Case Study: Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS) with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality

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Description
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) experienced a problem with the quality of their services. The agency was expending a large amount of resources, both time and money to control contractors' work with unexpected poor quality work. ADEQ partnered…

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) experienced a problem with the quality of their services. The agency was expending a large amount of resources, both time and money to control contractors' work with unexpected poor quality work. ADEQ partnered with Dr. Dean Kashiwagi and the Performance Based Studies Research Group (PBSRG) early in 2014 to find a solution to the procurement problems. PBSRG introduced the Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS) and began implementation on four test projects. Three of the projects have moved into the execution phase delivering almost $100K savings in the procurement process alone. The three main causes of the issues were: lack of a system identifying the quality of vendors, management, direction, and control (MDC), and lack of a system to track vendor performance. Best value PIPS is a paradigm shift from the traditional price-based model and has succeeded in mitigating these challenges for the industry, while also validating the PBSRG model.
Date Created
2014-12
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Applying Industrial Engineering to Optimize Swim Stroke Economy

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Description

The U.S. Navy and other amphibious military organizations utilize a derivation of the traditional side stroke called the Combat Side Stroke, or CSS, and tout it as the most efficient technique available. Citing its low aerobic requirements and slow yet…

The U.S. Navy and other amphibious military organizations utilize a derivation of the traditional side stroke called the Combat Side Stroke, or CSS, and tout it as the most efficient technique available. Citing its low aerobic requirements and slow yet powerful movements as superior to the traditionally-best front crawl (freestyle), the CSS is the go-to stroke for any operation in the water. The purpose of this thesis is to apply principles of Industrial Engineering to a real-world situation not typically approached from a perspective of optimization. I will analyze pre-existing data about various swim strokes in order to compare them in terms of efficiency for different variables. These variables include calories burned, speed, and strokes per unit distance, as well as their interactions. Calories will be measured by heart rate monitors, converting BPM to calories burned. Speed will be measured by stopwatch and observer. Strokes per unit distance will be measured by observer. The strokes to be analyzed include the breast stroke, crawl stroke, butterfly, and combat side stroke. The goal is to informally test the U.S. Navy's claim that the combat side stroke is the optimum stroke to conserve energy while covering distance. Because of limitations in the scope of the project, analysis will be done using data collected from literary sources rather than through experimentation. This thesis will include a design of experiment to test the findings here in practical study. The main method of analysis will be linear programming, followed by hypothesis testing, culminating in a design of experiment for future progress on this topic.

Date Created
2014-12
Agent

A Reliability Driven Model for Airline Crew Vacation Grid Optimization

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Description
The crew planning problem in the airline industry presents a very computationally complex problem of high importance to the business. Airlines must schedule crew members to ensure that all flights are staffed while remaining in compliance with the business needs…

The crew planning problem in the airline industry presents a very computationally complex problem of high importance to the business. Airlines must schedule crew members to ensure that all flights are staffed while remaining in compliance with the business needs and regulatory requirements set by entities such as unions and FAA. With the magnitude of operation of the prominent players in the airline industry today, the crew staffing problem proves very large and has become heavily reliant on operations research solution methodologies. An area of opportunity that has not yet been extensively researched lies in the planning of crew vacation. This paper develops a model driven by the idea of system risk that constructs an optimal vacation grid for the time period of one year. The model generates a daily allocation that maximizes vacation offering while ensuring a given level of system reliability. The model is then implemented using data from US Airways and model improvements are provided for practical application in the airline industry based on the output.
Date Created
2015-05
Agent

The Relationship Between the Success and Composition of Modern Popular Electronic Dance Music and the Seasons and Climate

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Description
This research covers the relationship between popular electronic dance music (EDM) and the seasons and climate. The precedence and relevance of the research is outlined through prior research initiatives by Karen Aplin and Paul Williams on the effect of weather…

This research covers the relationship between popular electronic dance music (EDM) and the seasons and climate. The precedence and relevance of the research is outlined through prior research initiatives by Karen Aplin and Paul Williams on the effect of weather on classical music. The hypothesis is that the climate will affect how music by artists residing within the climate and the seasons will affect the popularity of certain genres. Warmer climates will produce songs that are more upbeat and energetic while colder climates will result in songs that are more complex and heavy. The analysis of this hypothesis will be performed in two parts. The first will be a data driven analysis from Beatport.com's Top 100 EDM charts to observe the season's impact on genre popularity. The second will be a case study analysis of a number of artists from around the world to observe climate impact on EDM. From the analysis, we are able to draw the connection that climate does in fact have an impact on the types of music produced. Likewise, we are able to conclude that there is a distinct variation in deep house, techno/tech house, and house as a result of the seasons shifting. Techno/tech house is more popular in the warmer spring and summer months and house and deep house have a higher standing in the colder fall and winter months.
Date Created
2015-05
Agent

Learning the Initial Lexicon in Translating Natural Language to Formal Language

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Description
The objective of this research is to determine an approach for automating the learning of the initial lexicon used in translating natural language sentences to their formal knowledge representations based on lambda-calculus expressions. Using a universal knowledge representation and its…

The objective of this research is to determine an approach for automating the learning of the initial lexicon used in translating natural language sentences to their formal knowledge representations based on lambda-calculus expressions. Using a universal knowledge representation and its associated parser, this research attempts to use word alignment techniques to align natural language sentences to the linearized parses of their associated knowledge representations in order to learn the meanings of individual words. The work includes proposing and analyzing an approach that can be used to learn some of the initial lexicon.
Date Created
2015-05
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JOB ORDER CONTRACTING COST AND BENEFITS ANALYSIS RESEARCH

