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This report investigates the application of lean principles in preventative maintenance within the after-sale services industry, focusing on a GCC Engineering, Procurement, Construction company. The study addresses backlogs, delays, and various wastes in the maintenance facility, outlining objectives for lean processes. Methodology involves meetings, Gemba Walks, interviews, data collection, gap analysis, Kaizen improvements, and standardization. Numerical and contextual data reveal worker movements, waiting times, overprocessing, and a lack of standardization. Proposed improvements, such as tool belts, movable storage units, ERP systems, and Kanban boards, aim to mitigate these issues. Graphical representations illustrate the future state spaghetti diagram, standardized work, and 5S implementation. Results indicate substantial improvements, including an 84.31% to 92.16% decrease in lead time, an 83.33% to 340% increase in capacity, a 65% decrease in the number of steps, and a 66.67% to 75% decrease in inventory replenishment cycles. The conclusion emphasizes the achievement of all objectives and the unique contributions of the research, offering practical solutions aligned with industry needs. The organization anticipates positive shifts in operational dynamics and long-term success as these recommendations are implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of sitting posture on the back health of students involved in remote work. Jack® human simulation software was employed to measure the impact of different seated postures on the lower back region, specifically the lumbar spine. The analysis focused on common positions adopted during extended work periods: neutral (Posture 1), flexion (Posture 2) and extension (Posture 3). Three tests were conducted in the simulated environment to predict the forces exerted on the musculoskeletal system, which are Lower back analysis (LBA), Comfort Analysis, and Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS). The results revealed that Posture 2 exhibited the highest compression force and is the least comfortable in terms of joint angles compared to the other postures while posture 3 is the least comfortable in terms of body parts. Furthermore, the musculoskeletal loading associated with working in postures 2 and 3 does not reach excessive levels, however it is required to provide ergonomic improvements. This paper also proposes strategies to enhance the working postures of university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the existing research regarding warehouse operation specifically storage policies. Warehouse operations are critical factors that affect the responsiveness of the supply chain. To meet customer demand on time, optimizing warehouse operations is critical to enhance the overall supply chain performance. Storage policy is critical in warehouse operations, directly impacting order fulfillment efficiency, lead times, and space utilization. The main objective of this study is to determine the effect of storage policies on the utilization of the warehouse, lead times, and overall operations of the warehouse. Hence, this paper examines the existing storage policies, types of simulation modeling that would aid in creating a simulation model that mimics warehouse operations for testing purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world moves towards renewable energy sources, solar energy is becoming more widely recognized. This impacts photovoltaic (PV) panel prices, which requires deeper analysis to shape strategic planning. This paper fills a gap in PV panel price forecasting by utilizing machine learning models for multivariate time series forecasting, offering a more robust, comprehensive, and adaptable approach. Based on literature review, feature analysis, and linear regression, PV panel prices factors were identified, and data was collected. The dataset consists of 26 monthly time series features covering January 2018 to July 2023. The study's methodology consists of two phases: Phase I involves applying machine learning models (CNN, KNN, Random Forest, SVR, XGBoost) to forecast prices, resulting in the selection of the Random Forest model as the most effective based on performance metrics and comprehensive evaluations. Phase II utilizes the aforementioned model, along with forecasted features from the SARIMA model, to predict future PV panel prices. Forecasts indicate a stabilized PV panel market for 36 months from July 2023, with slight price fluctuations. This stabilization hypothesis aligns with other research findings, suggesting industry agreement. As the solar industry is dynamic, regular market analyses and model calibrations are essential.Overall, the research enhances the understanding of solar energy price time series forecasting, merging data gaps, and outlining pivotal price-influencing factors, offering stakeholders direction towards a sustainable energy future. Recommendations include using a broader dataset, improving methodology, exploring more models, applying a hybrid model, and continually updating forecasting methods in alignment with industry dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hybrid work environment enables employees to have a combination of working from home and the office. The intention of this paper is to investigate and provide a comparison between hybrid work and in-office work environments. As researchers indicate, WFH has a positive impact on employee productivity and well-being. In orderto provide a deep understanding, an empirical survey was conducted on 95 United Emirates workers. The key findingsof this survey illustrate that WFH has both positive and negative impacts on workers. The participants record positiveexperiences with WFH, including flexibility, increased efficiency, improved work-life balance, and better