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Archive for January, 2012

Lockheed Martin: Electromagnetic Pulse Modeling

January 31st, 2012 No comments

EMP blast effects

Client: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control
Team: Stephen Beckert, Brandon Joslin, Pierce, Meier
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Barr
Year: 2010
Documents: Final Report, Presentation

Lockheed Martin presented us with a project more exciting than we could ever imagine: aiding the research into ways to model the effects of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). EMP is extremely devastating and can be caused by both natural and man-made events. EMP primarily affects electronic devices, rendering them useless or destroyed. Since the United States is heavily dependent on electronic interfaces, we are extremely vulnerable to this effect. In addition to this vulnerability to the EMP effect, the United States has a complex system of connected critical infrastructures that have not been studied as interrelated systems. This presents a major problem, how can one forecast the possible failures of such a massive complex system? Read more…

Improving Efficiency in an Outpatient Services Lab

January 27th, 2012 No comments

methodistdallaslgClient: Methodist Dallas Medical Center
Team: Kyle Chester, Kristin Evanto, and Emily Gray
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Barr
Year: 2010
Documents: Final Report, Presentation

A “hub” of activity at MDMC is the Outpatient Services department. Outpatient Services exists to serve the needs of physicians and surgeons alike with routine x-rays, blood draws to test for Tuberculosis or other ailments, or diagnostics to assess patient health. Many patients who come to Outpatient Services are preparing for surgery and thus need to undergo preliminary screens such as blood draws and EKGs.

The focus of this project is the observation and analysis of the administrative and technical operations within the laboratory component of Outpatient Services. Outpatient Services aims to reduce its patient wait times throughout the entire duration of a patient’s stay in Outpatient Services. Management has expressed a desire to reduce patient wait times such that 95% of all patients wait less than 15 minutes for the Outpatient laboratory department. Read more…

Optimization Models for a Delivery Truck Environment

January 20th, 2012 No comments

long-haul-delivery-trucks-722198
Team: Robert Walters, Donnet Phillips
Faculty advisor:  Dr. Barr  Year: 1986
Documents: Final report (PDF)

There are many optimization procedures and algorithms that can be implemented for delivery operations. The thrust of this paper concerns the following topics and their relavance to delivery vehicles: equipment replacement, truck utilization and optimization, and efficient routing practices. Read more…