Omar Al-Araidah

Lead‐Time Reduction Utilizing Lean Tools Applied to Healthcare: The Inpatient Pharmacy at a Local Hospital

&NA; The healthcare arena, much like the manufacturing industry, benefits from many aspects of the Toyota lean principles. Lean thinking contributes to reducing or eliminating nonvalue‐added time, money, and energy in healthcare. In this paper, we apply selected principles of lean management aiming at reducing the wasted time associated with drug dispensing at an inpatient pharmacy at a local hospital. Thorough investigation of the drug dispensing process revealed unnecessary complexities that contribute to delays in delivering medications to patients. We utilize DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and 5S (Sort, Set‐in‐order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain) principles to identify and reduce wastes that contribute to increasing the lead‐time in healthcare operations at the pharmacy understudy. The results obtained from the study revealed potential savings of >45% in the drug dispensing cycle time.

A two-stage simulated annealing procedure for block layout problems

Rules for setting simulated annealing control parameters are proposed for block layout problems where different material-handling devices are dynamically assigned to individual material movements as layout solutions are perturbed. Recognizing the high cost of computing materials-handling cost in this type of problem, the rules are based on adapting an existing two-stage simulated annealing procedure to accelerate convergence. Experimental results suggest that the application of these rules yields solution quality comparable with other single and two-stage simulated annealing algorithms but with significantly fewer re-evaluations of the objective function.

Using a fuzzy Poka-Yoke based controller to restrain emissions in naturally ventilated environments

Gas poisoning as a result of fuel-burning inside confined environments claims the lives of many people worldwide. Gas poisoning treatment consists of administering oxygen therapy ranging from access to fresh air to breathing 100% oxygen by a tight fitting oxygen mask. Building on these facts, this article uses Poka-Yoke concepts to prevent, alert, and control the quality of air in naturally ventilated environments. The proposed controller ensures the access of victims to fresh air until help arrives. We target naturally ventilated indoor environments where no other ventilation approaches are installed. The proposed system utilizes fuzzy logic to control the speed and cycle time of two DC-motor-powered fans based on the levels of the oxides sensed by gas detectors. As a result, fresh air is allowed into the environment to replace the polluted air utilizing one fan set while hunted air is exhausted to the outdoors using the second fan set. The proposed system is simulated where obtained results for various scenarios confirm the many advantages of the system over natural ventilation.

A comparative study of single-phase and two-phase approaches for the layout problem with material handling costs

A comparative study of one- and two-phase procedures for material handling cost-based layout problems is presented. A cost function that explicitly accounts for heterogeneous material handling equipment is used as the objective criterion and simulated annealing based search procedures are used to determine layout solutions. Simulated annealing is applied directly in the one-phase procedure and augmented with volume distance based clustering of work centres in the two-phase procedure to reduce computational complexity. The performance of the two approaches are tested on 180 sample problems with 40 work centres that differ in terms of material flow matrix density, work centre space requirements, and variation in the distribution of material flow matrix elements. The results indicate that complexity reduction techniques using surrogate objectives based on volume distance might not always result in layouts that reduce material handling cost.

Students’ assessment of interactive distance experimentation in nuclear reactor physics laboratory education

Laboratory experiments develop students’ skills in dealing with laboratory instruments and physical processes with the objective of reinforcing the understanding of the investigated subject. In nuclear engineering, where research reactors play a vital role in the practical education of students, the high cost and long construction time of research reactors limit their accessibility to few educational programmes around the world. The concept of the Internet Reactor Laboratory (IRL) was introduced earlier as a new approach that utilises distance education in nuclear reactor physics laboratory education. This paper presents an initial assessment of the implementation of the IRL between the PULSTAR research reactor at North Carolina State University in the USA and the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in Jordan. The IRL was implemented in teaching the Nuclear Reactor laboratory course for two semesters. Feedback from surveyed students verifies that the outcomes attained from using IRL in experimentation are comparable to that attainable from other on-campus laboratories performed by the students.

