Gains in the Life-Cycle of Adaptable, Self-Organizing Material Handling Systems

Compared to conventional material flow controls, self-organized material handling systems and the Internet of Things in facility logistics promise several advantages during the life-cycle. Most important is the increased adaptability in case of expansions or modifications due to a consistent modular design; this also promotes an increased robustness due to clearly defined interfaces and a decreased complexity of each module. The use of RFID technology increases the availability of real-time data about the system and the transported units. However, the introduction of self-organized material handling systems also causes costs, e.g. for necessary RFID tags and readers. Against this background, it is unsatisfactory that the increased adaptability as the main advantage of these systems is hard to grasp. This paper proposes a methodology to analyze the advantages of adaptability in facility logistics during the life-cycle of a material handling system and illustrates its usage. The proposed methodology is based on a dynamic optimization of payoffs during the life-cycle; thereby, all payoffs which are influenced by the adaptability of the material-handling system are included; therefore, the methodology allows to consider the adaptability of all material handling systems

RFID Technology in Intelligent Tracking Systems in Construction Waste Logistics Using Optimisation Techniques

Construction waste disposal is an urgent issue for protecting our environment. This paper proposes a waste management system and illustrates the work process using plasterboard waste as an example, which creates a hazardous gas when land filled with household waste, and for which the recycling rate is less than 10% in the UK. The proposed system integrates RFID technology, Rule-Based Reasoning, Ant Colony optimization and knowledge technology for auditing and tracking plasterboard waste, guiding the operation staff, arranging vehicles, schedule planning, and also provides evidence to verify its disposal. It h relies on RFID equipment for collecting logistical data and uses digital imaging equipment to give further evidence; the reasoning core in the third layer is responsible for generating schedules and route plans and guidance, and the last layer delivers the result to inform users. The paper firstly introduces the current plasterboard disposal situation and addresses the logistical problem that is now the main barrier to a higher recycling rate, followed by discussion of the proposed system in terms of both system level structure and process structure. And finally, an example scenario will be given to illustrate the system’s utilization

A Systemic Approach to Next Generation Infrastructure Data Elicitation and Planning Using Serious Gaming Methods

Infrastructure systems are vital to the functioning of our society and economy. However, these systems are increasingly complex and are more interdependent than ever, making them difficult to manage. In order to respond to increasing demand, environmental concerns, and natural and man-made threats, infrastructure systems have to adapt and transform. Traditional engineering design approaches and planning tools have proven to be inadequate when planning and managing these complex socio-technical system transitions. The design and implementation of next generation infrastructure systems require holistic methodologies, encompassing organizational and societal aspects in addition to technical factors. In order to do so, a serious gaming based risk assessment methodology is developed to assist infrastructure data elicitation and planning. The methodology combines the use of various models, commercial-off-the-shelf solutions and a gaming approach to aggregate the inputs of various subject matter experts (SMEs) to predict future system characteristics. The serious gaming based approach enables experts to obtain a thorough understanding of the complexity and interdependency of the system while offering a platform to experiment with various strategies and scenarios. In order to demonstrate its abilities, the methodology was applied to National Airspace System (NAS) overhaul and its transformation to Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The implemented methodology yielded a comprehensive safety assessment and data generation mechanism, embracing the social and technical aspects of the NAS transformation for the next 15 years

Aerospace Food Technology

Operational and technological problems of improvement in space flight feeding for future manned space mission

A Structured Systemic Framework for Software Development

The purpose of this research was to develop and apply a systems-based framework for the analysis of software development project performance. Software development project performance is measured at the project level; that is, cost, schedule, and product quality that affect the overall project. To date, most performance improvement efforts have been focused on individual processes within the overall software development system. Making improvements to sub-elements, processes, or sub-systems without regard for the overall project is a classic misbehavior entered into by practitioners who fail to use a holistic, systemic approach. Attempts to improve sub-system behavior are at odds with The Principle of Sub-optimization. (van Gigch, 1974) The traditional method of predicting software development project performance, in terms of sub-system performance is too restrictive. A new holistic, systemic view based on systems principles offers a more robust way to look at performance. This research addressed this gap in the systems and software body of knowledge by developing a generalizable and transportable framework for software project performance that is based on systems principles. A rigorous mixed-method research methodology, employing both inductive and case study methods, was used to develop and validate the framework. Two research questions were identified as integral to increasing the understanding of a systems-based framework. (1) How does systems theory apply to the analysis of software development project performance? (2) What results from the application of a systems-based analysis framework for analyzing performance on a software development project? Using Discoverers\u27 Induction (Whewell, 1858), a systems-based framework for the analysis of software development project performance was constructed, adding to the systems and software body of knowledge and substantiating a comprehensive and unambiguous theoretical construct for software development. Then, the framework was applied to two completed software development projects to support validation. The structured systemic framework shows significant promise for contribution to software practitioners by indicating future software development project performance. The research also made a contribution in the area of research methodologies by resurrecting William Whewell\u27s Discoverers\u27 Induction (1858) and furthering the use of the case study method in the engineering management and systems engineering domain, areas where their application has been very limited

