Sustainability has been the focus of intense discussions over the past two decades, with topics around the entire product life cycle. In the manufacturing phase, research has been focused solely on environmental impact assessment or environmental impact and cost analysis in its assessment of sustainability. However, few efforts have investigated...
Although electronic medical records systems (EMR) present promising benefits, they have not yet been widely adopted. A problem facing many EMR are that they are disruptive technologies; their complex hardware and software are not designed to account for the clinicians' characteristics and needs, thus, demanding a steep learning curve and...
Since the introduction of lean manufacturing by Toyota and publication by Womack and Jones, organizations have realized sizeable gains through lean process improvement. The spread of lean practices across organizations and industries – from manufacturing to healthcare and construction – requires adjustments of the lean process and, in the case...
This study surveyed a sample population of manufacturing companies in Oregon. Respondents were surveyed concerning their perceptions of ergonomics and their use of ergonomic consulting services from three potential sources of ergonomic consulting services. The sources of ergonomic consulting services were the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OR-OSHA), Workers'...
The focus of this research is to develop a prototype
expert system for softwood lumber grading. The grading
rules used in the knowledge base of the system are based on
Western Lumber Grading Rules 88 published by the Western
Wood Products Association. The system includes 27 grades
in Dimension, Select/Finish,...
With the growing importance of sustainability, organizations in the non-profit
sector need a way to measure, track, improve, and report their sustainability. Through
research in current literature and a survey of practices within local non-profits, it is
shown these organizations need a simple, flexible process with stakeholder participation
to measure...
Transportation plays such an important role in daily living that, without it, a person might be totally homebound. The nation’s air travel system for persons with disabilities is an area of substantial dissatisfaction, with both passengers and the airline industry recognizing the need for improvement. One of the major concerns...
Sulfur content in fuels is an increasingly critical environmental issue. Hydrodesulfurization removes sulfur from hydrocarbons; however, further desulfurization is necessary in fuels. New methods are required. In this study, micro-scaled single phase oxidative desulfurization is explored. An ultraviolet light-assisted micro-reactor is introduced for desulfurization of dibenzothiophene.
Dibenzothiophene is mixed with...
Awareness and implementation of process improvement strategies, like Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, and Lean Management have increased since the 1980s. In more recent history, lean management thinking has shown its significance in the manufacturing world. Kuwait, being a country in which its whole dependence is on revenues of oil...
Burnout is a state of physical or emotional exhaustion and disconnectedness induced by continuous stress that affects various aspects of an individual’s life. Physicians experience burnout at a higher rate than other professions due to the highly stressful nature of their work. Consequently, physicians are at a higher risk of...