In the global automotive industry there is a drive toward integration of autonomous and human operated equipment. Monfared and Yang (2006:546) suggest that this dynamic requirement could be met with elements to be investigated in a research paper. Current investigations show a gap in management not having a guideline which can be used to help decide between automation versus human capital in the planning of new production facilities in the automotive assembly plant. (Skjerve and Skraaning, 2004:3). The purpose of this research is to determine what factors affect this decision-making process. In order to carry out this research, an in-depth literature review was conducted using various sources. The sources included, but were not limited to, interviews at assembly plants, the Nelson Mandela Metro University library, various e-journals and the internet. The literature review led to the finding of the factors which affect Levels of Automation (LOA) and to the development of the research instrument which was used to measure the impact of those factors. The results of fifty-two (52) respondents were then analysed and used as evidence to support the three hypotheses proposed. As a result of completing the above procedure the following hypotheses were supported. The greater the level of technology and the lower the skills of employees the greater the level of automation in an automotive assembly plant to be used. The greater the complexity of the assembly processes the lower the level of automation in an automotive assembly plant to be used. The higher the flexibility the greater the level of automation in an automotive assembly plant to be used. This means that managers and supervisors of assembly plants should consider the level of technology and skills of employees, flexibility and complexity during the design stages of an automotive assembly line as these factors will affect profitability by reducing waste, improve quality as well as allow for flexibility in customer demand in terms of volumes and product variance.

To stay competitive and to be able to sell high-class products in the modern automobile production it is absolutely necessary to check the quality standard of a manufactured vehicle. The normal measurement strategy to check the quality standard of a completely assembled car is through a complex measurement strategy whilst the vehicle is in the actual series production. This is an immensely time and money consuming process. Furthermore, measurement systems are fixed within a certain position and the flexible measurement of a produced vehicle is very difficult to realize. This project presents a measurement system compliant to all quality guidelines, with which it is possible to measure any mounted component from a completely assembled vehicle wherever and whenever required. For the first time it is possible to measure the vehicle quality and dimensional standard from the first body in white prototype assembled in production up to the completely assembled vehicle delivered to the customer. The result of this project is a measurement system that consists of a hardware tool and a specially programmed software add-on. The complete system could easily be carried to the vehicle that must be analysed. This gives a lot of advantages. Furthermore it is possible to use this developed technology for the whole Volkswagen Company including the other brands like Audi, Skoda and Seat.

No description available.

Cette thèse examine la présence de stéréotypes à l'égard des conducteurs âgés (Expériences 1 et 2) et leurs effets sur la performance au volant de ces conducteurs en contexte de simulation (Expériences 3). Lors des deux premières expériences, 12 vidéoclips de réactions au volant, conçus à l'aide d'un simulateur de conduite, ont été visionnés (quatre vidéoclips de comportements à risque associés aux conducteurs âgés, quatre de comportements à risque associés aux jeunes conducteurs et quatre de comportements appropriés sans association à un groupe d'âge). Lors de l'Expérience 1, 61 participants ont évalué si ces vidéoclips étaient plus représentatifs d'un jeune conducteur, d'un conducteur d'âge moyen ou d'un conducteur âgé typiques. Les comportements à risque associés aux conducteurs âgés ont été estimés plus représentatifs du conducteur âgé, alors que les comportements associés aux jeunes conducteurs ont été jugés plus représentatifs du jeune conducteur que des deux autres groupes. Les comportements appropriés ont été estimés plus représentatifs du conducteur d'âge moyen que du jeune ou du conducteur âgé. Conséquemment, les stéréotypes des conducteurs âgés incluent des comportements à risque spécifiques et comportent une forte connotation négative. Dans l'Expérience 2, 68 participants ont évalué si les comportements observés étaient représentatifs du conducteur âgé seulement et ont répondu à une question ouverte quant aux principaux traits du conducteur âgé. Les comportements à risque associés aux conducteurs âgés ont été évalués plus représentatifs du conducteur âgé que les comportements à risque associés aux jeunes conducteurs. Les comportements appropriés se sont également révélés être représentatifs des conducteurs âgés. Ces résultats révèlent que malgré la prépondérance de caractéristiques négatives associées aux conducteurs âgés, certaines facettes positives sont présentes. Lors de l'Expérience 3, 61 conducteurs âgés (65 ans et plus) ont complété un parcours de 12 km sur simulateur sous l'exposition à la menace du stéréotype (objectif mettant en relief leur surreprésentation dans les statistiques relatives aux accidents de la route) ou à de l'information neutre. Les participants exposés au stéréotype extrêmement identifiés au domaine de la conduite ont commis plus d'erreurs que ceux de la condition contrôle. Ces résultats soutiennent les récents modèles théoriques de la conduite automobile et renseignent les décideurs sur l'importance d'examiner comment les politiques et lois actuelles portant sur l'évaluation des habiletés à conduire une automobile peuvent perpétuer les stéréotypes négatifs envers les conducteurs âgés.

