action plan, like reducing the average

time required for closing code compliance cases. The division

managed to shrink that time by 21 percent between fiscal years

2013 and 2015.

We did some process mapping, value shifts, streamlining

and tried to understand are there too many steps in our

process? Why does it take so long? And that was really the

big question because it was, you know, 210 days. Thats a lot.DMAIC projects are tasks that would require extensive data

analysis and l ikely last at least one month, like a utilities inven-

tory project.

These sort of efforts have helped the division improve staff

productivity by 44 percent and create an additional $124,000

in revenues. Romo said that empowering employees with the

knowledge and skills to solve complex community programs

will sustain the citys continuous improvement.

Anything that is no impact or is only going to help you in

a tiny way is just not worth doing, she said. Project selection

and leadership are key to have success. Because if you donthave leadership its really, really hard to get stuff to happen.

And if youre picking the wrong projects, youre not getting a

lot of traction.

David Bra dt

If you have been involved in implementing a project and can share

details, wed like to interview you for a case study. Contact Web Managing

Editor Ashlyn Kirk at (770) 449-0461, ext. 120, or [email protected].

Spread the news
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]



Inside IIE Journalsresearch

Are we there yet? Exploitingmassive amounts of trafficdata for route planningIntelligent transportation systems (ITS)

employ a variety of technologies from

smart traffic signal control systems to

advanced applications that integrate live

data and feedback from different sources

(e.g., data from mobile phones). ITSprovide a rich source of historical and

real-time data that can enable efficient

vehicle route planning. The real-time

data also can inform route planners about

how events such as extreme weather and

road accidents affect traffic network dy-

namics.

Route planners are used in many sys-

tems, including dispatch centers of emer-

gency responders and trucking compa-

nies, navigation systems and mobile

navigation applications. If route plannerseffectively incorporate ITS data, vehicles

can avoid congested areas.

However, developing efficient algo-

rithms for vehicle routing on time-de-

pendent networks is a major challenge

due to scale and dynamics of traffic data.

And most current applications require

significant data pre-processing and com-

puting memory.

The problem of vehicle routing un-

der ITS is investigated in HierarchicalTime-Dependent Shortest Path Algo-

rithms for Vehicle Routing under ITS.

In this paper, Mark Nejad from the Uni-

versity of Oklahoma, Lena Mashayekhy

from the University of Delaware, Rat-

na Babu Chinnam from Wayne State

University and Anthony Phillips from

Ford Motor Co. propose a hierarchi-

cal time-dependent vehicle routing

algorithm. Their proposed algorithm

exploits community structure of traffic

networks. Community structure refers

to the occurrence of densely connected

groups of nodes. Exploiting hierarchi-

cal community-based representations of

road networks, the algorithm recursively

reduces the search space in each level of

the hierarchy to speed up the search for

effective routes dramatical ly.

Using data from road networks in De-

troit, New York and San Francisco, the

authors also demonstrated the compu-

tational efficiency and accuracy of their

proposed algorithm. The algorithm

finds routes in real time on large-scale

networks without having to store a large

number of pre-calculated shortest paths

and lower bounds. A key property oftheir proposed algorithm is the fact that

it does not require a lot of memory. This

property makes the algorithm more suit-

able to be incorporated in vehicle route

planners.

CONTACT: Mark Nejad; [email protected]; As-

sistant Professor, School of Industrial and Systems

Engineering, University of Oklahoma, 202 W. Boyd

St., Room 124, Norman, OK 73019-1022

Just in time, from time to timeThese days, JIT supply of final assemblyis often regarded as a matter of course,

especially in the automotive industry,

where the JIT principle was born. The

plethora of parts, modules and sub-

assemblies required for building cars

these days, on the one hand, and the no-

toriously scarce space on the shop floor,

on the other hand, make more inventory

than the absolute minimum barely con-

ceivable.

This month we highlight two

articles on transportation

scheduling and logistics. The first

article develops an approach for

incorporating multiple sources

of information from intelligent

transportation systems to provide

computationally efficient, real-time route planning for vehicles

in dynamic traffic networks. The

second article develops algorithms

for scheduling the shipping

of parts from an intermediate

distribution center to production

facilities so the parts arrive just

in time. These articles will appear

in the February 2016 issue of IIE

Transactions(Volume 48, No. 2).

Ratna Babu Chinnam (from left),

Mark Nejad and Lena Mashayekhy

collaborated with Anthony Phillips to

design a vehicle routing algorithm that

used intelligent transportation systems.

Anthony Phillips is a

senior technical leader

at Ford Motor Co.
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However, in spite of the undeniable

benefits of JIT, the increasing delivery

costs that go hand in hand with a fre-

quent, small-lot supply must not be for-

gotten. So something like just in time,

from time to time must have come to

the mind of professors Nils Boysen and

Simon Emde from Friedrich-Schiller-

University of Jena and professor Dirk

Briskorn from the University of Wup-

pertal when being presented with the

following problem of a large German

automobile producer.

