Hutchinson, Francis Williams, B.G.S., Louisiana State University, 1989 Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, Summer Commencement, 2012 Major: Industrial Engineering Evaluation Of Methods To Operate Gate Valves Using Elapsed Time, Rating Of Perceived Exertion, And Electromyography Thesis directed by Professor Fereydoun Aghazadeh, Ph.D., PE Pages in thesis, 86. Words in abstract, 253. ABSTRACT Industrial valve handwheels are in common use in many industries to block, allow, or regulate the flow of materials within a system. Significant numbers of musculoskeletal disorders have been attributed to turning valve handwheels. The torques encountered to break and/or turn these handwheels often exceeds 100 Nm and therefore necessitate the use of special wrenches or other aids. The literature reveals that most of the research has been done to determine the operators capabilities for developing the breaking forces. After breaking, the continuous muscular effort for as much as five to fifteen minutes required to fully open or close some valves is believed to place greater demands physically and physiologically on the operator than the initial breaking torque requirement. This study used electromyographic data taken from two different locations, the elapsed time to fully open a valve, and Borgs subjective Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) obtained from the participants to determine the optimum method for opening the valve. The data was obtained from a group of 10 participants who fully opened the valve by using their hands only, using a conventional valve wrench, and using a modified valve wrench. The tasks were repeated with the valve wheel set at two different torque requirements: 25Nm and 50Nm. The data gathered was then analyzed and evaluated to determine if the modified wrench was the optimum method to open the valve. Although the modified wrench was demonstrated to be the most efficient under some conditions, advantages from further testing and modifications to the wrench were indicated.

The occupational injury rate in the manufacturing sector is higher than the average of all private industries, necessitating safety studies. Occupational safety can be measured through different approaches. Safety climate, a predictive measure of safety, studies the workers perceptions of safety of the workplace. This measure includes several dimensions of safety like management commitment, involvement and work place hazard evaluation and was chosen as a method of evaluation in this study. Even though occupational safety is an important concern, management often prioritizes reducing waste and cost. So, there is a necessity for some technique which reduces waste and simultaneously improves safety. Lean has been effective in reducing waste and costs. Researchers have shown that lean might improve occupational safety too. Nevertheless, empirical evidence to prove the relationship between the two is insufficient. In this study, 5S, a lean technique, was implemented in a manufacturing company and its impact on safety climate of the workers was studied to show the relationship between lean and safety climate of the workers. Case and control groups took the Safety Climate Assessment Toolkit, a safety climate questionnaire, both before and after the 5S event. The effectiveness of the 5S event was determined through three productivity measures (cycle time, floor space utilized, ratio between inventory and units produced). Statistical analysis showed that the safety climate of the manufacturing workers increased after the 5S event (p value = 0.0085). The 5S event was also shown to be effective. The cycle time was reduced by 16.6% and floor space utilization decreased by 22.2%. 5S not only improved the processes by reducing waste and costs, but also improved the safety climate of workers.

Reducing field rework is widely regarded as an effective way of improving construction performance in terms of productivity, cost, schedule, quality, and safety. While existing rework reduction programs and much literature exist concerning this challenge, there is a need for further analysis and continuous improvement of rework reduction methods. Based on such an analysis, this research develops a generalized conceptual model for a rework reduction program, which is intended to reduce rework by managing a continuous improvement loop with four functional processes: (1) rework tracking and cause classification, (2) evaluation of rework and its causes, (3) corrective action planning, and (4) integration of changes into the total management system. A case study is conducted to examine and verify the functional mechanisms and effectiveness of the generalized model, by investigating a rework reduction program implemented in practice that represents the generalized model, and by analyzing the impact trends on rework in terms of frequency, cost, and labor hours over a considerable time period. The results indicate that rework can be reduced significantly with such a program.

Revolutionary currents with transformative ideals were part of the Sufi religious identity during the late medieval Islamic period. This dissertation tries to make sense of this phenomenon by focusing on the historical evolution of the Bayrami-Malāmi Sufi order within the Ottoman Empire. The scope of the study extends from the beginnings of the order during the ninth/ fifteenth century until its partial demise by the end of the eleventh/seventeenth century. The Bayrami-Malāmiyya was essentially marked by a reaction towards the established Sufi rituals of the time: its adherents refused to wear Sufi clothes, take part in gatherings of remembrance of God, or rely upon imperial endowments for their livelihood. I suggest in this study that Bayrami-Malāmis carried some of the distinguishing signs of religiosity belonging to the anarchic period between the Mongol attacks and the rise of the powerful Islamic Empires. During that time, many local forms of Sufism, which were tied to charismatic and independent communities that were quite prevalent and powerful in their own domains, had emerged. These communities often held a particular vision regarding the saint, whose persona came to be defined in terms exceeding that of a spiritual master, often taking the form of a community elder or a universal savior. Taking their inspiration from this period, Bayrami-Malāmis reconstructed their teachings and affiliations as the social and political conditions shifted in Anatolia. While several pīrs were executed for being heretics and making messianic claims in the sixteenth century, the Order was able to put together a more prudent vision based on the writings of Ibn Arabi (d. 638/1240) during the seventeenth century. After this, it became a secretive order that attracted the upper classes in the imperial city of Istanbul, and extended its influence to imminent poets, bureaucrats, and political figures. This study is essentially concerned with the dynamics of this evolution. It also tries to conceptualize how the teachings of the Order were rooted in the persona of the saint, who was regarded in divine terms and seen as the culmination point of creation. This worldview had the potential to lead to apocalyptic urges that did not harbor the immediate end of the world, but yearned for the beginning of a new era in which people would understand and experience divinity in its true monistic fashion.

