Browsing by Subject "Operations"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Accessibility Impacts of Bus Access to Managed Lanes
    (2017-09) Carlson, Kristin
    This research introduces a method to measure changes in transit accessibility resulting from adjustments in bus-highway interactions. Operational differences between general purpose (GP) and managed lanes (ML) are measured using average travel time. Changes to transit travel time are systematically introduced to General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data through the use of the StopTimesEditor computer program developed for the purpose of this analysis. The methodology is tested on two express bus routes in the Minneapolis - St. Paul region (Twin Cities). The change in operating speed along portions of the selected transit routes is translated to changes in the job accessibility of the surrounding communities. The percent change in the worker-weighted average job accessibility for the area surrounding the transit routes and for the entire metropolitan region are 11.0\% and 0.26\% respectively. The methods introduced in this study can be used to evaluate the accessibility impacts of different highway operating environments for buses, or estimate the accessibility outcomes of different bus-highways scenarios.
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    Heterogeneity in Firm Environmental Management Activity: Antecedents and Operational Impacts
    (2018-05) Hardcopf, Rick
    In response to ever-increasing societal concern, firms adopt environmental management practices (EMPs) to mitigate the impact of their operations on the natural environment. However, they vary significantly in the number and types of practices they adopt, and in the environmental performance derived from that adoption. While prior research has explored various drivers of firm environmental activity and the impact of that activity on firm performance, there is limited understanding of what drives variation in adoption between firms and how that variation impacts operational decisions. I focus my dissertation on these two questions and execute my investigation through three essays. In the first essay, I evaluate which stakeholders exert more/less influence on EMP adoption decisions. Using panel data from 2002 to 2013, which includes 880 firms, 258 industries, and 8 sectors, and Hierarchical Linear Modeling, I find that the passage of time, firm-unique choices, and industry membership explain 40%, 26%, and 34% of the observed variation between firms respectively. The results suggest that stakeholders which influence firms directly (firm - 26%), such as customers and investors, are almost as influential to EMP adoption choices as regulators, who influence firms through industry regulation (industry - 34%). The results highlight the important role non-regulatory forces play in motivating firms to increase environmental activity and their potential role in future efforts to motivate improved environmental performance. I next examine a new source of variation in EMP adoption, a spill or pollution (SP) controversy. Such controversies are increasingly common. Because EMP adoption directly drives environmental performance, understanding how firms respond to SP controversies (escalate or de-escalate adoption) is of importance to both society and regulators. Using a unique panel data from 2002 to 2013, I show that in the absence of a SP controversy, firms steadily adopt more EMPs each year. However, in the year following a SP controversy, they de-escalate adoption and this effect seems to persist for up to 3 years. I also observe that high sustainability firms do not de-escalate adoption following a SP controversy, highlighting the critical role of sustainability leadership to driving environmental performance. In the final essay, I investigate how poor environmental performance can impact firms in surprising, yet important ways. I specifically investigate whether experiencing an environmental controversy impacts a subsequent, seemingly-unrelated operational decision, the timing of a product recall. Using a panel dataset covering 2002 to 2013, which includes recalls from the five primary recalling industries (auto, pharma, medical device, food, and consumer products), and survival modeling, I find that experiencing environmental controversy, or more controversies, causes firms to postpone the product recall decision. This impact is consistent across each recalling industry. I also find that as the controversy ages, its impact on the recall decision diminishes, suggesting the recent controversies will have a greater impact on operational decisions than older controversies.
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    Improving the Use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in Operations Management
    (2023-08) Mickelson, Brian
    This thesis contributes to the knowledge of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with a focus on improvement for operations and maintenance.Through literature research, gaps within the use of KPIs throughout different business areas of a functioning organization were identified. Then by conducting case studies, improvement to the implementation of KPIs are suggested. A gap identified through research and observed through the authors work is how the use and even the definitions of KPIs used in operations and maintenance are not linked together for overall improvement. Conflicting KPIs can have operations and maintenance going in different directions. While working at two different operating taconite facilities, the author observed the following: operations feeds into maintenance and maintenance feeds into operation. One cannot solely dictate to the other because the operation runs better when it is a two way street. This is why there is a need to formally tie these areas of work together. This thesis offers suggestions as contributions to continuous improvement utilizing KPIs. Firstly, know your stakeholders, secondly, identify the “why” an improvement needs to be made, thirdly, describe the importance of KPIs, fourthly measure and communicate your success, and finally plan to make changes throughout your improvement process. Improving these identified factors are critical to the success of KPIs. Five case studies were presented and suggestions were given based on these case studies. The case studies vary from non-profit, volunteer, employee owned, and private company working experiences. Findings from this thesis are important to engineering management practice because the need for operational improvement continues to become more important.
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    UAV Laboratories Processes and Procedures
    (2014-07-23) Taylor, Brian