Study of airport capacity vs efficiency sesar challenges

The objectives of this study are to present a real case study for evaluating the impact of SESAR enhancements on the capacity and efficiency of the Barcelona – El Prat Airport by analyzing the impact of the future SESAR enablers on the capacity and efficiency indicators and by evaluating the effectiveness and the applicability of the SESAR concept on increasing its capacity and efficiency. The first half of the study is dedicated to analyze the following aspects of T1: - Capacity: current capacity of T1 was assessed, which in this case turns to be the capacity of the global Airport. Capacity is always given by the most restrictive subsystem, which in this case is the runway component. - Efficiency: a good indicator for evaluating the airport’s efficiency is an estimation of the delays. Given that runway component is the subsystem which limits the capacity of the airport, the delay introduced is a good KPI for efficiency. The results obtained from selected methodologies used in the capacity and efficiency assessments, (mainly FAA methods for airside and IATA for landside) show that, on 19th July 2009, Barcelona’s Airport capacity is 62 operations per hour and its efficiency 18.4 minutes of delay per hour on the runway component. Such conditions will be not enough to absorb the future traffic, even if operating at best performance, and it is here were SESAR will play a key role for the survival of Barcelona’s airport. The second half of the study is devoted to evaluate the SESAR scenario. The objective is to assess by how much SESAR will improve the capacity and efficiency of the airport and how this improvement will evolve over time. To this effect, the list of SESAR KPIs that will help in the determination of such parameters is obtained. The study concludes that both capacity and efficiency of Barcelona’s Airport are going to increase in the incoming years thanks to the new systems and procedures of the SESAR Program. - Thanks to new approach procedures (CDA), Barcelona’s landing capacity will be incremented, but because of current airspace limitations this improvement could not be reached by means of runway capacity since the airport is “closed” in terms of noise in the takeoff phase. - Thanks to SESAR CDM, delays will be reduced by a 3%, in means of improving Barcelona’s efficiency, which in values means 17.8 min delay per hour. Both factors will experience their biggest evolution rate from 2012 on until their entire completion on 2020 (63% for capacity and 67% for efficiency). This theoretical increase would mean, for example, that a capacity of 80 operations per hour could be reached by 2020. In terms of environment, SESAR will increase the capacity and efficiency of the Airport of Barcelona while minimizing the environmental impact of aviation on the surroundings of the airport by implementing its new environmental tools and procedures, such as CDA operating techniques which will reduce aircraft’s emissions and noise. The implementation of SESAR will represent an investment for the airport, and to this effect, a business case is presented, containing the analysis of the costs derived from implementing the SESAR requirements in the airport and the balance with the benefits obtained. CBA results show that Airport CDM is a solid investment given its technical applicability and economic viability, since benefits are 4 times bigger than implementation costs and the payback period is within only 2 years; all this at a nearly non-existent financial loss risk. To sum up, SESAR is an extremely positive option for the Airport of Barcelona, since it brings the necessary increases in capacity and efficiency in order to cope with future scenarios, and gives substantial economic benefits

N+3 Small Commercial Efficient and Quiet Transportation for Year 2030-2035

This study develops a future scenario that enables convenient point-to-point commercial air travel via a large network of community airports and a new class of small airliners. A network demand and capacity study identifies current and future air travel demands and the capacity of this new network to satisfy these demands. A current technology small commercial airliner is defined to meet the needs of the new network, as a baseline for evaluating the improvement brought about by advanced technologies. Impact of this new mode of travel on the infrastructure and surrounding communities of the small airports in this new N+3 network are also evaluated. Year 2030-2035 small commercial airliner technologies are identified and a trade study conducted to evaluate and select those with the greatest potential for enhancing future air travel and the study metrics. The selected advanced air vehicle concept is assessed against the baseline aircraft, and an advanced, but conventional aircraft, and the study metrics. The key technologies of the selected advanced air vehicle are identified, their impact quantified, and risk assessments and roadmaps defined

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 125

This special bibliography lists 323 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in January 1974