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Examensarbetet har utförts i samarbete med Produktutvecklarna AB i Växjö. Arbetet har varit att konstruera en båtlyft för fritidsbåtar, med en vikt på maximalt 1000 kg. Lyften skall kunna lyfta båten ifrån en båttrailer, och den skall kunna användas som vinterförvaring, Den skall också kunna lutas 30 grader för att underlätta tvättning och underredsbehandlig. Arbetet innefattar konstruktion, hållfasthetsberäkningar, materialval, simuleringar samt dimensioneringar av lager och hydraulkolvar.

The work thesis was performed at Assalub a company which is situated in Åtvidaberg. The company works with developing, manufacturing and marketing equipment for handling of lubricants for light and heavier industry. The work thesis it is based on a inquiry Assalub got from MacGregor which is a company within cargo solution, from port to offshore system. For unloading grain and other material from the ship cargo it is used combined inlet feeder and screw conveyor, there the inlet feeder is drilling down through the cargo and feed the screw conveyer with material to further destination. At the bottom of the screw conveyer and the inlet feeder there is a bearing that keep the parts together. However the lubrication of the bearing must be made manually. Until now the bearing was lubricated manually through a grease nipple from the bottom of the drill once a day.   The purpose of the thesis was the construction of a lubricating system namely a pump with a grease container which should be placed inside the space of the screw conveyer, so the bearing will be continually lubricated and able to work several days without any stoppage. After receiving drawings and operating data for the screw conveyer, the details for the construction was designed in CAD system Solid Edge. The solid mechanics calculations on the weakest point on the construction was made by hand and afterwards the drawings for respectively details was made. The construction was completed, but because of the time limit for this work thesis, the manufacturing, mounting and testing were not included in these weeks. The grease containers capacity is approximately seventy-two hours, although desirable should be up to seven days. According to the solid mechanics calculations, the construction should have no problem to resist the stresses it would be exposed to. Since this is a prototype there is probably some adjustments and improvements to do, but the estimating is that the system should work properly as it is now.

SAAB AB är intresserad av att kunna utrusta JAS 39 Gripen med en "Arrestor Hook" då denna typ av nödbromssystem är vanligare i andra flygvapen än det system som svenska flygvapnet använder. Uppgiften var att göra ett konstruktionsförslag av denna "Arrestor Hook" bom och krok för kommande arbete. För att göra detta förslag valdes att dela upp arbetet i fyra steg, faktainsamlig, konceptframtagande, konceptval och bearbetning. Valet av vilka detaljer som skulle ingå i förslaget var böjd bom med med fast krok. På kroken monterades en släpsko för att underlätta fångandet av vajern och att tjäna som den detalj som skyddar kroken från slitage som uppstår mellan "Arrestor Hook" och banbeläggning. För att tillgodose alla krav på rörlighet som behövs på "Arrestor Hook" utrustas den med en leddetalj som ger tvåfrihetsgrader vilket även ger ett mindre moment på konstruktionen när vajern är fångad. Resultatet av den teoretiska analysen av de fyra förslagen visar att alla de uppsatta kraven kan mötas, dock behövs mer utvärdering och tester för att säkerställa detta. Ytterligare litteratur kring tillvägagångssättet att konstruera "Arrestor Hook" bör också tillföras för fortsatt arbete.

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This project has been undertaken by Alejandro Unda García and Carlos Muñoz Alonso for Veprox AB (www.veprox.se), a Swedish engineering company, in collaboration with the School of Technology and Society at the University of Skövde (www.his.se). This thesis represents the final project for the Bachelor Degree Exam in Mechanical Engineering during the academic year 2009-2010. To achieve this project, we were helped and supported by Peter Höglund, Veprox AB Office Manager; Tomas Walander, Supervisor and M. Sc. student and Karl Mauritsson, Examiner and Lecturer, both belonging to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the School of Technology and Society of the University of Skövde. This project is aimed to study, design and analyze a large transportable vacuum insulated cryogenic vessel that will be attached to a truck in order to keep, maintain and transport by road liquid methane at a temperature of -162 °C. Considerations such as different pressure loads, dimensions, materials as well as their mechanical properties, constraints, masses, insulation systems and weather-environmental conditions (Northern Europe) are made in the mechanical analysis. Furthermore, calculations and dimensions satisfy the requirements given by the Swedish Standards Institute (S.I.S) following the standards SS-EN 13530-1: Cryogenic vessels - Large transportable vacuum insulated vessel; Part 1: Fundamental requirements and SS-EN 13530-2: Cryogenic vessels - Large transportable vacuum insulated vessel; Part 2: Design, fabrication, inspection and testing. The CAD software Pro/Engineer Wildfire 4.0 is used to visualize the models for the chosen designs. In addition, the finite element module Pro/Mechanica is used to obtain results of mechanical analyses in order to determine if the stresses are within margins.