The OEM receives parts from all over

the world, especially from Eastern Eu-

rope and the Far East. The lead-time for

these distant suppliers is too long to en-

able a concerted JIT supply chain. Thus,

to avoid excessive parts inventory, the

OEM built an additional distribution

center (DC) to store parts intermediate-

ly from distant suppliers for the OEMs

nearby plants.

Three to four days ahead of produc-

tion, when the production sequence of

cars in one of the OEMs plants is fixed

definitively, this sequence is commu-

nicated to the DC, where the required

parts are sorted and stored in transport

containers.These containers need to be trans-

ported from the DC to the OEM plant

by trucks that have a fixed capacity. The

deadline of each container leaving the

DC is defined by the production slot

in which the first part is assembled. In

this setting, the OEM aims at a delivery

schedule that trades off the benefits of

JIT supply with the transportation costs

of the trucks.

In their paper Just-in-Time VehicleScheduling with Capacity Constraints,

the German researchers investigate the

OEMs scheduling problem in detail

and provide suitable optimization pro-

cedures. Their algorithms clearly out-

perform the simple spreadsheet solutions

currently used by the OEM.

CONTACT: Nils Boysen; nils.boysen@uni-jena.

de; +49 3641-943100; Chair of Operations Man-

agement, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Carl-

Zeiss-Str. 3, D-07743 Jena, Germany

Timely and effectiveemergency responseis no accidentEmergency medical service (EMS) or-

ganizations provide vital services, but

an often overlooked challenge for these

incident responders is the struggle to

stay afloat financially. The reality is thatmany EMS outfits battle to survive fis-

cally while they are saving lives.

In A Multi-Period Dynamic Loca-

tion Planning Model for Emergency Re-

sponse, doctoral student Jianing (Jen-

ny) Zhi and professors Burcu B. Keskin

and Sharif H. Melouk of the University

of Alabama aim to minimize the total

operational cost of an EMS organization

while maintaining acceptable response

times. The researchers collaborated with

Chris Byrd, operations supervisor at

NorthStar Paramedic Services of the

Tuscaloosa/Birmingham region, while

designing a new, four-tier, dynamically

changing response network. The new

network considers EMS supply centers,

hospitals, potential responder locations

and predicted incident locations.

This work was motivated by the lack

of cost perspective in existing EMS re-

search. EMS providers typically use a

limited number of ambulances to re-

spond to incoming calls. They dispatch

a set of ambulances to the incident scene

depending on incident severity. Uncer-

tain arrival times of emergency calls im-

pact the ability of ambulances to cover

the service area, especially with respect

to service restrictions that have been im-posed. A major concern for EMS pro-

viders relates to the failure of respond-

ing to incidents within a defined service

time requirement, which leads to exces-

sive penalty costs for the providers and

leaves the public vulnerable. Of course,

sustained low service performance by an

EMS provider may result in the loss of a

responder service contract.

Using an integer programming ap-

proach, the researchers created a re-source planning and network design

model with a focus on minimizing to-

tal operational cost, all while meeting

the service requirements. Operational

cost components include transportation

cost, delayed response penalty cost and

deferral penalty cost. Unique to this re-

search are considerations of penalty costs

for delayed and deferred responses and

using supply centers as a source for re-

sponder and dispatch locations.

The most recent issue ofIIE

Transactions on Healthcare

Systems Engineering (Volume

5, Issue 4) contains five articles

covering a range of healthcare

systems problems and solutionmethods. Brief summaries of

two of the articles are given

below. The first discusses how

an integer program can be used

to help manage the deployment

and redeployment of ambulances.

The second describes the use

of sensors and data mining

techniques to provide a low cost,

noninvasive way to predict early

stage Parkinsons disease.

Simon Emde (left)

and Nils Boysen

discuss their work.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]



IIE Transactionsis IIEs flagship research

journal and is published monthly. It aims

to foster exchange among researchers and

practitioners in the industrial engineering

community by publishing papers that aregrounded in science and mathematics and

motivated by engineering applications.

IIE Transactions on Healthcare Systems

Engineering is a quarterly, refereed journal

that publishes papers about the application

of industrial engineering tools and

techniques to healthcare systems.

To subscribe, call (800) 494-0460 or

(770) 449-0460.

About the journals

RESEARCH

This research quantifies the impact of

network size, ambulance fleet size, dif-

fering incident occurrence patterns and

time-dependent incident frequency on

service quality and total cost. One of

the most interesting investigations re-

lates to a payback analysis that could jus-

tify acquiring new emergency response

resources. The planning model helps

practitioners evaluate when procuring

additional resources, compared with re-

allocating existing resources, may be ajustifiable strategy.

