Industrial Engineering Students Research Articles

Personal commitment, support and progress in doctoral studies

Earlier research on doctoral education has associated study progress with the student’s own capabilities and faculty support. The purpose of this study is to investigate how students’ personal commitment and various forms of support, as well as their complementary effects, explain progress in doctoral studies. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey among doctoral students of industrial engineering and management in Finland. The study investigates the effect of: (1) support from supervisor, peers and employer, and (2) students’ commitment in terms of setting goals, time and plans. The results show that plan commitment and peer support, as well as goal commitment and supervisor support, together have a positive effect on study progress. In turn, time commitment and peer support, and time commitment and supervisor support, jointly lead to better research progress.

Evaluation of industrial engineering students’ competencies for process improvement in hospitals

The failures to properly educate students about process improvement can be seen as major factor leading to increased risks of patient safety and increased wastes in hospital settings. The purpose of this research was two-fold: 1) to identify characteristics that explain the efficacy of Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) based-tools while used by Industrial Engineering (IE) students on multidisciplinary teams in hospital; 2) to identify competencies needed by IEs for effective process improvement in hospital using PDSA based-tools. Exploratory mixed method design approach with survey study, unstructured interviews, and focus group discussions was used to collect the data. A regression analysis was used to identify PDSA based-tool characteristics perceived by IE students as instrumental for process improvement. Next, the abductive inference was applied to analyze qualitative data in order to investigate competencies needed for effective process improvement using PDSA based-tools.Using regression analysis, we found the brainstorming via visualization, recognizing root-cause(s) of the problem and selecting improvement measures via linking the process flow with task(s) characteristics to be the significant characteristics. From qualitative data analysis, we learned that IE students strived in technical analysis but lacked competencies in analyzing qualitative data needed for change implementation efforts. There is increasing evidence that success in achieving process improvement goals is at least partially attributable to implementation processes and contexts and not just to the nature of the technical solution. Therefore, IE students interested in working in hospitals must develop new competencies related to qualitative data analysis to manage change initiatives.

RENCANA STRATEGI BERSAING DAN PEMASARAN DENGAN METODE K-MEANS CLUSTER, MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCALING, DAN CROSS CLASSIFIED FREQUENCY

Marketing represent method which used by a lot of side in development or extehsion of market compaxtnent.By defenitif Marketing is an sqcial process and manajerial making individual and group. obtaining what they require and wish, through reciprocal transfer and creation of product and value \Mith others. lndustrial engineedng of muhammadiyah malang university as an institution under shade of Private sector College that is university of muhammadiyah malang. of cours€ very pay aftention to marketing problem. because it caanot deni€d that marketing playing a part important in student improvement in amount. With data existence that is degradation tendency sum up student, of cowse required an effective marketing system to utilize the improvcment of sum up student. K_Means Cluster, Multidimensional Scaling and Cross Classified Frequency rcpresenting some of appliance of analysis used in determination of market segment of Induslrial engineering, by K_Means [is] Cluster, position of industrial engineering UMM compared to competitor with Multidimensional Scaling and also Cross Classified Frequency ( crosstab ) analysis which used in behavioral determination of Industrial engineering consumer of I-IMM. Applying frorn analysis expected to bring positive impact to marketing formulation of industrial engineering of UMM, that is marketing more emphasized at segment of certain ma.ket with paid attention to segment of analysis resul! for tlle competitor, hence the marketing more emphasized at competitor according to analyse result and for crosstab, marketing €mphasized at a consumer behavior in chosening Industrial engineering of UMM, that is by tipologi consumer behavior. so that th€re is imFovement quantitatively sum up Industrial engineering student of tMM after analysis conducted.

Students Envisaging the Future

In this paper, the research of eight students of Industrial Engineering and Management has been selected from different European countries, incl. Turkey. The students have been specifically chosen because of their concern and commitment for the questions of our future under the impact of globalisation, population growth and pollution threats. Thus this paper mirrors to some extent what undergraduates of today think about their own future and the challenges which they soon will be confronted with, and which are largely being created by our world today. The paper refers to the Limits to Growth (1972) and three subsequent publications on the same issue because these materials have been the starting point for the research of the students.

