Rfid-based business process and workflow management in healthcare:design and implementation

The healthcare system in the United States is considered one of the most complex systems and has encountered challenges related to patient safety concerns, escalating costs, and unpredictable outcomes. Many of these problems share a common cause - a lack of efficient business process management and visibility into the real-time location, status, and condition of medical resources. The goal of this research is to propose a newly integrated system to model, automate, and monitor healthcare business processes using an automatic data collection technology to record the timing and location of activities and identify their various resources. This dissertation makes several contributions to the design and implementation of RFID-based business process and workflow management in healthcare. First, I propose a road map to implement RFID in hospitals with performance matrixes for technology evaluation, key criteria for resolution level setting, and business rules for information extraction. Second, RFID-based business process management (BPM) concepts and workflow technologies are used to transform the reprocessing procedures in a Sterile Processing Department (SPD) for the purpose of reducing infections caused by unclean reusable medical equipment. In the proposed pattern for healthcare business process management, the importance of execution status control is emphasized as a key component to handle complex and dynamic healthcare processes. A five-level framework for service-oriented business process management is designed for SPDs to share information, integrate distributed systems, and manage heterogeneous resources among multiple stakeholders. This research proposes a healthcare workflow system as a deliverable solution to manage the execution phase of reprocessing procedures, which supports the design, execution, monitoring, and automation of services supplied in SPDs. RFID techniques are adopted to collect relative real-time data for SPD performance management. Finally, by identifying key architectural requirements, the subsystems of a service-oriented architecture for the SPD workflow prototyping system, SPDFLOW, are discussed in detail. This research is the first attempt to explore healthcare workflow technologies in the SPD domain to improve the quality of reusable medical equipment and ensure patient safety

Sustainability in Construction: Using Lean Management Principles to Reduce Waste

The construction industry is facing many challenges. There are growing consumer demands for sustainable building. The construction industry generates a significant portion of the waste going into landfills. The construction industry has failed to keep pace with productivity in the manufacturing industry. Through adoption of Lean management principles, the construction industry can become more sustainable while increasing productivity. The literature was evaluated for three concepts: Lean management principles interaction with sustainability, the current state of sustainability in the construction industry, and the current state of Lean management principles in the construction industry. Lean management philosophies interactions with sustainability has been heavily studied in the manufacturing industry, but rarely so in the construction industry. The construction industry has been slow to adopt Lean philosophies, as construction presents unique challenges not present in manufacturing. There are emerging technologies in construction that enhance sustainability and Lean philosophies. Through analysis of the few case studies performed on Lean construction, an early model of Lean impacts has been proposed

Integration of e-business strategy for multi-lifecycle production systems

Internet use has grown exponentially on the last few years becoming a global communication and business resource. Internet-based business, or e-Business will truly affect every sector of the economy in ways that today we can only imagine. The manufacturing sector will be at the forefront of this change. This doctoral dissertation provides a scientific framework and a set of novel decision support tools for evaluating, modeling, and optimizing the overall performance of e-Business integrated multi-lifecycle production systems. The characteristics of this framework include environmental lifecycle study, environmental performance metrics, hyper-network model of integrated e-supply chain networks, fuzzy multi-objective optimization method, discrete-event simulation approach, and scalable enterprise environmental management system design. The dissertation research reveals that integration of e-Business strategy into production systems can alter current industry practices along a pathway towards sustainability, enhancing resource productivity, improving cost efficiencies and reducing lifecycle environmental impacts. The following research challenges and scholarly accomplishments have been addressed in this dissertation: Identification and analysis of environmental impacts of e-Business. A pioneering environmental lifecycle study on the impact of e-Business is conducted, and fuzzy decision theory is further applied to evaluate e-Business scenarios in order to overcome data uncertainty and information gaps; Understanding, evaluation, and development of environmental performance metrics. Major environmental performance metrics are compared and evaluated. A universal target-based performance metric, developed jointly with a team of industry and university researchers, is evaluated, implemented, and utilized in the methodology framework; Generic framework of integrated e-supply chain network. The framework is based on the most recent research on large complex supply chain network model, but extended to integrate demanufacturers, recyclers, and resellers as supply chain partners. Moreover, The e-Business information network is modeled as a overlaid hypernetwork layer for the supply chain; Fuzzy multi-objective optimization theory and discrete-event simulation methods. The solution methods deal with overall system parameter trade-offs, partner selections, and sustainable decision-making; Architecture design for scalable enterprise environmental management system. This novel system is designed and deployed using knowledge-based ontology theory, and XML techniques within an agent-based structure. The implementation model and system prototype are also provided. The new methodology and framework have the potential of being widely used in system analysis, design and implementation of e-Business enabled engineering systems

Environmental, operational and financial sustainability of packaging methods in delivery businesses