CONTACT: Burcu B. Keskin; [email protected];

(205) 348-8442; 355 Alston Hall, ISM Depart-

ment, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

35487-0226

What can body movement tellus about brain health?Mobility is critical to human interac-

tions, whether it involves how we move

the muscles in our face to smile or ourarms to hug a loved one. Unfortu-

nately, some people lose certain cells in

the brain that are important for normal

movement, leading to significant motor

dysfunction. Whereas directly observ-

ing the inner workings of the brain may

be challenging even when using todays

advanced technologies, what goes on in

the brain may be observable indirectly

by focusing on the things that the brain

controls, such as our hands and legs.

One established technique for mea-

suring indirectly how well our brain

is controlling our motor functions is

attaching physical sensors to different

body parts that execute motor functions

(e.g., hands, arms, etc.). This approach,

however, requires securing many sen-

sors to multiple body positions and us-

ing special cameras to track the sensors.

Furthermore, the placement of the sen-

sors is time-consuming, somewhat em-

barrassing for the participant, and the

cameras are rather expensive. Instead of

wearable sensors that indirectly measure

the brains functions relating to mobility,

what if similar data could be captured

using off-the-shelf, nonwearable sensing

systems?

In the art icle A Data Mining Meth-odology for Predicting Early Stage Par-

kinsons Disease Using Non-Invasive,

High Dimensional Gait Sensor Data,

Pennsylvania State University research-

ers Conrad S. Tucker, Yixiang Han,

Harriet Black Nembhard (industrial

engineering), Wang-Chien Lee (com-

puter science and engineering), Mech-

elle Lewis, Nicholas Sterling and Xue-

mei Huang (neurology) collaborated to

explore the feasibility of using a singlenonwearable, depth-sensing camera sys-

tem to capture individuals gait patterns.

Just as a human can see the difference

in how people walk, researchers were

able to train a computer algorithm to

use the movement data captured by the

nonwearable sensor to differentiate Par-

kinsons disease patients from controls.

This research has the potential to

advance early-stage detection of neu-

rologically induced movement disor-

ders in nonclinical settings, such as the

comfort of ones home. Such techniques

could serve as a decision support system

for physicians and healthcare providers

seeking to empower patients by focusing

on wellness and preventive medicine.

CONTACT: Conrad S. Tucker; [email protected];

(814) 865-7580; The Pennsylvania State Univer-

sity, 213-N Hammond Building, University Park,

PA 16802-1401

Ro ald Aski is a professor a d director of the

School of Computi g, I formatics a d Deci-

sio ystems E gi eeri g at Arizo a State

U iversity. He is editor-i -chief of IIE Trans-

actionsa d a fellow of IIE.

Joh W. Fowler is the Motorola Professor a d

Chair of the Departme t of Supply Chai

Ma ageme t i he W.P. Carey School of

Busi ess a d a professor of i dustrial e gi eer-

i g at Arizo a State U iversity. He is editor-

i -chief of IIE Transactions on HealthcareSystems Engineering.

Research by

Burcu B. Keskin

(from left), Chris

Byrd and Sharif H.

Melouk aimed to

help emergency

medical service

organizationssurvive financially.

Jianing Zhi

co-authored A

Multi-Period

Dynamic Location

Planning Model

for Emergency

Response.

Conrad S. Tucker

presented his

teams work at

the annual Center

for Integrated

Healthcare Delivery

Systems workshop.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.iienet.org/IEmagazinehttp://www.iienet.org/iemagazine


http://www.iienet.org/



The field of industrial engineering has

been on a lean movement since the con-cept was made famous by the Toyota

Production System. Whether at work or

home, people are always trying to stay

organized, eliminate waste and simplify

life.

Many use daily planners. Some need

more visual signs such as Post-it notes,

while others track activities using email

or a calendar. In the ever-growing digi-

tal world, Trellois a useful and free

application to help daily lives.

Trello uses a kanban project manage-

ment style on its digital interface. Eachproject, or daily activity, is broken down

into its own specific board where the

details about the activity are located.

Once inside the board, users can get

creative.

The project boards are broken up

into discrete sections to help visual-

ize the projects flow in an organized

way. Within each main project section,

Post-its show what is being worked

on, what has not been started, and what

objects in the project have been com-

pleted.Similar to a white board for planning

purposes, Trello allows groups to assign

specific parts of a project to members

and see where along the process these

tasks stand in real time. Unlike the white

board though, Trello adds the advantag-

es of alerts, reminders and notifications

to keep every member up to date.

These notifications can be set on a

personal level as well. Whether you

would like to receive an email or receive

tools & techn logies

Trello puts kanban planning in your hand

By Jon Grooms

Jon Grooms is a consultant for West Monroe Partners in theirworkforce optimization practice. He is a member of IIEs YoungProfessionals group.

Trello brings the kanban

project management style

to your digital interface.

Documents

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