Market variation such as changing utility price or demand can lead to non-static operation of chemical plants, such as in cases where new objectives must be met, or varying operating conditions can be taken advantage of to increase operational profit. Integrated design and control (where both the design and operation are considered simultaneously when the design of the plant is being formulated) can be used to address the challenges that plants that operate under uncertainty may face. When considering demand uncertainty for a plant, not only must the different realizations of demand be considered, but how the plant transitions from one demand to another is also of interest. Ideally when transitioning, the plant must quickly and feasibly transition from one operating point to another. In the first study of this thesis we consider the benefit of taking into account the demand transitions a plant must undergo; compared to only considering the final operating states. In this study we examine an air separation unit (ASU) since in industrial practice ASUs can often be subject to demand uncertainty. Assessing the impact that an ASU design has on its dynamic response characteristics motivates us to include plant dynamics in the design formulation. Using a two-stage stochastic optimization framework, the optimal design parameters are found for a nitrogen plant operating under uncertain demand. Three design paradigms are explored and compared - a nominal steady-state design, a flexible design that maintains steady-state feasibility, and a dynamically operable design that enforces feasibility of dynamic transitions. The designs obtained are subjected to random demand changes to evaluate the expected economic return under transitions not directly designed for. From this study we see that when the dynamically operable design and the flexible design are both subject to dynamic transitions, the dynamically operable design in certain cases can provide more economic benefit during transition and at the final steady state. In the second study of this thesis we address an important issue that arises when uncertainty in the plant operation is captured by utilizing two-stage stochastic optimization. If the optimization formulation can see the uncertainty profile in its entirety, then it can make control moves and design decisions based on the fact that the optimization problem knows what operating conditions it transitions between. This may not however be a realistic assumption to operate under, as future uncertainty is unknown. Given lack of foresight into future uncertainties it is logical to currently operate at the the optimal steady-state. This poses a bilevel problem for the design and control of a plant because the feasible region is determined by an inner optimization. In this study the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions are incorporated into a two-stage stochastic optimization formulation for a dynamic model of chemical plant to generate a design. This design is then compared to a design generated from an optimization formulation where future knowledge of uncertainty is assumed and it is seen that the former design can provide greater economic benefit. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Design-build is the process whereby a project is constructed by the same entity that designed it. Detailed narratives are provided for the collaborative, integrated designbuild of two small, relatively contemporary pavilions. The first was constructed as part of a design-build workshop taught by Steve Badanes, director of the Neighborhood Design/Build Studio at the University of Washington Department of Architecture and founder of the international architecture firm The Jersey Devil. The second, a multi-use pavilion on the site of a former junkyard, was implemented as a local volunteer community service project using Badanes' method. A third proposal is also described; an amphitheater honoring the late architect and educator Samuel Mockbee FAIA in his hometown of Canton, Mississippi. An integrated design-build process emphasizes synthesis of assemblages. The design-build of a small pavilion by a group can serve as a simple, straightforward introduction to collaboration and the nature of synthetic processes.

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CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / The âMinha Casa Minha Vidaâ (MCMV), which aims to reduce the housing deficit, launched its second phase, with a bold goal to hire two million housing units by the year 2014. While this economic environment encouraged companies in the Construction Industry, they were not adequately prepared to absorb the new demands. To reach them, we need to implement innovations in traditional processes of design and construction of this type of housing, increasing productivity, but without loss of quality of the products generated. The projects related to housing construction have become increasingly complex, and has increased the number of projects needed to better execution of the work, causing serious problems of compatibility and rework. In view of the peculiar characteristics of the enterprises of Social Housing (HIS), the profit margins offered by these are greatly reduced, forcing companies to pursue lower production costs and execution time of compression, in order to minimize the incidence