focus. However, the study revealed that some participants recorded various challenges, such as lack of social interaction, increased output expectations, and long working hours, which were obstructions to their participation in WFH. The findings from this research aid in understanding the benefits and challenges of WFH and inform organizations on thebest approach to follow when instituting a hybrid work environment within their workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today’s modern world radiation is utilized in medical, industrial and military sectors. X-rays and gamma radiation are both forms of electromagnetic radiation commonly used in laboratory settings. X-rays are produced by accelerating electrons and directing them onto a target material, while the decay of radioactive isotopes emits gamma radiation. Despite the benefits of radiation, prolonged exposure can affect employees and public health. Thus, Pb (lead) shielding has been utilized as an effective mitigation strategy for mitigating the health hazards associated with radiation. Due to its large atomic number and density, Pb is effective for mitigating x-rays and gamma rays. However, even though lead provides protection from radiation it can also affect human health. This research focuses on the effect of the lead pb on employees and public health. The study proposes measures and controls to reduce lead associated health hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report aims at developing an understanding of the term "Safety Culture" and its parameters and uses the findings to present guidelines that aim at developing the Safety Culture within an organization. The understanding of the terms was done through research from international sources on the origin and adaptations of Safety Culture and what are its indicators. The report details findings on what Safety is in general and how it relates to Safety Culture. As well as what signs of a positive or negative safety culture are within an organization. It also includes a thorough look into Safety incidents data and information that justify the need to develop a positive Safety Culture. Finally, the report details procedures that can be implemented to develop a positive safety culture within any organization while providing guidelines on how to monitor and improve the process explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of prolonged driving posture for occupational drives on the upper back muscles. There have been limited papers in the literature that studies the upper body muscles hence this study focuses specifically on neck and shoulder muscles. A human simulation software called Jack software was used to measure the impact of the driving posture on these muscles. Three different trunk conditions relative to the angles were adopted as follows: extension, neutral and flexion. The trail incorporated four different postures to mimic the real driving experience including the neck muscle at the neutral position, neck lateral rotation to the left and neck extension. The results of this study reveal that the lowest discomfort levels of both neck and shoulders were measured at the trunk flexion position, thus it suggested that a proper headrest that would support the neck at 15 degrees' extension would help to reduce the strain on the joint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food waste is classified as a threat that causes a challenge in achieving the goal of sustainable development worldwide. Recently, food waste has tripled over the past 50 years due to the increase in population. Moreover, food waste is accountable for a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and it generates 8% of greenhouse gases annually. However, sustainability can be achieved when losses of resources, food waste and it is associated impacts are reduced. Food waste management systems might not yet be introduced in the offshore islands. Thus, this paper works in introducing the food waste management system to the offshore locations in UAE to prevent and minimize the volume of food waste generated. The paper provides calculations of the estimated food waste volume generated from offshore islands to determine the effective solution for food waste management. This study proposes methods that include specialized mechanisms and solutions that can help in reducing food waste and extract revenue from such practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress has been considered a major negative impact on employees worldwide. The present century is known as the stress era since human life is full of stress and strain. Workers know how their anxiety and stress levels impact their capacity for productivity. The main reason for stress presence is the complexity of the human personal, social, and ecological environment, and simultaneously interactions of humans with its surrounding. In terms of psychological sciences, stress is a feeling of mental tension. Low levels of stress are more desirable, and even healthy, and facilitate human performance. However, high levels of stress result in social, psychological, biological problems, and serious harm to people. This project shows innumerable studies in this field investigated the role of different related factors of stress and aimed to aggregate various dimensions of theoretical issues and influences of stress in human everyday life especially in work. Also, this project introduces multiple devices for stress measurement and how they are conducted to employees in order to measure their stress levels. A conducted survey done with 30 engineers working at NPCC, the results have shown different levels of stress on conducted employees. However, the present study was an effort to make a theoretical unity of different measurement devices. According to the obtained results and data, stress can't be investigated and observed via