A practical approach to teaching abstract product design issues

‘Buy an identity’ and ‘surprise your senses’ are two of the ideas that were the outcome of a course ‘Design for a specific Theme’ (in the year 2006–07) held for 4th grade students of Industrial Design Engineering at Twente University. The theme in the title of this course was philosophical, based on the theory of globalisation of German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk. In the following year 2007–08, the theme of the course was ‘leisure’, and it proved again that the structure of this course was particularly suitable for the conversion of such abstract themes in tangible product design. This paper describes the structure and the associated teaching methods of the course, gives examples of student results and discusses the points of interest and application possibilities of this type of course.

Murjottelu – interdisciplinary training campaign for industrial design and engineering students

Today's growing business competition demands that design and technology must be seamlessly integrated. Designers should be employed increasingly as in-house in the industry, in addition to entrepreneurship and consultancy employment. How to realise this aim? Industry training is a tradition in engineering studies, but that is rarely the case in the field of design [Vanhamaa, M. 2006. Harjoittelu osana teollisen muotoilun yliopisto-opetusta Suomessa. Thesis (MA) TAIK]. This causes severe challenges for both industries and the designers themselves; employing industrial designers is perceived as difficult, as is applying for industry positions. The Murjottelu training campaign was launched by Helsinki University of Technology. The original idea behind Murjottelu was to form pairs, consisting of one industrial design student and one engineering student and offer the pair to industrial companies. In other words, to ‘smuggle’ the design student into the organisation. Training pairs typically work within manufacturing and product-development tasks, similar to traditional engineering trainees. As the campaign has expanded, interdisciplinarity in general has grown to a more important role. Including this year, altogether 91 companies with 188 trainees have joined the programme. Employing the first in-house designer has proved to be easier when arriving with an engineer. Another key conclusion is that both the practical deliverables and learning outcomes are of increased value. The student pair is more creative, effective and autonomous than singular trainees in the traditional training format.

Procedimientos de Soldadura y Calificación de Soldadores: una Propuesta de Enseñanza y Guía de Aplicación para la Industria

This paper presents a proposal for the teaching of welding processes that includes an applied pedagogical model, a development methodology and a guide for the preparation of classroom projects directed to students of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, all under the concept of training by competency. A project developed in a company of the welding sector, directed to the control and quality of welded joints was done, using the proposed methodology. The application of the model significantly motivated the students in the learning of welding and related processes enhanced the relation with the industry, and generated important documents developed by students with advice of professors and professionals of the companies.

LA ESTRATEGIA DE CREATIVIDAD SISTEMÁTICA TRIZ CON EQUIPOS MULTIDISCIPLINARES DE DISEÑO DE PRODUCTO

ABSTRACT The systematic creative processes and the evaluation of their results are essential to support the innovative capability of enterprises. There are few studies in the literature on cre-ativity in multidisciplinary groups us- ing systematic techniques such as TRIZ. This article presents the results of a multidisciplinary lab experiment with TRIZ aimed at assessing the Creative Process and the Creative Product. Final-year Industrial Design and Engineering students participated in the study. The Analytic Hierarchy Process, AHP, was used for the mea- surement of Creative Product. Results showed that the work of multi-disciplinary teams yields better results in the generation of ideas as regards their Quality, Novelty and Variety, that the inadequate analysis of a problem is a limitation to the Variety of the proposals and that, because of its approach to the task, the use of TRIZ favours the creative process in multidisciplinary teams. Keywords: systematic creativity, TRIZ, multidisciplinary teams.

Simulation‐based Learning in Engineering Education: Performance and Transfer in Learning Project Management

AbstractThis paper reports empirical findings on the impact of keeping and reviewing learning history in a dynamic and interactive simulation environment of engineering education. The simulator for engineering project management had two learning history keeping modes: automatic (simulator‐controlled) and manual (student‐controlled), and a version with no history keeping. A group of industrial engineering students performed four simulation‐runs divided into three identical simple scenarios (single project) and one complicated scenario (multi‐project). The performances of participants running the simulation with the manual history mode were significantly better than users running the simulation with the automatic history mode. Moreover, the effects of using the history mechanism with the ability to undo further enhanced the learning process. The findings imply that students' decision when to record the history during their engineering training process can have a particularly strong enhancing effect on learning. In addition, the simulator as educational innovation improves students learning and performance. The practical implications of using simulators in the field of engineering learning are discussed.