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-148).In retail delivery companies, packaging is used to transport goods to customers while preventing damage, shrinkage and loss of the contents. With consumer preferences reflecting the growing concern for the environment, retail delivery businesses are at the crossroads of implementing a sustainable operational and financial business model of delivering packages to customers. In this thesis, we will address the issue of sustainable packaging in retail delivery companies by evaluating the financial, environmental and operational viability of such strategies. The thesis will be limited to the downstream order fulfillment cycle from the retail delivery company to the customer. We will focus on three areas applicable to sustainable packaging. The first area is materials innovation where we will analyze alternative materials suitable for retail delivery packaging. The second area involves waste elimination through reducing packaging material use and reusing of packaging materials through a returnable tote program. Lastly, we will understand the implementation challenges to increase the success rate of the strategies mentioned earlier.by Joshua Ng and Kendall Chow.M.Eng.in Logistic

Service supply chain management : a hierarchical decision modeling approach

A Service Supply Chain (SSC) may be described as a network of service provider facilities (in-house or outsourced), each of which is able to process one or more service tasks on an as needed basis. Two key characteristics of a SSC are (i) the business service is decomposable into several sequential tasks that can be processed by different service providers, and (ii) the primary capacity resource is skilled labor. SSCs are increasingly being developed by companies that experience a high variability of demand for their services (e.g., loan processing, analytical consulting services, emergency repair crews, claims processing, etc.). Typically, the customer wait time penalty is very high, to the extent that if the service is not provided within a certain time, the customer service request will abort. As a result, the service provider needs to maintain sufficient processing capacity to meet peak levels of demand. The primary advantage of a SSC, relative to a traditional dedicated facility, is that the processing capacity (labor) can be economically adjusted (lower hiring and firing costs) to match changes in the current demand level. In this dissertation, a hierarchical framework for modeling the decision structure in SSCs is developed. This framework introduces and defines the key SSC entities: service products, service jobs, service providers, and the parameters for characterizing the demand behavior. As part of the framework two problems are formulated and solved. First, given that Service Supply Chains are intended to be dynamic delivery networks that efficiently respond to demand variations, a strategic problem is which candidate service providers are selected to form the SSC network, and how the service tasks are assigned within the provider network. The problem is formulated and solved as a binary program. Second, a consequent tactical problem is how the workforce level at each service provider is dynamically adjusted (hiring and firing) as the real time demand data comes in the problem is formulated and solved as a linear program that bounds a mixed integer program (MIP). The strategic model takes the demand parameters, the competing providers’ information, and the service and tasks parameters, to select the providers that are going to become part of the SSC and assign tasks to them. A method to quantify cumulative demand variation per seasonal cycle is presented to derive aggregate demand parameters from the forecast. The design objective of the strategic model is to minimize set up cost and projected operational cost. The objective is achieved by simultaneously minimizing capital cost, hiring cost, firing cost, service delay cost, excess capacity cost, labor cost, and quality cost while fulfilling the capacity, tasks assignment, facility installation, and task capability constraints. The tactical model is constrained by the providers and task assignment resulting from the strategic model. It uses a more accurate demand forecast, and minimizes actual operational costs represented by hiring cost, firing cost, backlog cost and labor cost, while fulfilling the production balance, routing, capacity, workforce balance and demand constraints. It is solved in two phases. A relaxed model is solved as an LP and its solution is used for bounding a MIP problem. Finally, the behavior of the two models is studied by performing numerical experiments changing key supply chain parameters such as hiring and firing cost, demand variability, labor cost, and backlog cost

Web-based document management system for shop drawings

As construction project management team of the Solaire Metro North Project, the team has several processes like administrative submittals, progress photos, product data and samples, daily construction reports, shop drawings order, etc. During the practicum program, the intern learned that there is a need to better the existing documentation system not to lessen the team\u27s productivity and focus on their actual work and not wasting their time checking and reviewing papers or filing them. This practicum will focus on the review of the existing manual document management system to identify its gaps and weaknesses specifically those related to submission, routing, consolidating and inventory of the shop drawings used for construction to come up with a proposed procedural workflow and controls in preparation for the development of a Web-based Document Management System for Shop Drawings. This paper is limited to the preparation of detailed guidelines in developing a web-based document management system as it is not the intern’s expertise to create such a system. Various literature has been reviewed and involved parties were interviewed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the traditional existing document management system. The existing system\u27s efficiency shows that it is slow in terms of routing and approval since it is done manually and not in parallel. In contrast, the proposed system can route instantly and check the drawings parallel with each designer/consultant. The proposed system utilizes chat boxes for communication of each user involved, storage of the file uploaded, and approval and revision of the files; hence, it would make the submission paperless. It is recommended that if the proposed system is implemented, training should be conducted for the staff from the project\u27s involved companies. Capacity building is needed so that there would be an awareness of how the proposed system works. Once implemented, this system can ease the workload of document controllers, admin assistants, or even engineers who are having a hard time with internal audits and safekeeping of hundreds and hundreds of construction files and folders

ERP Support for lean manufacturing

¿Puede una empresa aprovecharse de las características de los ERPs, sin dejar de utilizar Lean manufacturing? Durante este proyecto haré una introducción de ambos, las diferencias entre ellos y hablaré de cómo hay mucha gente que opina que estos sistemas son totalmente opuestos, pero veremos que lo mejor para la compañía será utilizarlos juntos. Veremos cómo trabajando con ERPs y Lena Manufacturing Unidos Podemos mejorar la productividad basándonos en juntar producciones push y pull. Por último, introduciré técnicas Lean que hoy en día son apoyadas por ERPs, y que ofrecen los proveedores de ERP al mundo Lean.Departamento de Organización de Empresas y Comercialización e Investigación de MercadosGrado en Ingeniería en Organización Industria