a single study, therefore, incorporation is much needed by psychologists to analyze and develop future frameworks for minimizing and controlling work-related stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire is a primary threat to property and human safety in warehouses, and risk management of warehouse fires is challenging due to potential accident causes and various safety measures. Warehouse fires are caused by many factors such as the size of the buildings and the amount of stored combustible material. The size of the buildings and the volumes of combustible material held result in many of the fires becoming major conflagrations which pose challenges for fire and rescue services and result in significant property losses. Storage fires, like those in fuel storage facilities, can quickly spread to surrounding products, generate a number of secondary fires, resulting in conditions where accidents are uncontrollable, and severely destroy assets. The bowtie analysis approach was used in this paper for the industrial warehouse fire scenario. A generalized framework to manage warehouse fires was then developed followed by a general mitigation measure to control fires at industrial warehouses. A successful fire safety strategy is a thorough fire risk assessment that considers warehouse protection and life safety in compliance with national fire safety legislation. In the interests of developing a successful risk control program, an assessment will identify the fire threats and the potential for property losses and business interruption losses. The assessment should consider the structure of the building and the flammability of the products stored and the mode of storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is concerned with evaluating and assessing the COVID-19 waste management plan to develop a generalized waste management framework that can be adopted with future pandemics based on the UAE approach. Some existing models for waste management across different countries across the globe and the extent to which they could be applied in defined areas are discussed. An integrated framework that can serve as a basis for the development of a waste management system is proposed. Applicability, benefits, challenges, and limitations of the system are all outlined with a narrower scope focusing on the different approaches adopted by several Emirates in the UAE. An in-depth analysis of the current waste management methods, as well as the focus on disposing of medical waste contaminated with COVID-19. A comprehensive COVID-19 UAE-based framework is proposed alongside a generalized framework that can be implemented in future pandemics that are associated with a pathogen carrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typical actions performed by order pickers in e-commerce warehouses include retrieving, scanning, grabbing, lifting, etc. making the human order-picker the spine of such warehouse operation. For an order picking system based on a Goods-to-person (GtP) strategy, the repetitive motions raise many concerns. This increased frequency of actions may lead to the development of musculoskeletal diseases in the order picker's body. Many methodologies, like human factors simulation, are available and can be utilized to assess the impact of the working environment on the human body. However, the evaluation of human factors in a simulated environment might differ from the actual case in real life since the interpretations of fatigue and discomfort can be subjective. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to validate the results obtained from the human factors simulation, by constructing a physical order picking environment and comparing the output through evaluating responses from volunteers who are subjected to similar to the simulated order picking environments and tasks. Three matrices of human factors were evaluated in this study. The study concludes that the results obtained from human factors simulation are in line with the subjective interpretation of the discomfort and fatigue experienced by the volunteers. As well as RULA ratings are similar in both cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substations, which are part of electric power systems are ubiquitous, versatile and serve virtually all sectors and industries. These are essential high voltage units utilized to power and reliably operate facilities in the Oil and Gas industry. However, this available electricity also poses several electrical hazards to personnel and assets such as arc flashes, electric shocks, fires and explosions. Managing electrical fire risks is of growing significance since as per NFPA it is the leading cause of fire accidents costing personnel to suffer from severe injuries to fatalities and asset damages in a multi-million-dollar business. This study examines the numerous substation electrical fire risks. In addition, it explores the current management practices within ADNOC by conducting a gap assessment to identify the major gaps for managing these risks and in turn, benchmark to adopt the best practices being implemented internationally (such as NFPA and IEEE). Therefore, assisting in developing a framework that will outdo and optimize the current management practices. The designed framework primarily proposes establishing an Electrical Safety Committee and conducting a Failure Mode and Effect Analysis to manage these emerging electrical fires risks within the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural or human-caused wildfires happen in different parts of the world. Its harmful effects have increased over the past few years in all aspects. This paper aims to study one of the main important factors affecting both the initiation and propagation of wildfires. A root cause analysis was done to study the most dominant weather conditions across the five largest wildfires that took place in California in the last few years. Another analysis was performed using the IFTDSS software to investigate and determine which of the fire weather conditions had the greatest impact on the wildfire's various parameters. A preparedness management system for wildfires has been created, focusing on the main areas that need to be taken care of. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have proven that lighting conditions in the workplace play a vital role in employees' satisfaction as well as their productivity, and health in general. Natural light is the main source of lighting in the workplace, and it's very important for the employees to be exposed to it to a certain level in addition to the artificial ones. This paper reviews the important role of lighting in the workplace with regard to shedding light on natural lighting, how employees feel about it and about lighting in their offices in general, and whether it causes a certain health issue or not. This was done by surveying several employees from different companies and was supported by a correlation analysis study to study the relationship between the different parameters. An experiment was conducted to check if the employees were exposed to healthy and safe lighting in different locations depending on different parameters and indications such as lighting steadiness and distribution, and whether they faced common issues such as glare, lighting contrast, and flickering. New and old buildings have to incorporate natural light more into their structure. A review of possible solutions has been created and made for both with some innovative solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for comfortable seats rises as individuals spend more time sitting to perform various activities. The design and material used for cushioning the chairs play an important part in the overall comfort experienced by the human. Traditional methods, like questionnaires, for evaluating seat comfort are not accurate since the interpretation of discomfort is subjective and varies from human to human. Thus, this study proposes a system that models humans of different anthropometry and seats of different designs and cushion materials using Computer Aided Design (CAD) and then evaluates seat comfort by testing the contact pressure between them using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) at early design stages without the need for physical prototyping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proper training is a powerful tool to enhance the employee's performance in any required HSE-related job. The lack of HSE training has a direct effect on the adequacy expected from the employee to handle various situations that might lead to accidents, injuries, or losses if not dealt with properly. Hence, it is important to provide HSE training, which will enable the employees to become more aware and considerate of their safety by avoiding risks. In this study, a clear definition of knowledge, competency, and training will be presented, along with highlighting the significance of proper HSE training that will have a direct effect on minimizing possible accidents and promoting the performance of the organization from an HSE point of view. Moreover, this study also investigates the training methods approached globally for employees' training, and the drawbacks of the training programs offered in the present day. To gather the required data, two methods of data collection were utilized to gather the required data in order to address the research question, which are online surveys and interviews with subject matter experts. The results obtained from the data collection will be presented and discussed, along with a proposed solution for the existing drawbacks or shortcomings, and this will be further clarified through a case study scenario of activities carried out in confined spaces. The shortcomings that were identified through data analysis of the two methods will be resolved in the proposed training framework to fulfill the gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vigorous role of engineers is to uphold and advocate sustainability, yet, this role is often overlooked especially in regions where the guidelines of sustainability are enforced but not trusted. The problem seems to resonate on the motives not the practice, hence, it is very important to quantify sustainability and show measurable merits that encourage professionals to adhere to sustainability. Textbook pedagogy succeeds in explaining the procedure but failed to provoke the student's interest, therefore, a new methodology is needed to teach sustainability to freshmen engineering students by means of interactive and collaborative approaches. The core goal of this work is to engage the students' skills and enhance their social, environmental and economic confidence to generate solutions that are both sustainable and humane. One of the objectives is to expose the students to engineering tools such as CAD, MATLAB, NN and other cutting-edge tools. Also, it is important to enhance the student's research skills and improve their communication skills such as report writing and presentations. The proposed study suggests employing computer aided engineering and multi-paradigm numerical computing tools that provide suitable means to generate multiple scenarios with diverse parameters then propose and test possible solutions. Such tools allow for CAD simulations of multiple product that impose high impacts when recycled and are also perceived as high demand items. The tools also provide data structures, probability analyses and graphical presentations of the findings. The students then probe different theories which enhance sustainable practices that reduce resources exploitations then propose solutions that can be modeled and tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]