of fixed costs. It is worth noting that the initial stages of development, such as program and project are those that present the greatest opportunities for intervention and value. In some countries, especially the United States, these problems have been minimized through approaches such as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and the use of design tools such as the Building Information Modeling (BIM). In turn, the vast majority of projects in Brazil, especially the HIS, are not designed with this in mind integration. Within this context, the aim of this work is to propose guidelines for increasing the level of integrated management for design firms that operate in MCMV (range 0-3 minimum wages), based on the principles of IPD. This is a qualitative study with an exploratory-descriptive and research strategy used was the multiple case study, divided into four phases: literature review, exploratory stage, stage of conducting case studies and step analyzes and propositions . Therefore, we carried out a survey to contextualize the partial results of the program and analyze the role of each of the major players involved. There was a peculiarity in the state of CearÃ: the Sinduscon-Ce provides companies affiliated three types of architectural design, installations and structures (reference projects). We investigated how was the design process of these types and the level of integration between professionals. The main tool for data collection were semi-structured interviews with the designers, with the representative of Box and Sinduscon. Based on these data, we carried out a cross-sectional analysis of business and design, as well as a diagnosis of these assumptions with respect to the IPD. We also propose an adaptation of the principles of IPD directed to designers Finally, the main contribution of this work is to propose guidelines for increasing the level of integrated management between designers working in MCMV, relating them to the principles of IPD . / O Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV), que tem por finalidade reduzir o dÃficit habitacional brasileiro, lanÃou sua segunda fase, com uma meta ousada de contratar dois milhÃes de unidades habitacionais atà o ano de 2014. Ao mesmo tempo em que este cenÃrio econÃmico incentivava as empresas da IndÃstria da ConstruÃÃo Civil, estas nÃo estavam adequadamente preparadas para absorver as novas demandas. Para alcanÃÃ-las, à preciso implementar inovaÃÃes nos processos tradicionais de projeto e construÃÃo deste tipo de moradia, aumentando a produtividade, porÃm sem prejuÃzo de qualidade dos produtos gerados. Os projetos ligados à construÃÃo habitacional tÃm se tornado cada vez mais complexos, bem como tem aumentado a quantidade de projetos necessÃrios a uma melhor execuÃÃo da obra, provocando sÃrios problemas de compatibilizaÃÃo e retrabalho. Em face das caracterÃsticas peculiares dos empreendimentos de HabitaÃÃo de Interesse Social (HIS), as margens de lucro proporcionadas por estes sÃo bastante reduzidas, forÃando as empresas a perseguirem menores custos de produÃÃo e a compressÃo dos prazos de execuÃÃo, como forma de minimizar a incidÃncia de custos fixos. Cabe ressaltar ainda que as etapas iniciais do empreendimento, tais como o programa e o projeto, sÃo as que apresentam as maiores oportunidades de intervenÃÃo e agregaÃÃo de valor. Em alguns paÃses, principalmente nos Estados Unidos, estes problemas tÃm sido minimizados atravÃs de abordagens como o Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) e do uso de ferramentas de projeto tais como o Building Information Modeling (BIM). Por sua vez, a grande maioria dos empreendimentos brasileiros, especialmente os de HIS, nÃo sÃo desenvolvidos dentro deste espÃrito de integraÃÃo. Dentro deste contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho à propor diretrizes para aumentar o nÃvel de gestÃo integrada em empresas de projeto que atuam no programa MCMV (faixa de 0-3 salÃrios mÃnimos), com base nos princÃpios do IPD. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo, com carÃter exploratÃrio-descritivo, e a estratÃgia de pesquisa utilizada foi o estudo de caso mÃltiplo, dividida em quatro fases: pesquisa bibliogrÃfica, etapa exploratÃria, etapa de conduÃÃo dos estudos de caso e etapa de anÃlises e proposiÃÃes. Para tanto, realizou-se um levantamento para contextualizar os resultados parciais do referido programa e analisar o papel de cada um dos principais agentes envolvidos. Verificou-se uma particularidade no estado do CearÃ: o Sinduscon-Ce disponibiliza Ãs empresas filiadas trÃs tipologias de projeto de arquitetura, instalaÃÃes e estruturas (projetos de referÃncia). Investigou-se como se deu o processo de projeto destas tipologias e qual o nÃvel de integraÃÃo entre os profissionais. A principal ferramenta para a coleta de dados foram as entrevistas semiestruturadas com os projetistas, com representante da Caixa e do Sinduscon. Com base nesses dados, realizou-se uma anÃlise cruzada das empresas e projeto, assim como um diagnÃstico destas com relaÃÃo aos postulados do IPD. PropÃe-se ainda uma adaptaÃÃo dos princÃpios do IPD direcionada para os projetistas Por fim, a principal contribuiÃÃo deste trabalho à a proposiÃÃo de diretrizes para aumentar o nÃvel de gestÃo integrada entre os projetistas que atuam no programa MCMV, relacionando-as aos princÃpios do IPD.

