An investigation of transitional management problems for the NSTS at NASA, executive summary

A summary is given of the work of the University of Houston research team for the third quarter of effort in a yearly grant for the National Space Transportation System (NSTS). As such it serves as a resting place for the ideas and concepts developed this quarter with the collaboration of the Management Integration Offices of NASA. Another objective is the hope that the report will help to stimulate the healthy problem solving process already present at NASA. The main goal of the contractual work is to help NASA to find ways and means of moving into a truly operational era with the shuttle program. This work is a continuation of early work and the reader is encouraged to read the final reports of earlier years. Chapter One of the report is an introduction. Chapter Two deals with industrial adaptation and is in two parts: theory and application. In the theory section, impressions of the management system immediately after reflight are discussed. A key issue, in the author's opinion is the seeming lack of purpose of the program. The application section has six appendices: 1988 Demographic Survey, Field Notes of Interview with HL/P South Texas Nuclear Project, a comparison of the Agendas of the current manager with that of a previous manager, a note on compartmentalization to assist in manifesting, a study on launch prediction for STS-26, and a discussion of a statistical decision-making course for upper level managers. Chapter Three deals with theoretical results returned on flow shop scheduling which will be of use downstream. Chapter Four deals with a statistical model developed to predict the flight rate in future years and indicates the program will have trouble making its schedule. Chapter Five covers the constructural effort and shows the work to be on schedule

An investigation of transitional management problems for the NSTS at NASA

This quarterly report summarizes the ideas and concepts developed by the University of Houston team with the collaboration and support of the Management Integration Offices of NASA. In addition it is hoped that this report will help to stimulate the healthy problem solving process already present at NASA. This is the second report in the fourth year of the research contract. The main aim of the work is to assist the National Space Transportation System (NSTS) in finding ways and means of moving into a truly operational era in the sense of routine timely production of flights. The reader who seeks an understanding of the concepts presented is encouraged to read the reports of the last three years. The overall strategy of this effort is to: (1) search the literature for applications of transition management and other related issues, (2) conduct investigations into the experiences of the industries with the transition management, and (3) to adapt the information found in (1) and (2) above into a form useful to NASA while at the same time applying industrial engineering and engineering management expertise to problems and issues as they emerge

Finite Hyberbolic Planes

In Bolyai-Lobachevsky Planes with Finite Lines, B. J. Topel Presented seven axioms for a hyperbolic plane and then proved there were no finite hyperbolic planes. This paper begins by reviewing Topel\u27 s article. Graves presented a different set of axioms for a finite hyperbolic plane in A Finite Bolyai-Lobachevsky Plane. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, the problem of developing a new method of constructing a finite hyperbolic plane under Graves\u27 axioms is considered; and second, work done by other authors in constructing finite hyperbolic planes is reviewed

The background and theory of integrated risk management

While all good managers have always considered risk in their decision making, only recently have formal programs to do so been introduced. This report covers the logical structure behind the formulation of an integrated risk management plan (IRM). Included in the report are factors forcing the development of a formal plan to consider risk, the basic objective or purpose of an IRM, and desirable traits of such a plan. The report moves on to a discussion of background issues, seeks to formalize some definitions, and then discusses required information on threats. The report concludes with the steps for an IRM

Scan Time Goals with Analysis of Scan Times from Aquatic Facilities

This paper aims to understand the challenges associated with establishing a time goal for scanning a lifeguard’s area of responsibility and identifying critical incidents requiring a response. It analyzed the results of 289 lifeguard inspections from aquatic facilities with management emphasis on scanning. The scanning summaries from the inspections cover 15,737 lifeguard observations where lifeguards were trained using two different scanning goals: 1) scan their area of responsibility within 15 s with an emphasis on using visual recognition signals to identify an incident and 2) recognize victims within 10 seconds in their area of responsibility. Analysis showed an average scan time of 22.65 s with 41.86% within 0-15 s and 37.03% within 16-30 s. The 10 s goal averaged 25.96 s and the 15 s goal has an average 21.96 s scan time. The weak implication was that if guards were trained using the goal of a scan taking 15 s or less, there was a reasonable chance that a large percentage of their scans will be at 30 s or less. Additional research is needed to discover whether there are other goals or methods that might produce even more effective scanning and times

Development of In-Water-Intervention (IWI) In a Lifeguard Protocol With Analysis of Rescue History

This paper discusses the development and effectiveness of a protocol for lifeguards in enclosed aquatic facilities with special emphasis on scanning, rapid rescue, and applying a resuscitation procedure in the water immediately after contacting a drowning victim. We call this set of procedures In-The-Water-Intervention (IWI). Testing showed abdominal thrusts (ATs) adapted for the protocol were the most effective IWI that could reliably be performed in deep water by 16-18 year-old lifeguards. Data analysis was done on a waterpark attendance of 63,800,000 with 56,000 rescues and 32 respiratory failures including four deaths. This paper concludes that this lifeguard protocol is effective for the environment described in this study. The lifeguard protocol’s fatality rate (0.0063 per 100K) is 1.09% of the year 2000 CDC fatality rate for all US pools. Only IWI was required to restore spontaneous respiration in 14 (43.75%) of the 32 cases involving loss of spontaneous respiration. In an additional 2 (6.25%) of the 32 cases involving loss of spontaneous respiration, ATs delivered out of the water were all that was required to restore spontaneous respiration

An investigation of transitional management problems for the NSTS

Analysis and recommendations were provided to the National Space Transportation System (NSTS) on managing the transition from a research and development (R/D) structure to an operational structure. Summaries of published literature on the theory and applications of transition, or change management, and the results of interviews with additional industry personnel whose organizations either have gone through or are now going through change are contained. The issues of flight rates and the flight decision are addressed. The use of a computer simulation model to analyze the effect of varying different parameters on the flight rate was also discussed. The issue of NASA's changing demographics was examined and why this may be a cause for concern. The impact of the whole shuttle system structure on the Challenger accident was presented along with the highlights of the Rogers Commission Report. The proposed reorganization of the NSTS management structure is discussed and how this transition from R/D to operations can be performed