Reducing Delay in Healthcare Delivery at Outpatients Clinics Using Discrete Event Simulation

Outpatient clinics are demanding more consideration to enhance their performance and quality of care. This paper presents a thorough exploration of the outpatient clinics’ environment at a local hospital. The ophthalmology outpatient clinic was selected for a case study. To this end, the total visit time and service times at stations were collected and fed into a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model. The model was validated through a statistical comparison with the performance of the real system. Various improvement alternatives were then proposed and investigated using the DES model. Key performance indicators of the system, including expected waiting time and expected visit length, were traced. Findings indicated that many improvement scenarios could be applied with significant amounts of reduction in waiting time up to 29 % and visit length up to 19 % without investing in new resources. (Received in November 2011, accepted in April 2012. This paper was with the authors 1 month for 2 revisions.)

Quality assurance and accreditation of engineering education in Jordan

This paper provides a study of the quality assurance and accreditation in the Jordanian higher education sector and focuses mainly on engineering education. It presents engineering education, accreditation and quality assurance in Jordan and considers the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) for a case study. The study highlights the efforts undertaken by the faculty of engineering at JUST concerning quality assurance and accreditation. Three engineering departments were accorded substantial equivalency status by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology in 2009. Various measures of quality improvement, including curricula development, laboratories improvement, computer facilities, e-learning, and other supporting services are also discussed. Further assessment of the current situation is made through two surveys, targeting engineering instructors and students. Finally, the paper draws conclusions and proposes recommendations to enhance the quality of engineering education at JUST and other Jordanian educational institutions.

A multi-criteria decision-making framework for assessing the quality and cost of facility layout alternatives: a case study

The paper presents a multi-phase framework for assessing the quality and cost of facility layout alternatives. The framework utilizes life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) to account for economical and qualitative aspects. Life-cycle considerations include costs of development, investment, construction or production, usage, and scrapping. A test of the proposed framework was performed at the Swedish Mail Terminal in the town of Alvesta, a part of Posten Sweden AB. The terminal has several space, machine, and operational constraints. Three layout alternatives were developed and evaluated using the suggested framework. Although the selected layout alternative has the highest implementation cost, it yields a 9 per cent better total life-cycle cost than the closest alternative based on a ten year life-cycle length. The originality of this approach is evident in addressing both quantitative and qualitative facility planning issues such as economical and non-economical aspects, using both LCCA and MCDM methodologies. The approach proposed in this paper is not only valuable in this case study, but it can also be generally applied in other similar decision situations.

2D laser scanner selection using fuzzy logic

Research highlights? Fuzzy logic is used as a multi-criteria selection tool of 2D laser scanners. ? Selection criteria are identified and classified into static and dynamic based on their dependency on the application. ? The ability of fuzzy logic to deal with quantitative as well as qualitative factors is shown. Laser scanners are widely used today in many fields. This paper presents a multi-criteria decision-making selection process of these sensors for different applications using a fuzzy logic approach. Factors affecting the selection process are divided into dynamic and static ones based on their dependency on the application considered. Fuzzy sets and fuzzy rules are used to translate implicit and vague expert opinions provided in linguistic terminology into assessment ratings for different types of laser scanners based on the established factors. The laser scanner with the highest overall assessment rating is chosen as the best alternative for an application. Three laser scanner models from different manufacturers are compared using this method for a shape detection application and the best alternative is found. Results show that the fuzzy logic approach can easily deal with both qualitative and quantitative data and can identify quantitatively the best laser scanner for an application. Fuzzy logic enhances the understanding of the different factors that are the base for any comparison. Moreover, this approach reduces the effect of bias and subjective judgments made by the decision makers.

Dynamic decentralised balancing of CONWIP production systems

This paper presents a non-linear programming model for online balancing of the work-in-queue (WIQ) of a fast response production system that consists of multiple workstations and diverse part mix. The model resembles a multiple product CONWIP system with a variety of products’ routings and bottlenecks. It maximises a global benefit of the production system subject to delay and loading rate bounds. The upper bounds on the delay symbolise the desired level of WIQ. The approach relies on the delay of the authorisation cards as a measure of the actual system WIQ. A real-time primal-dual algorithm associated with each part type is used to solve the optimisation problem in a decentralised manner. The algorithm solves for the optimal rates in a timely decentralised iterative way without the access to the global information of the production system. Each part route calculates its loading rate according to the arrival of the authorisation cards. Extensive simulation experiments were conducted to demonstrate the reliability of the algorithm. The calculated rates were found to be proportional to the level of WIQ at each workstation with reasonable resource allocation achieved between the different routes.