Capacity planning in job-shop environment

Presented here is a computerized capacity planning system for the IBM Microcomputer family. The system maintains the profile of the job shop in a data base along with data pertinent to various products that can be manufactured in the shop. Projected orders for the planning period are input to the system with their associated quantities and delivery dates. The system uses the forward and backward loading rules in generating capacity loading scenarios. User selects the best course of action which may satisfy delivery dates subject to the limitations of the work centers. Efficiency figures are provided to aid the user in his/her decision.     

Speech synthesizers-talking computers: development and impact on industrial engineering

The paper includes a brief explanation of the speech production process in man, a historical view of speech synthesis, and four types of electronic synthesizers in use today. Also included is a brief presentration on phonetics, the study of speech sounds. Possible applications of speech synthesizers in industrial engineering practice and in engineering jobs for the visually handicapped are presented.     

Increasing antigenicity of B16 melanoma cell fraction with microwave hyperthermia

An injection of a fraction of a fraction (C30 mw) obtained by centrifugation at 30 kg of homogenate of B16 melanoma cells, treated with microwave hyperthermia (2450 MHz, CW, 44 degrees C, for 20 minutes), increases the survival time (p less than 0.01) of C57-BL/6J male mice inoculated 26 days later with 10(7) cells (viability greater than 95%) of B16 melanoma. This delay of 26 days between these two injections corresponds to the moment where the synthesis of immunoglobulins is increased in protected mice. The earliest death (p less than 0.001) of animals injected with untreated tumoral cell fraction (C30), and that received a suspension of viable B16 melanoma cells (10(7)) can be explained by an inhibition of humoral immunity system.     

Voice Data Entry (VDE) training and Implementation Strategies

Current effort at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) involves implementation of voice data entry in the thermal Tile Processing System (TPS). Large amounts of data collection and recording along with the advancement in voice recognition and speech synthesis justified the introduction of a voice data entry system in support of TPS.

This paper presents a training and an implementation strategies for the VDE System in TPS at KSC. Training Strategies are tailored to different levels of the target population with varying objectives for the training sessions. Training scenarios and training manuals are designed to support the objectives of each session. A unique feature of the VDE is the fact that the “system” also needs to be trained for specific users.

Implementation strategy calls for parallel implementation for the current manual system over a period of four consecutive missions. This would be followed by gradual phasing out of the current manual system and phasing in of the VDE system over a span of three missions.

The methodologies used and the developed strategies can be used for the introduction of new technologies in general, and that related to voice and speech recognition in particular.     

Physico-Chemical Characterization of Modified Tunisian Kaolin by Phosphoric Acid

In this study, crude Tunisian kaolin clay (from the Tabarka region—North of Tunisia) was subjected to refluxing with phosphoric acid under different operating conditions. Acid activation was carried out with H₃PO₄ (28 and 54 wt % P₂O₅), at temperatures of 60 and 90°C, with the time of treatment ranging from 2 to 12 h. The structure of acid leached kaolinite clay was characterized by; the XRD, FTIR, SEM, ²⁹Si and ³¹P NMR techniques and the Brunauer Emmett Teller theory was uses as the base for respective calculations. The chemical composition was determined by ICP. The results of XRD show that the kaolin acid treatment at 90°C provoked a destruction of clay structure after 6 h with phosphoric acid 28 wt % P₂O₅ and after 4 h with phosphoric acid 54 wt % P₂O₅. Hereafter, the forming of an amorphous silica phase is detected, whose confirmation is effected by the ²⁹Si NMR analysis. FTIR studies indicate that acid treatment under reflux conditions leads to the removal of the octahedral Al³⁺ cations for the two types of phosphoric acid. In fact, the chemical analysis shows that the leaching of Al³⁺ ions increases progressively with severity and the time of the reaction. The acid treatment with H₃PO₄ 54 wt % P₂O₅ at 90°C, enlarged the surface area from 24 to 150 m²/g. Thus, the solids obtained by the acid treatments can be used as promising adsorbents and catalyst supports.     

Justification of new technologies through the use of “cause and effect” analysis: Case of tile replacement at Kennedy space center

This paper presents a case of introducing new technology to a single stage in a maintenance operation composed of sequence of stages. The process - Thermal tile replacement - is a low volume, high value operation. A method for data collection at each stage, to estimate the variability in process quality, cost and duration is presented. The method involves: Identifying key product features, accuracy measure for each, rate of product rejection by feature and the associated probability density functions at each stage. The method relates accuracy variability by feature, “effect” to the contributing stage in the process “cause”. Simulation is used to justify the introduction of a new technology and to predict the percentage of product conformity in a “before” and “after” scenarios for the implementation of the new technology. The simulation model enables the quantification of technology impact on the product quality, overall productivity and the associated cost savings.     

Voice communication with computers: A primer

Due to the rapid development of speech communication interfaces, speech will be a major mode of man-machine communication. Essential to the development of speech input/output applications is the understanding of the techniques and jargon of speech by the application designer who, in most cases, has no formal speech training and, perhaps, little understanding of computers. This paper includes introductory tutorials on speech synthesis and recognition in an attempt to overcome the jargon barrier. A limited number of application examples are presented to stimulate generation of new applications.     

Changes in fatty acid and essential oil composition of sage (Salvia officinalis L.) leaves under NaCl stress

Fatty acids and essential oils from hydroponically cultivated Salvia officinalis leaves were analyzed by GC and GC–MS. Four different levels of NaCl (25, 50, 75 and 100 mM) were applied. The first results showed that salt treatment reduced significantly the plant growth by 61% and the total fatty acids (TFA) content by 32% at 100 mM NaCl. Alpha-linolenic, gadoleic, palmitic and oleic acids were the major fatty acids. Moreover, the polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased, while the monounsaturated ones increased with respect to increasing salinity. Regarding the essential oil composition, the main compounds were α-and β-thujone, 1,8-cineole, camphor, α-humulene, viridiflorol and manool at all salt treatments. The yield had a maximum increase at 75 mM NaCl. Hence, sage can be considered as moderately salt sensitive.