First part of this thesis analyses the chinese automotive market itself, for that purpose PEST analysis structure is used. In the main second part of the thesis current situation of Škoda brand in very dynamic local market is assessed. Scope of this thesis is to determine the crucial weaknesses and strengths of the company in comparison with the competition and to evaluate these concerning the specifics of the market and potential trends developing.

The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) to treat driving phobia using a multiple baseline across-subjects design. The sequence of events included a pre-treatment assessment, a baseline phase, 8 weekly VRET sessions using a standardized treatment protocol, a post-treatment assessment, and 1- and 3-month follow-up assessments. A sample of seven treatment seeking adults with a primary diagnosis of specific phobia (driving) was recruited. Five completed the treatment and follow-up phases. One individual withdrew after the pre-treatment assessment, and the other, after the first treatment session. It was hypothesized that VRET would reduce driving anxiety and avoidance symptoms between pre- and post-treatment assessments using several outcome measures. Visual and statistical analysis methods were used to assess treatment outcome. Three participants showed clear improvement in driving anxiety and avoidance symptoms between pre- and post-treatment assessments. There was a marginal improvement in these symptoms for one participant. The remaining participant showed very little improvement, and some outcome measures revealed slight deterioration in some of her symptoms. There was negligible change in actual driving frequency in any participant. Some gains were lost at the 1- and 3-month follow-up assessments, but symptoms remained far below pre-treatment results. Possibilities for future research and practice implications are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Master of Urban Affairs

We have too much parking. The automobile-oriented utopia promised by optimistic modern architects like Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright did not come to pass. Personal motor vehicles have indeed become ubiquitous, but the effect in urban environments, at least has been more tyranny than democracy. Cars have taken over the city. Huge areas of urban land are dedicated almost exclusively to cars, and narrow-minded engineer-driven planning continues to widen streets, raise speed limits, and increase parking space, to the detriment of alternate (and by most metrics superior) methods of transportation, or any other potential use of urban space. Additionally, with technological advances allowing car-sharing and the projected explosion of self-driving cars, parking garages are likely soon to become obsolete. We don't have enough housing. As more people move to cities, vulnerable established communities are displaced, property taxes soar, and city footprints balloon. Increased residential density, through both n construction and infill, can assuage these problems while decreasing the necessity of automobile travel. I will begin my research by analyzing the typology of the American parking garage and its relationship to the urban fabric. This analysis will yield a taxonomy of the formal and material components of parking structures. Many components will be challenges to human habitation; a few will be benefits; all will present opportunities for a symbolically and actively revolutionary form of urban housing. From this taxonomy, I will develop a catalog of strategies for responding to these challenges at least to address them and ideally to reframe them as assets. I will test these strategies by applying them to a local parking garage, adapting it as a multifamily housing complex and alternate transportation hub. These strategies could later be enacted city- and nation-wide to transform a mainstay of stubborn car culture into an urban asset. / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