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 68-70). / Trends show promising growth of the online e-Commerce industry. While the e-Commerce companies are aggressively moving towards digital sales and marketing, the customers are being bombarded with frequent and often irrelevant marketing communication from myriad sources. The thesis proposes understanding the digital purchase journeys of the customers from the lenses of both sellers and customers to make online sales and marketing efforts relevant and intelligent. The thesis applies the improved customer journey framework to identify the needs of the customers and goals of the seller at various stages of customer purchase journey. It discusses the need to take an integrated view of the purchase journey to improve the customer experience at the journey level. It illustrates with an example how to design end-to-end journeys - a starting point for consciously shaping the purchase journeys. Larger companies are using Machine Learning to improve marketing technologies and processes to create a competitive advantage and capture market share through digital presence. The thesis aims to understand and illustrate the applications of Machine Learning to digital sales and marketing ecosystem for the e- Commerce industry. It first understands the e-Commerce touchpoints using which customers interact with the brands and delves deeper into the underlying technologies powering these touchpoints. Then it illustrates and analyzes the application of Machine Learning to the e-Commerce website which includes search, recommendation system, and Product Detail Page with an aim to improve conversion, and to the advertising ecosystem which includes Data Management Platform and Demand Side Platform in order to enable prospecting and customer targeting. The thesis also illustrates and proposes the use of a framework called 'Machine Learning Canvas' to systematically apply Machine Learning to any system while keeping value proposition for the business in the center. / by Shaheen Thobani. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 112-113). / The increasing complexity in Systems of Systems requires Teams of Teams (TofT) from different functional domains to work together. Rather than focusing on individuals and teams (the microscale) or total projects and portfolios (the macro-scale), this research aims to better detect and understand the teamwork behaviors at the meso-scale, the behaviors and interactions amongst the team of teams. Using the Project Design approach, Design Groups representing a TofF participated in a model- based simulation experiment to reduce the cost and duration of an implementation project for an autonomous vehicle. Design Groups were provided specific instructions to either inhibit or promote communications as they worked together to make changes to the Project Model of the autonomous vehicle, after which they can perform simulation to obtain the project outcome in terms of cost and schedule. In this experiment the teamwork was instrumented, detecting attention allocation, changes, and resulting exploration of the project tradespace. A quantifiable ranking methodology was developed to evaluate the performance of the Design Groups based on the iterations made as they explored and simulated the project model. This methodology ranked the Design Group by 1) higher number of outcomes obtained at the Pareto Frontier of the tradespace and 2) outcomes in earlier Pareto Frontiers. Two indicators of Team Performance - Number of Iterations and Communications Behaviors of the Design Group - were studied where correlations were found to be weak. Tree Diagrams were generated to visualize the tradespace exploration of the Design Group by mapping the iterations performed in sequence and provided details on the changes type made to the project model. A Chunking Process dovetailed the Tree Diagrams to detect the meaningful explorations of the tradespace by each Design Group. Each Meaningful Exploration was segmented into "Chunks" which were further classified into blocks with specific number of changes. This study provided further insights on the coherence in which changes were made along the path of tradespace explorations. Information from the Chunking Process is used to determine how "focused" the Design Groups were in the decision making process. Three ratios were suggested, namely, Ratio of Focus Score to Total Iterations with Changes, Ratio of Focused Iterations to Total Iterations with Changes and Ratio of Meaningful Changes Block to Total No of Chunks. The research concludes with using these ratios as an indicator of coherence and potential sensors to detect presence of strategy in teams in future experiments. The key insights from this research is that the Project Design Approach provides the same baseline project model for all Design Groups that enables a fair and quantifiable ranking of team performance. In instrumenting the experiment, collective group responses to qualitative data is preferred over individual responses for a more representative analysis of the teamwork behaviors. Another insight is that tradespace explorations by the Design Groups do not occur in unilateral fashion. Thus, it is important to have a visual image of the changes made along the tradespace exploration to identify the meaningful exploration paths. Segmenting these meaningful exploration paths provides the means for measuring coherence of the Design Groups in their decision making process. Next steps for future experiments include embedding in the Project Design software to collect the group responses required for quantitative analysis as the experiment is on-going. The measurement of team learning effects is suggested for future research by having a two-step data collection process in which the same experiment can be conducted as a first step and having the same participants to repeat another Project Design Challenge several months later in the second step to evaluate the team performance. / by Tan Puay Siang. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 103-108). / The advent of commercial launch systems has brought about a new age of space launch vehicle design. In order to survive in a competitive market, space launch providers must design systems with new technologies in shorter development times. This changing nature of space launch vehicle design requires a new way to perform safety analysis. Traditional hazard analysis techniques do not deliver adequate insight early in the design process, when most of the safety-related decisions are made. Early design decisions are often made using "lessons-learned" from previous launch systems, rather than interactive feedback from the new vehicle design actually being developed. Furthermore, traditional techniques use reliability theory as their foundation, resulting in the use of excessive design margin and redundancy as the "default" vehicle design choices. This equivocation of safety and reliability may have made sense for simpler launch vehicles of the past, but most modern space launch vehicle accidents have resulted from incorrect software specifications, component