Research was conducted that culminated in the merging of the objectives of two tools: predetermined motion time systems and posture recording. This dissertation reports the development and testing of a computerized tool-the Work and Posture Analysis Sequence Technique (WAPAST)-used to collect methods, postural, and work measurement data. From the data collected, one can determine the method used to complete an activity by task identification, the time it takes to complete each task, as well as the time to complete an entire activity, and the postural considerations for each task and for the overall activity. The tool is based on the Maynard Operations Sequence Technique (MOST) with some characteristics of the Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS). Criteria established were speed of completion, accuracy, and reliability. A validation study was conducted to assess the data collected with WAPAST against data collected with known, validated tools. The study was an experiment that had several subjects use WAPAST to analyze videotaped work activities while several other subjects used MOST or OW AS to analyze the same videotaped activities. The data collected with WAPAST were compared with the data collected with MOST and OWAS. The work measurement data collected with WAPAST were found to be both accurate and reliable, but the postural data were not. Times to cornplete applications were extensive. Recommendations are given for improving the tool, which include a different way of recording postural data and expanding the limitations of the tool. / Ph. D.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 H35 / Master of Science

Thesis (DComm)--Stellenbosch University, 1976. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: sien item vir volteks. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: see item for full text

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / In the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Statement of Guiding Principles for the Federal Acquisition System, the vision of the Federal Acquisition System is to deliver best value products or services to the customer. Contracting Officers must achieve this while balancing the many competing interests of the stakeholders in the System. The paradox of efficiency vs. effectiveness can be found in the second sentence by the phrase "balancing the many competing interests in the System". This statement indicates the diverse interest of the many stakeholders involved in the System that in many instances prevent the Contracting Office from being efficient and effective. The Government Performance Results Act of 1993 also requires each agency to establish projected outcomes or results by which they will be evaluated against. This thesis examines various literature and existing measurement systems of field contracting offices to determine if we are properly evaluating efficiency and effectiveness. The thesis also utilizes the Organizational Configuration Model developed by Nancy Roberts to determine where field offices fit. The thesis identifies common themes found in metrics and draws conclusions based on that information. Finally, the researcher proposes a model for Field Contracting Offices to use for evaluating their efficiency and effectiveness. It is the researcher's hope that this thesis will be of benefit to all field contracting offices that struggle with determining their efficiency and effectiveness. Also, it is hoped that Systems Commands find some useful information in this thesis. / Civilian, Department of the Navy

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) is a material which under its own self-weight flows to form and fill any shape, attains full compaction, without external energy input, to create a dense homogenous mass (based on Holton, 2003; The Concrete Society and BRE, 2005; Damtoft et al, 2008). It is, in respect to the history of concrete, a relatively new development, with its first UK application occurring in the late 1990s. Since then a significant amount of research has sought to understand its physical and structural properties, but there is a lack of a knowledge base on its practical application and performance in construction projects. Where it does exist, such research lacks robust and transparent data, particularly relating to the claimed attributes of the material (such as better surface finish, faster construction and lower overall costs). Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, this research investigates the construction practices employed when pouring SCC and presents new data on its practical applications. Interviews with a range of building contractors, ranging from multinationals to small UK businesses (SMEs), show that current perceptions of SCC limit its use to specific applications because practitioners see SCC as just another type of concrete . A critical examination of these attitudes led to the identification of three distinct scenarios for the use of SCC: 1. Reactive selection: in which a particular attribute of SCC provokes its use to solve a particular problem, often as a last minute substitution for conventional concrete the most common scenario. 2. Strategic change: in which the material is chosen on the basis of a balanced assessment of all its benefits and on the understanding that such benefits can only be attained if the contractor appreciates that there may be implications for the construction process a rarely experienced scenario. 3. Specification: in which there is complete acceptance of SCC as a method, not just as a material; a significant amount of early project involvement with knowledge holders, such as contractors and material suppliers, optimises the construction process. A rigorous work measurement study of live construction projects has made it possible to quantify the as-built costs of SCC for selected UK residential slab and multi-storey flat slab applications and compare this with the equivalent conventional concrete slab construction. On-site use of self-compacting concrete vi The results indicate that SCC can reduce construction times of structural topping layers of residential slabs by up to 73%, and has shown that SCC can also match, if not reduce, total as-built concrete placement costs in multi-storey applications. This new data will enable contractors, designers and specifiers to better understand the practical implications of using SCC for on-site applications, thereby leading to more potential instances of its early and planned specification, hence resulting in more of its full benefits being realised.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2003. / Title from title screen (viewed May 14, 2004). "June 2003." Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-129). Also issued in paper format.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

This research demonstrates the feasibility of modifying a Predetermined Time Standard (PTS) to model a specific worker precisely and efficiently. The Worker Profile uses the results of a half hour of testing to algebraically modify each of the work elements in the PTS. The modified system can then be used with any job that has been described in the PTS. Specific performance times can be estimated for the modeled individual on each of the described jobs. The traditional functional assessment techniques developed by medical, psychological and social care providers lack the quantitative precision of industrial engineering work descriptors. In addition to providing the rehabilitation engineer a usable assessment of the client's abilities the Worker Profile should aid in the sharing of information among the specialists on the rehabilitation team. Unlike previous efforts directed at modeling disabled workers' abilities, this study individually modifies the elements used to describe unique, specific jobs. The element by element Worker Profile approach encourages proper job selection and work station modification. The model produces a Worker Profile which can be used to predict the worker's performance on any job for which an appropriate job standard has been written. The Worker Profile Model offers the employer of assembly workers an opportunity to predict the performance of disabled workers on specific jobs without the expense and time required to train and test them on each available job. The model has several additional qualities including reduced assessment costs and extremely flexible application both in the performance of existing jobs and to the modification of jobs to optimize them to the disabled workers’ abilities. In addition to extending the Worker Profile Model this study examined the effect of practice on the work behaviors of disabled workers. Practice has been observed to affect differentially the speed and accuracy of work elements among able-bodied workers. The effects of practice were previously undocumented for disabled workers. Examination of work element performance changes as learning occurred not only identified the locus of improvement in job performance, but also, illustrated a qualitative difference in learning patterns when a tactical improvement in work method occurred. / Ph. D.

Pilots and other aircrew members are often required to perform tasks involving a substantial amount of mediational or cognitive activity. Generally speaking, workload estimation techniques have not been tested to determine their relative sensitivity and intrusion to mediational piloting tasks. An experiment comparing the sensitivity and intrusion of eight workload estimation techniques was conducted using a mediational loading task in a three-degrees-of-freedom moving-base aircraft simulator. The primary task mediational loading required the pilots to solve a variety of navigational problems while maintaining straight-and-level flight. The presented problems were sorted prior to the experiment into low, medium, and high difficulty problems. The eight techniques included opinion measures (modified Cooper-Harper rating scale and multi-descriptor rating scale), spare mental capacity measures (time estimation and tapping regularity), primary task measures (mediational reaction time and control movements per unit time), and physiological measures (pulse rate variability and pupil dilation). A sensitive technique was defined as a technique which indicated statistical differences of scores across the three mediational load levels. An intrusive technique was defined as a technique which significantly changed the primary task measures compared to the primary task measures obtained in a control condition. One opinion measure (modified Cooper-Harper measure (time (mediational rating scale), one estimation), and one spare mental capacity primary task measure reaction time) demonstrated sensitivity. Mediational reaction time demonstrated sensitivity to all levels of load. The other two showed partial sensitivity to load. One spare mental capacity measure (time estimation) demonstrated intrusion on two primary task measures (mediational reaction time and percent error response). / Ph. D.