<p>This paper describes the development of simulation models for a variety of traffic flow scenarios. The major goal of the models was to evaluate the effects of driver characteristics and traffic composition on traffic flow. The five scenarios modeled and their respective objectives were as follows:</p> <p>1. Vehicles switching lanes to increase speed. Objectives were thruput and number of lane switches.</p> <p> 2. Vehicles merging into an adjacent lane. Objectives were distance traveled before merging and number of collisions during lane switching.</p> <p> 3. Vehicles switching from the left or right lane into the center lane. Objectives were number of collisions and number of new misses during lane switching.</p> <p> 4. Vehicles passing on a two-lane bidirectional road. Objective was number of collisions during passing. 5. Vehicles switching from the center lane to the left or right lane to avoid an impassible obstacle. Objectives were number of collisions during lane switching and number of collisions with obstacle.</p> <p> Various driver characteristics were implemented in the models. The concept of preoccupation/attentiveness was factored into the models through the use of varied reaction times. 0ther driver characteristics were incorporated in the models via the assignment of vehicle speed. The models provided for a wide variety of driver types. Examples are as follows:</p> <p> 1. Drivers in a hurry.</p> <p> 2. Tourists or drivers unfamiliar with the area.</p> <p> 3. Law-abiding drivers.</p> <p> 4. Aggressive and passive drivers.</p> <p> 5. Young, inexperienced drivers.</p> <p> 6. Tired truck drivers.</p> <p> The driver characteristics were varied via percentage allocations entered at run-time. The traffic composition for the models consisted of automobiles and multi-axle vehicles of fixed lengths. The percentages for each vehicle type were also entered at run-time.</p> <p> The scope and level of detail for each model was delineated with assumptions. General assumptions made included the following:</p> <p> 1. An autombile is 10 feet fong, a multi-axle vehicle is 30 feet long.</p> <p> 2. The width of a lane is such that only one vehicle can be accommodated at a time.</p> <p> 3. A vehicle is considered to be entirely in one lane or another.</p> <p> 4. A vehicle switches lanes instantaneously.</p> <p> 5. The reaction time of an attentive driver is normally distributed with a mean of .5; the reaction time of a preoccupied driver is normally distibuted with a mean of .7. Three standard deviations are included to ensure complete population coverage.</p> <p> 6. A collision between two vehicles results in the termination of the vehicle causing the collision: the other vehicle continues.</p> <p> Implementation of these models was performed using the student version of the simulation language GPSS/H. The models were validated. but not verified against their real world counterparts. Test results showed that select ctiver characteristics can affect traffic flow; however, the effect of traffic composition was relatively unshown.</p> / Master of Science

Denna rapport utgör den skriftliga delen av ett examensarbete inom ämnesområdet maskinteknik, vid Högskolan Väst i Trollhättan. Ett koncept avsett för test av hydraulik-komponenter i bilmodellerna Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow och Bentley T-series har tagits fram och arbetet är utfört i samarbete med Rohdins Automobile Service AB i Trollhättan. Företaget är specialiserat på service, reparationer och renoveringar av bilmärkena Rolls-Royce och Bentley. Några av de vanligast förekommande bilmodellerna på företaget är Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow och Bentley T-series, vilka har ett relativt avancerat hydrauliskt system för nivåreglering. Systemet är konstruerat för att hålla bilens höjd konstant oavsett lastmängd. Det är dock vanligt förekommande med problem i nivåregleringssystemet, vilket kan resultera i nedsatt bromsförmåga. Felsökning med nuvarande tillvägagångssätt tar ofta lång tid och en effektivare metod efterfrågas. Ett koncept till en produkt som skall underlätta felsökning av hydraulikkomponenter har därför tagits fram. Metoden för det genomförda arbetet är upplagd som en del av en produktutvecklingsprocess och bygger på insamling av bakgrundsdata, informationsbearbetning, konceptutveckling samt sammanställning och presentation av valt koncept. Konceptet innebär möjlighet att kunna funktionstesta samtliga komponenter i nivåregleringssystemet. Möjlighet finns även koppla in testutrustningen till bilens hydraulsystem och prova hela nivåregleringssystemet på plats. Testprincipen bygger på att trycksätta de olika hydraulikkomponenterna och mäta flöden och tryck på en eller flera punkter. Varje komponent har sina specifika egenskaper och genom sammanställning av mätvärden kan funktionen kontrolleras. Testutrustningen består av mätutrustning för tryck och flöden samt ett pumpsystem för att kunna förse hydraulikkomponenterna med hydraulvätska. Utrustningen är tänkt att användas i verkstadsmiljö och drivs elektriskt. Potential finns att uppgradera testutrustningen med ett styrsystem som möjliggör automatiserade testprogram. / This document is my bachelor’s thesis at The University West, Trollhättan, Sweden. The project is made as a part of a product development process in cooperation with Rohdins Automobile Service AB, Trollhättan, Sweden. The company’s speciality is service, repairs and renovations of Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars. Some of the most common cars in the workshop is Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and Bentley T-series. These cars have a relatively advanced hydraulic height control system and the purpose is to keep the height of the car constant, independent of load conditions. Malfunction in the height control system is a fairly common problem and can result in reduced brake capacity. Present methods for fault diagnosis will often be time consuming and there is a demand for a more efficient way. Therefore, a concept for a hydraulic test equipment has been developed. The most important parts of the development process are research, identify needs, concept development and presentation. The concept will make it possible to test all height control components. The test equipment can also be connected to the car to test the complete height control system. The principal function builds on pressurizing hydraulic components to measure flow- and pressure characteristics. All components in the height control system has their own specific values of flow and pressure, which makes it possible to indicate the condition. The test equipment is electrically driven and is intended to be used in the workshop. It is possible to upgrade the product with a software based control system, so that automatic test programs can be used.