interaction accidents, and other design errors independent of the reliability of individual components. The space launch industry needs safety analysis methods and design processes that identify and correct these hazards early in the vehicle design process, when modifications to correct safety issues are more effective and less costly. This work shows how Systems-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) can been used as a powerful tool to identify, mitigate, and possibly eliminate hazards throughout the entire space launch vehicle lifecycle. This work begins by reviewing traditional hazard analysis techniques and the changing nature of launch vehicle accidents. Next, it describes how STPA can be integrated into the space launch vehicle lifecycle to design safer systems. It then demonstrates the safety-guided design of a small-lift launch vehicle using STPA. Finally, this work shows how STPA can be used to satisfy regulatory and range safety requirements. The thesis of this work is that integration of STPA into the design of space launch vehicles can make a significant contribution to reducing launch vehicle accidents. / by John M. Rising. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 36-37). / Despite moving the world forward, technological progress has left many people behind. Science and technology industries see themselves as open to all. Yet, they lack inclusion: not involving and empowering people across a range of human differences. Hackathons are a microcosm of these industries and suffer from a similar problem. By examining hackathons, we can uncover principles for creating, what I call, radical inclusion. Radical inclusion is the interbeing with all, seeing our realities and existence as interwoven. However, existing social systems hinder radical inclusion. Thus, we have to be diligent in removing these barriers. Put simply, we have to organize for radical inclusion. This thesis is a reflection of my lived experiences and secondary research and an investigation of ways to organize for radical inclusion. It includes lessons learned from organizing, attending, and studying hackathons and analogous experiences. These lessons culminate into five principles that ensure that a hackathon is radically inclusive. This research has revealed five principles that can create and cultivate radical inclusion: ** Radical inclusion is not a default social state today. Be intentional about being radically inclusive. Make it an imperative for all in an organization. ** Radical inclusion is uncomfortable. Honor this discomfort and empower organizing team and participants to navigate such situations. ** Radical inclusion necessitates meeting people where they are, as they are, in their journeys. Embody deep hospitality with wide open arms to all. ** Radical inclusion comes from encouraging human transformation, a continuous process. Foster patience and encourage forgiveness for self and others. ** Radical inclusion is rooted in a ruthless search for truth. Enable all to be soft bellied: to let personal guards down. This nurtures curiosity to explore and be moved by the truth of the other. / by Fahad Punjwani. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 87-91). / Digital technology is changing the industrial sector, yet how to make rational use of some technologies and create considerable value in a variety of industrial scenarios is an issue. Many digital industrial companies have stated that they have helped clients with their digital transformation, create much value, but the real effects have not been shown in public. Venture capitals firms have made huge investment in potential digital industrial startups. Numerous industrial IoT platforms are emerging in the market, but a number of them fade soon after. Many people have heard about industrial maintenance technology, but they have difficulty in differentiate concepts such as reactive maintenance, planned maintenance, proactive maintenance, and predictive maintenance. Many people know that big data and Al are essential in industrial sector, but they do not know how to process, analyze, and extract value from industrial data and how to use Al algorithms and tools to implement a research project. This thesis analyzes the entire digital industrial ecosystem in various dimensions such as initiatives, technologies in related domains, stakeholders, markets, and strategies. This work also analyzes of the predictive maintenance solution in various dimensions such as background, importance, suitable scenarios, market, business model, and technology. The author plans an experiment for the predictive maintenance solution, including goal, data source and description, methods and steps, and flow and tools. Then author uses a baseline approach and an optimal approach to implement the experiment, including data preparation, selection and evaluation of both regression and classification models, and deep learning practice through neural network building and optimization. Finally, contributions and expectations, and limitations and future research are discussed. This work uses a system approach, including system architecting, system engineering, and project management, to complete the process of analysis, design, and implementation. / by Chen Ye. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-184). / The Air Force experienced 12 Class A aviation mishaps in 2016, which resulted in 16 fatalities and 9 destroyed aircraft. So far in 2017, The Air Force has again experienced 12 Class A mishaps with 5 fatalities and 7 destroyed aircraft. (1) In addition to these mishaps, development of new aircraft or modifications to aircraft often take well over the planned duration. Developmental test identifies design deficiencies that must be addressed before the aircraft is fielded, which requires expensive and lengthy redesign cycles. A systems approach to design with humans included as part of the system can improve both the development process and aviation safety. Such an approach was created by Professor Nancy Leveson at MIT and is called Systems Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA). STPA is shown to be applicable to the Air Force acquisitions process throughout the product lifecycle. STPA is also compliant with the airworthiness handbook, MIL-HDBK-516C, and STPA documentation is beneficial to the airworthiness certification inspectors. STPA is applied to two use cases. One is a conceptual JSTARS aircraft, and the other is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that was modified from a general aviation aircraft. The Air Force is currently in source selection for a replacement to the JSTARS aircraft. The high-level STPA analysis is for a functional replacement to the JSTARS aircraft, as would be needed early in the acquisitions process. Additionally, accidents, hazards, and a safety control structure are developed for the JSTARS support system. The UAV analysis is more detailed, and provides information that is necessary during the Technology Maturation & Risk Reduction phase of an acquisition process. / by Sarah E. Summers. / S.M. in Engineering and Management