Building and monitoring an event-driven microservices ecosystem

Throughout the years, software architectures have evolved deeply to attempt to address the main issues that have been emerging, mainly due to the ever-changing market needs. The need to provide a way for organizations and teams to build applications independently and with greater agility and speed led to the adoption of microservices, particularly endorsing an asynchronous methodology of communication between them via events. Moreover, the evergrowing demands for high-quality resilient and highly available systems helped pave the path towards a greater focus on strict quality measures, particularly monitoring and other means of assuring the well-functioning of components in production in real-time. Although techniques like logging, monitoring, and alerting are essential to be employed for each microservice, it may not be enough considering an event-driven architecture. Studies have shown that although organizations have been adopting this type of software architecture, they still struggle with the lack of visibility into end-to-end business processes that span multiple microservices. This thesis explores how to guarantee observability over such architecture, thus keeping track of the business processes. It shall do so by providing a tool that facilitates the analysis of the current situation of the ecosystem, as well as allow to view and possibly act upon the data. Two solutions have been explored and are therefore presented thoroughly, alongside a detailed comparison with the purpose of drawing conclusions and providing some guidance to the readers. These outcomes that were produced by the thesis resulted in a paper published and registered to be presented at this year’s edition of the SEI hosted at ISEP.Ao longo dos últimos anos, as arquiteturas de software têm evoluído significativamente de forma a tentar resolver os principais problemas que têm surgindo, principalmente derivados nas necessidades do mercado que estão em constante mudança. A necessidade de providenciar uma forma das organizações e suas equipas construírem aplicações independentemente e com uma maior agilidade e rapidez levou à adoção de microserviços, geralmente aplicando uma metodologia de comunicação assíncrona através de eventos. Para além disso, a constante evolução da necessidade de ter sistemas de qualidade e altamente resilientes e disponíveis, ajudou a direcionar um maior foco para padrões de qualidade mais rigorosos, particularmente no que toca a monitorização e outros meios para assegurar o correto funcionamento de componentes em produção em tempo-real. Embora técnicas como a produção de logs, monitorização e alarmística sejam essenciais para ser aplicadas a cada microserviço, poderá não ser suficiente quando consideramos uma arquitetura baseada em eventos. Estudos recentes apontam para que organizações, apesar de estarem a adotar cada vez mais este tipo de arquiteturas de software, ainda encontram bastantes dificuldades devido à falta de visibilidade que possuem dos processos de negócio que envolvem e se propagam por diversos microserviços. Esta tese explora como garantir visibilidade sobre uma arquitetura como a descrita, e assim conseguir seguir os processos de negócio. O resultado da mesma deverá atender a isso providenciando uma ferramenta que facilita a análise da situação atual do ecossistema, e que possibilita a visualização e a intervenção sobre os dados que são disponibilizados. Foram desenvolvidas duas soluções que serão apresentadas detalhadamente juntamente com uma comparação entre as duas com o propósito de tirar mais conclusões e providenciar alguma orientação ao leitor. A tese originou a criação de um artigo submetido para ser apresentado na edição deste ano do SEI

Geospatial Data Preservation Prime

This primer is one in a series of Operational Policy documents being developed by GeoConnections. It is intended to inform Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) stakeholders about the nature and scope of digital geospatial data archiving and preservation and the realities, challenges and good practices of related operational policies. Burgeoning growth of online geospatial applications and the deluge of data, combined with the growing complexity of archiving and preserving digital data, has revealed a significant gap in the operational policy coverage for the Canadian geospatial data infrastructure (CGDI). Currently there is no commonly accepted guidance for CGDI stakeholders wishing or mandated to preserve their geospatial data assets for long-term access and use. More specifically, there is little or no guidance available to inform operational policy decisions on how to manage, preserve and provide access to a digital geospatial data collection. The preservation of geospatial data over a period of time is especially important when datasets are required to inform modeling applications such as climate change impact predictions, flood forecasts and land use management. Furthermore, data custodians may have both a legal and moral responsibility to implement effective archiving and preservation programs. Based on research and analysis of the Canadian legislative framework and current international practices in digital data archiving and preservation, this primer provides guidance on the factors to be considered and the steps to be taken in planning and implementing a data archiving and preservation program. It describes an approach to establishing a geospatial data archives based on good practices from the literature and Canadian case studies. This primer will provide CGDI stakeholders with information on how to incorporate archiving and preservation considerations into an effective data management process that covers the entire life cycle (DCC, 2013) (LAC, 2006) of their geospatial data assets (i.e., creation and receipt, distribution, use, maintenance, and disposition. It is intended to inform CGDI stakeholders on the importance of long term data preservation, and provide them with the information and tools required to make policy decisions for creating an archives and preserving digital geospatial data