THE UNIVERSITY IN A NUTSHELL: EUROPEAN STUDENTS ORGANISING THEIR OWN LEARNING

The European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management (ESTIEM) established themselves as an all-European association in 1990, at Darmstadt, Germany. Since 2001, one of their main activities has been the Summer Academy SAC: two weeks of self-organised learning activities through the summer, outside any University courses. This ESTIEM SAC puts into practice the learning approach of the university as the community of learners and teachers on equal terms where education takes place as an integrated all-day process. The Summer Academy may, thus, be considered the model of university education in a nutshell, specifically for future industrial leaders.

Addressing Industrial Problems Using Various Mathematical Models

Mathematics has been called the language of science. Mathematics is used to solve many real-world problems in industry, the physical sciences, economics, social and human sciences, engineering, and technology, for example. We overview the many industrial problems that have been solved using fuzzy logic technology, multiobjective metaheuristics, neural networks, tabu search, genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, decision analysis, Petri nets, and queueing models. This overview could be useful for Ph.D. students in Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, and Operations Management who are looking to solve some real problems. Future industrial applications are also be described.

Scoring Concept Maps: An Integrated Rubric for Assessing Engineering Education

AbstractWe investigated the use of concept maps to assess “knowledge integration,” by developing a rubric to “score” maps using two samples of students. In 2000, a sample of sophomore, junior and senior industrial engineering students was asked to develop concept maps of that field. This exercise was repeated in 2002 with seniors, half of whom participated as sophomores. The maps were scored using “traditional” counting metrics proposed by other researchers and with a holistic approach developed for the study. The holistic approach indicated that students improved as they matriculated through the program, and also enabled faculty to identify programmatic weaknesses. Although the “traditional” methods provided quantifiable information, closer examination questioned whether that information was representative of students' true conceptual understanding. Consequently, a scoring rubric was developed and tested using attributes of the holistic approach.

A set of microprocessor‐based procedures for an industrial engineering course

AbstractNowadays, microprocessors have become an essential tool in a widely set of industrial applications. Because of this, Engineering students, especially Industrial Engineering ones, should be properly taught in its use by implementing sufficiently interesting procedures. The authors consider that these procedures should allow students to manage most of the features that a standard microprocessor offers, such as I/O ports, timer counters, serial communication, or external interruptions. In this way, this article describes a wide and reasonable‐priced set of microprocessor‐based procedures that forces Industrial Engineering students to be familiarized with the described features. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 12: 145–151, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20015

Sense Making and Sense Giving - Manufacturing Europe's Future

The belief that business processes can be automated, so that people can be slotted in and out at will and made to follow standardised mental processes, is a Taylorist control process in which people are dehumanised. They are wanted as consumers but demeaned as producers. However, people identify themselves as producers and their relationships as producers define society. The paper discusses work within ESTIEM (European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management) to understand the sense making and sense giving dimension of leadership in manufacturing, to counter this problem and make manufacturing meaningful in society as a skill based way of living.

What should be the desired outcomes for senior design courses?

(which I teach with mechanical engineering and electrical engineering colleagues) at Marquette University. The course includes biomedical, electrical, computer, mechanical, and industrial engineering students. Project teams consist of three to five students from different engineering disciplines and are advised by faculty members and industry sponsors. The design project is the focus of the course and students are required to hand in specific project-related deliverables during the two-semester course sequence. Twice a week students from all engineering disciplines attend common lectures on various topics related to their projects, the product development process, or their careers. Biomedical engineering students meet separately six times each semester to discuss issues specific to the field. The desired outcomes of the senior design course at Marquette University include

Training of new product development for industrial engineering students: a case from the Kanazawa Institute of Technology

