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Industrial Systems Engineering

ALICE SMITH, DEPARTMENT CHAIR

The Department of Industrial Engineering does research in engineering economic analysis, human performance, manufacturing and production systems, and operations research and statistics.

COMPUTATIONAL LABORATORY

Researchers use the Computational Laboratory to develop procedures for solving large-scale industrial engineering problems. The laboratory has Sun Workstations (connected to the College of Engineering Computer Network), many personal computers, and an extensive software library that includes statistical (JMP, SAS, Splus, SYSTAT), simulation (GPSS/H, SIGMA, SIMAN), and mathematical programming (AMPL, CPLEX, GAMS, LINDO, Mathcad, Mathematica, MINOS, STORM) software.

Research includes developing procedures for scheduling payload experiments on NASA shuttle and space station missions; solution procedures for dynamically planning and scheduling manufacturing operations and controlling inventories of multiple products; procedures for solving facility layout problems by solving a series of network problems; graphical simulators for cost analyses of manufacturing systems; algorithms for solving large-scale (more than 1,000,000 integer variables) crew-scheduling problems; and control strategies for continuous-manufacturing operations.

HUMAN PERFORMANCE LABORATORY

Research in human performance emphasizes occupational ergonomics and safety program evaluation and design, environmental stress (noise, heat and vibration) analysis and prevention, personal protective clothing evaluation and design, and work site analysis and design. Work site analysis research includes analysis and design of work areas/workstations and evaluation and control of musculoskeletal cumulative trauma disorders.

The Human Performance Laboratory consists of three general research rooms, a computer room and a library. Equipment includes an electroneurometer for measuring nerve conduction velocity affected by musculoskeletal cumulative trauma disorders; a portable electromyographic device for measuring electrical activity in muscles; heat stress monitors; sound-level meters; human-vibration response meters; a contact thermography system; a video recording and analysis system; an anthropometry measuring set, and many computer software tools for ergonomic analysis.

MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS DESIGN

The Department of Industrial Engineering has five manufacturing laboratories. Research in manufacturing systems design focuses on the strategy required for a company to implement a lean manufacturing system. Gleaned from U.S. companies that are world-class manufacturers, the strategy is based on designing an efficient linked-cell manufacturing system, which has the critical system control functions integrated into it.

BASIC MANUFACTURING PROCESSES LABORATORY

The Basic Manufacturing Processes Laboratory services an undergraduate materials/manufacturing processes course for industrial engineering students.

MACHINING LABORATORY

Basic machining research is developing fundamental machining parameters (such as flow stress and specific horsepower) and new models for shear strain. The Machining Laboratory for metal cutting research has machine tools modified and instrumented to measure cutting forces and temperatures, and to produce quick-stop specimens. Piezoelectric crystal dynamometers and associated instrumentation are available.

MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS MODELING LABORATORY

The Manufacturing Systems Modeling Laboratory uses physical and digital simulation to model manufacturing cells and small systems. The laboratory has a mini-milling machine, mini-CNC lathe, instructional robots, and computers and software for digital simulation, and a mini-manufacturing cell, which has a milling machine, lathe, robot, laser scanner for automatic inspection, decouplers, and material-handling equipment.

METROLOGY LABORATORY

The Metrology Laboratory, an instructional laboratory, has equipment to measure manufactured products. Linear measuring devices include optical comparators, a coordinate measuring machine, profilometers, toolmaker's microscopes, and vision systems for pattern recognition, physical measurements, and target tracking. The laboratory also has a floating optical inspection table and miscellaneous metrology equipment.

ROBOTIC ASSEMBLY LABORATORY

The Robotics Assembly Laboratory has an IBM assembly robot with a work platform and a collection of assembly experiments that give students hands-on laboratory experience. A 24-volt digital I/O interface for the robot and an IBM computer interfaced to the robot controller complete the hardware.