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Item Constraint Elimination through Water Reuse(2021-12-04) Blalock, James; Ray, Veto Matthew; Koo, Dan; Dalir, HamidFacility managers are tasked with maintaining the very systems that create much of plant overhead. Careful management of maintenance and operations can keep plant overhead costs low and ensure optimum performance of systems and equipment. A thorough understanding of plant systems and equipment can also assist in producing creative solutions to plant problems in the most affordable manner. Zimmer Biomet, Inc. is faced with adding additional cleaning equipment that will further overwhelm a wastewater processing operation that is already nearing 85% capacity. The obvious resolution of this problem is to increase the capacity of wastewater processing by adding a third processing station. Due to the expense of adding another processing station, the facilities department was contacted and asked to investigate alternative solutions. Fundamentally, the facilities department was asked to resolve a process constraint. They leveraged their understanding of plant systems, a review of industry best practices, and the appropriate continuous improvement tools in order identify a more cost effective solution to eliminating the constraint. This project documents the process followed by the facilities department that resulted in identifying a water reuse opportunity that not only eliminated the constraint, but also resulted in a financial savings, a reduction in water usage, a reduction in energy cost, reduced stress on the environment, and a demonstration of the plants commitment to social responsibility through carefully managing natural resources.Item Hoffman Inbound Inventory Management System Improvement(2021-05-05) Rector, Lucas R.; Scott, Bryan P.; Cooney, ElaineLester Sales needed a solution for its outdated inbound inventory system. We created a phone application so warehouse employees could reduce the time to put away an inbound shipment. We analyzed where time was being wasted in the original inbound process and improved these steps using our app. The app allows for the Director of Operations to create a shipment list in the app based on the inbound shipment of commercial products. From there, he can assign the shipment to a warehouse employee. This employee will follow a list of product numbers and primary bin locations where they need to go to. If the primary location is full, they have an option to select an overstock location. The overstock option will allow them to input the product number and bin location where the product was placed. Any product that was placed into overstock will be created into a separate list for the Hoffman Inventory Operator to make sure they shift said product into the proper bin location using the central computer system. We streamlined the complicated process that the people at Lester Sales had to go through. This will save Lester Sales money on the turn-around of products and maximize the commission they receive.Item Inverted Pendulum(2022-05-06) Aljadani, Fuad; Freije, Elizabeth; Stephens, CriagThe inverted Pendulum system is an example system in physics, dynamics, and control field. The center of mass of the Inverted Pendulum is about its pivot point and the Inverted Pendulum can be hung stably in its inverted position by using the control system to monitor the angle of the rod and moving the pivot point horizontally back below the center of gravity when the rod starts to fall over to maintain its balance. So, the purpose of this project is to repair a digital control for an inverted pendulum system which can keep the Inverted pendulum in a balanced position. We implement a system solution which includes a power supply that will generate power for the microcontroller and the cart motor. Also, this program will have a microcontroller that will meet the requirement for both hardware and software as this program will have a microcontroller that is able to communicate with the power supply and the cart motor by cables in order to give the instruction to the system. Also, the microcontroller should be capable of having a USB port in order to download the program. It will also be able to receive and send data to process encoder data and control the DC motor such that the inverted pendulum is balanced in an upright position.Item Importance of Emergency Preparedness for Cultural Museums(2023-04) Howell, LaQuita A.; Ray, Veto M.; Koo, Dan; Dalir, HamidThe DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center (DuSable) in Chicago, Illinois, has received threats in person and via mail from individuals and groups who disagree with the museum's mission. The museum's mission is "dedicated to the collection, documentation, preservation, study and the dissemination of the history and culture of Africans and African Americans" (The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, n.d., Our Mission). The threats received have directly implied that the sender planned to cause harm to the facility and the museum's occupants, which poses a risk to the museum's day-to-day operations. Knowing these threats, the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center must have the appropriate Emergency Preparedness measures, including security management, fire protection, and an emergency response plan to mitigate risk to its facility, collections, and occupants. Studying cultural museum emergency preparedness aims to identify and assess the various threats to the safety and security of museum collections, the facility, visitors, and staff. By understanding the emergency preparedness needs of museums, specifically cultural museums, appropriate measures can be implemented to prevent and deter physical harm. The emergency preparedness plan must include physical security measures, including security staff, access controls, surveillance, and fire protection systems. The minimum safety measures for a museum include a fire protection system equipped with smoke alarms, sprinklers, and fire extinguishers. Access control should consist of a security system controlling access to restricted areas, including physical guards and electronic surveillance, depending on the access needs. A surveillance system should include closed-circuit or wireless cameras to monitor the interior and exterior of the building. Security personnel is needed in the security system and serve as in-person deterrents in the case of an incident. An emergency response plan is also necessary to plan for and mitigate risks in an organized manner.Item Nano-compatible tensile testing machine(2024) Johnson, Martez; Scott, Austin; Izadian, AfshinThe Nano-Compatible Tensile Testing Machine (NCT TM) represents a collaborative effort to develop a system for measuring the mechanical proper ties of nanomaterials. This project integrates interchangeable load cells, alongside a digital caliper within a single system that interfaces with a user’s microscope. This data combined with what the user can gather via their microscope capabilities will enable precise assessment of tensile strength, yield strength, and