There are two types of new product development, i.e. technological seed oriented and market need oriented. The former is difficult to instil in a limited time scale of several weeks; therefore, we tried the latter one. A class of 60 senior students are divided into ten groups with six students each. First step: each group must find 100 problems to be solved by a new product, and choose the most appropriate. Second step: each group must generate 100 ideas to solve the most appropriate, and choose the best idea. Third step: each group must study technological feasibility. Fourth step: each group must study market feasibility. Fifth step: each group must complete a new product planning format and make a mock-up using paper, boxes, cans and bottles. Sixth step: presentation by each group where the other nine groups ask questions and the group responds and finally each student votes on a 5 point scale for each new product and selects the best new product out of ten. Each step is 90 minutes x 3 classes a day for six weeks. One example of the output and the students' impressions in the class are shown.

Effects of feedback and educational training on maximization in choice tasks: experimental-game evidence

Compelling evidence exists that behavior is inconsistent with the assumptions of expected-utility maximization. However, if learning occurs, then maximization may take place asymptotically (albeit slowly). But a series of experiments by Herrnstein and his associates show that under very general conditions, feedback and experience lead people away from maximization, rather than toward it—a phenomenon termed “melioration.” In this paper, we describe two experiments designed to explore the interactions among cognitive skills, maximization, and feedback. Using students of Economics and Industrial Engineering, we show that clear constructive feedback is a partial substitute for cognitive skills in decision-making.

Ethical Life Cycle of an Innovation

Product safety has always been one of the main problems in engineering ethics. At times it has been discussed as primarily a problem of engineering ethics. However the right to safety is one of the four fundamental consumer rights and so it is an important theme also in business ethics. At the same time the problem of product safety is inseparably connected with business effectiveness: how much can we spend on product safety without making our production unprofitable? Below we will present a possible treatment of the safety problem in teaching business ethics to post-graduate industrial engineering students – as we deal with the problem in Tallinn Technical University.

A Case Study on the Impact of Web-based Technology in a Simulation Analysis Course

A case study is presented on the use of web-based technol ogy to transition from a lecture-based delivery system to an online/multimedia technology delivery system at the University of Oklahoma's School of Industrial Engineer ing. Coupling web and multimedia technology with a pyramid approach to a simulation course sequence, the goal is to provide both undergraduate and graduate stu dents with strong simulation skills in both modeling and analysis. Web-based technology is used to provide course access to non-traditional students, to re-enforce prerequi site knowledge, and to support learning statistical con cepts. The approach has been successful at (i) generating two types of graduates, the simulation modeler and the simulation analyst/consultant, (ii) increasing the reten tion of non-traditional students (industrial engineering students with full-time jobs and other engineering majors without strong statistical backgrounds), and (iii) gradu ating two non-traditional students in the School's master's degree program as based on their research in simulation analysis. However, online technologies are not without their disadvantages. While the burden has been eased on student learning and their out-of-class activities, the faculty is now tasked with an increased load of sup porting online courses and utilizing web-based technolo gies both within and outside the classroom.

Student attitudes toward statistics before and after a computer-integrated introductory statistics course

A validated questionnaire measuring the attitude of engineering students toward statistics was administered to 46 male and 17 female undergraduate engineers during the first and last week of class. The objective was to test the hypothesis that a newly designed computer-integrated statistics course positively affects students' attitudes toward statistics. For the students as a whole, no significant difference is found between the students' attitudes before and after the course. However, some demographic characteristics indicate distinctions among the attitudes of students. Specifically, students owning computers have initially a more positive attitude toward the course. Males also start the semester with a more positive attitude toward the application of statistics to their engineering fields. At the end of the semester, however these differences are no longer evident. On the other hand, students with previous exposure to statistics and the course with a more positive attitude than other students. Also, by the end of the semester, students in industrial, manufacturing, and civil engineering tend to have a more positive attitude toward the usefulness of statistics in their profession than other engineering students. Supporting previous educational research, it was found that a student's attitude toward the course is positively correlated with the grade received. For future curriculum development, this research indicates that integration of statistics into a student's curriculum may provide the greatest impact on improving attitudes toward statistics.