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Description
The Performance Based Studies Research Studies Group (PBSRG) at Arizona State University (ASU) has been studying the cause of increased cost and time in construction and other projects for the last 20 years. Through two longitudinal studies with a grou…

The Performance Based Studies Research Studies Group (PBSRG) at Arizona State University (ASU) has been studying the cause of increased cost and time in construction and other projects for the last 20 years. Through two longitudinal studies with a group of owners in the state of Minnesota (400 tests over six years) and the US Army Medical Command (400 tests over four years), the client/buyer has been identified as the largest risk and source of project cost and time deviations. This has been confirmed by over 1,500 tests conducted over the past 20 years. The focus of this research effort is to analyze the economic and performance impact of a delivery process of construction called the Job Order Contracting (JOC) process, to evaluate the value (in terms of time, cost, and customer satisfaction) achieved when utilizing JOC over other traditional methods to complete projects. JOC's strength is that it minimizes the need for the owner to manage, direct and control (MDC) through a lengthy traditional process of design, bid, and award of a construction contract. The study identifies the potential economic savings of utilizing JOC. This paper looks at the results of an ongoing study surveying eight different public universities. The results of the research show that in comparison to more traditional models, JOC has large cost savings, and is preferable among most owners who have used multiple delivery systems.
Date Created
2015-12
Agent

Zero Waste Management

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Description

Zero Waste Management at Arizona State University is an initiative that aims to divert 90% of the waste that goes into the landfills. In order to do this, it is important to focus on the biggest generator of waste every…

Zero Waste Management at Arizona State University is an initiative that aims to divert 90% of the waste that goes into the landfills. In order to do this, it is important to focus on the biggest generator of waste every year, which is "Food and Catering". One of the biggest challenges facing the food and catering industry is the lack of efficient and standard processes which results in immense waste every year. As a result, this thesis takes a Lean Six Sigma approach into ASU's zero waste event processes and identifies possible gaps that could be improved. It uses the DMAIC methodology to dive into a standard process for requesting and handling a zero waste event at ASU and concentrates on the logistics behind those zero waste events.

Date Created
2015-12
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Cost Driven Agent Based Simulation of the Department of Defense Acquisition System

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Description
The Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition system is a complex system riddled with cost and schedule overruns. These cost and schedule overruns are very serious issues as the acquisition system is responsible for aiding U.S. warfighters. Hence, if the acquisition…

The Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition system is a complex system riddled with cost and schedule overruns. These cost and schedule overruns are very serious issues as the acquisition system is responsible for aiding U.S. warfighters. Hence, if the acquisition process is failing that could be a potential threat to our nation's security. Furthermore, the DoD acquisition system is responsible for proper allocation of billions of taxpayer's dollars and employs many civilians and military personnel. Much research has been done in the past on the acquisition system with little impact or success. One reason for this lack of success in improving the system is the lack of accurate models to test theories. This research is a continuation of the effort on the Enterprise Requirements and Acquisition Model (ERAM), a discrete event simulation modeling research on DoD acquisition system. We propose to extend ERAM using agent-based simulation principles due to the many interactions among the subsystems of the acquisition system. We initially identify ten sub models needed to simulate the acquisition system. This research focuses on three sub models related to the budget of acquisition programs. In this thesis, we present the data collection, data analysis, initial implementation, and initial validation needed to facilitate these sub models and lay the groundwork for a full agent-based simulation of the DoD acquisition system.
Date Created
2016-05
Agent

Life Application of Information Measurement Theory and the Kashiwagi Solution Model

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Description
The deductive logic and leadership techniques presented in Dr. Dean Kashiwagi's Information Measurement Theory (IMT) and the Kashiwagi Solution Model (KSM) provide the tools to implement positive change within one's life and environment. By altering the way that I perceive…

The deductive logic and leadership techniques presented in Dr. Dean Kashiwagi's Information Measurement Theory (IMT) and the Kashiwagi Solution Model (KSM) provide the tools to implement positive change within one's life and environment. By altering the way that I perceive the world, I have made progress in self-improvement through action. This project utilizes self-evaluation as a method to learn from dominant information and experience. In establishing that natural laws govern the world, there is no randomness; events and decisions are all cause-and-effect. When seen through this lens, life becomes simpler and manageable. Through my own implementation of IMT and KSM, I live a more productive lifestyle and feel that I have a meaningful plan for my future.
Date Created
2016-05
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Modelling Megacities: An Approach to Modelling Dense Urban Area

Description
In 2010, for the first time in human history, more than half of the world's total population lived in cities; this number is expected to increase to 60% or more by 2050. The goal of this research effort is to…

In 2010, for the first time in human history, more than half of the world's total population lived in cities; this number is expected to increase to 60% or more by 2050. The goal of this research effort is to create a comprehensive model and modelling framework for megacities, middleweight cities, and urban agglomerations, collectively referred to as dense urban areas. The motivation for this project comes from the United States Army's desire for readiness in all operating environments including dense urban areas. Though there is valuable insight in research to support Army operational behaviors, megacities are of unique interest to nearly every societal sector imaginable. A novel application for determining both main effects and interactive effects between factors within a dense urban area is a Design of Experiments- providing insight on factor causations. Regression Modelling can also be employed for analysis of dense urban areas, providing wide ranging insights into correlations between factors and their interactions. Past studies involving megacities concern themselves with general trend of cities and their operation. This study is unique in its efforts to model a singular megacity to enable decision support for military operational planning, as well as potential decision support to city planners to increase the sustainability of these dense urban areas and megacities.
Date Created
2016-05
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