Young’s modulus. By bridging the gap between traditional testing methods and the unique challenges posed by nanotechnology, the NCT TM promises to advance research capabilities within materials science here at IUPUI.Item Outsourcing Considerations for Douglas County School District(2023-04-17) Schuurman, Michael James; Ray, Matthew; Koo, Dan; Dalir, HamidDue to inefficiencies in staffing and response rates to work order requests, including providing the appropriate preventative maintenance for facilities and equipment, Douglas County School District is seeking ways to shift some of the operational responsibilities to third-party vendors through supplemental service agreements, otherwise known as outsourcing. This project looks at the costs and effectiveness of performing facility management functions for the Douglas County School District with third-party vendors, by contracting for as-needed services through an outsourcing vendor. Actual data for the Douglas County School District is obtained for the fiscal year ending 2022, including financial and data related to the responsibilities of the Douglas County School District facilities management department. The custodial services, grounds services, and operation/maintenance disciplines, which comprise the larger facilities management department, were analyzed and used for this project. The project found that outsourcing comes in many different models. Each organization must custom-fit these models to accommodate their needs, which could be customer service related, the availability of funds, or other reasons.Item CM Buck Project(2024-05-02) Boone, Sam; Gonzalez, Anthony; Freije, Elizabeth; Pash, PhillipFor this project, we are looking at a more cost-effective alternative to the Modbus to BACnet converters that are being used with the critical power equipment our company sells. These converters will be used in places where the existing building management systems use BACnet communication protocols. The current converters are over-engineered and overly complex for our customers’ needs who are requesting a simplified option. Our design needs to be able to monitor multiple pieces of critical power equipment, as well as have ride through time in the event of power loss to provide continuous monitoring.Item API’s & Machine Learning Principles For Fire Systems(2024-04-24) Felts, Joshua; Moe, Chris; Weissbach, Robert; Freije, Elizabeth; Pash, PhillipThe FireConnect product line exists as a well-developed system for remote monitoring of fire protection systems with an extensive array of compatibility and iterations based on the controller manufacturers and their product lines, each with their own unique communication protocols. The FireConnect service provides the user with a unique interface for their monitoring service with access through a web-based browser or a dedicated mobile application. This product also collects and aggregates the same data on the service providers cloud-based servers, where we as the manufacturer can access this data via an API, or Application Programming Interface. This provides us, the manufacturer, with a plethora of data with an infinite amount of value, ripe with potential for monetization. The problem is nothing has been developed to make use of the data and its untapped potential outside of the real-time monitoring system unless an individual with extensive experience and industry knowledge were to examine the data trends. The goal of this project was to use the data in such a way to generate sales based on the logical use of this data and industry specific requirements for maintenance and testing, to provide automatically generated leads. These leads are to be automatically populated on a user interface, not to be confused with the existing product offering, but to be used by customer service or sales managers to proactively engage with customers, while simultaneously generating an email-based notification for the customer on file.Item A Case Study of Safe and Cost-Effective Hospital HVAC Strategies(2022-08-02) Caesar, Jeffrey; Ray, Matthew Veto; Koo, Dan; Dalir, HamidThe pressures of healthcare facilities to keep patients safe while also maintaining financial viability have been felt in recent years amongst industry leaders. The impacts COVID has had on patient safety and planning has in any way fast-tracked patient safety progress, but certainly at a financial cost. As hospital leaders and facility leaders attempt to grapple with these realities, a facility's operating strategy that addresses both safety and cost should be employed. The below study aims to solve two issues facing hospital facility leadership in regards to the facilities’ HVAC system. The first issue is how to decrease energy consumption and operating expenses in light of industry pressures to improve the financial outlook and secondly, how to increase patient safety as a direct result of COVID-19 realities. Increasing safety and ultimately flexibility can many times increase costs, so utilizing the most appropriate and tested techniques that follow patient safety protocols will be necessary. The importance of this study cannot be understated. As with any healthcare system, improving patient outcomes are at the heart of the industry and especially in light of our recent pandemic. The fundamental question as to how facilities can keep patients safer while simultaneously reducing energy consumption is a tough question to answer, but manageable due to both recent industry experience and up-to-date research on the topic. The methodology will be to conduct a straightforward cost benefit analysis that takes into account both patient safety and energy consumption. The first step will be to gather baseline data for Lutheran Hospital’s HVAC system to gauge current system performance vs. benchmarked performance. Next, the data will inform us as to what strategies to implement to both curb costs and increase patient safety. The third step will be to implement those strategies where possible and measure their benefits. Lastly, a conclusion will be made as to what long-term solutions will be most useful to both this hospital and the other hospitals within Lutheran Health Network.Item MSTE Flywheel Capstone Project Report(2024-04-30) Hill, Kaleb; Franco, Gabrielle; Abegunde, Dami; Weissbach, Robert; Pash, Phillip; Freije, ElizabethThe objective of this capstone project evolved during its progression, ultimately aiming to develop a control system capable of idling the engine and operating the flywheel with braking capabilities. The flywheel's functionality includes idling the engine at approximately 3000-5000 RPM and rotating at speeds between 7000-9000 RPM. While the complete control system remains a work in progress, the flywheel can be fully braked, and preliminary data analysis has been conducted. Presently, the servo mechanism is utilized to maintain engine idling, adjusting the throttle to approximately 108° and returning to 100° upon closure. Future iterations will involve further servo implementation to facilitate RPM acceleration, achieving full throttle opening at 120° and introduce gradual braking.