American University of Beirut

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Final Year Projects 2022-2023

• Sultan Al Salem, Marc Choueiry, Edward El Boustany,  Talal El Dandachli, Yasmina Marj – “Waste Management and Optimization of the Production Lines at Sanita ​​​"​​

The initiative that is being carried out is in collaboration with Sanita, a Lebanese self-care company that is known for its production of tissues, wet wipes, and diapers, in addition to multiple different product lines for people of all ages. However, a major problem that was identified in one of its production facilities is the large defective rates of tissues and toilet paper, key products of Sanita. The company is dealing with poor waste management, which is caused by high defective rates in their product line. A great deal of causes led to the increase in defective products, including faulty sealing, incorrect number of tissue papers in a specific box and so on. The goal of this project is to create a new and improved system that can tackle these issues accordingly and minimize defective products, in addition to increasing overall efficiency of the assembly line, thus providing a much smoother system. Lean Six Sigma is the preferred method to implementing proper changes to the system, specifically through the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) process. The manufacturing system was thoroughly examined, and various measurements were obtained and analyzed using control charts, hypothesis testing, simulation, linear programming and other mathematical and engineering tools until an improved system was developed. Moreover, a simulation model and a statistical software will be used to test the implemented improvements. This new model will minimize the waste generation of the toilet paper assembly line and will enhance the efficiency of the manufacturing operations. In this report, we explain the detailed approach we used to meet the project's goals.​

• Habib Danial, Norman El Chahni, Andrew Gharghour, Elie Moukarzel, Adriana Rebeiz– “Optimization of NokNok: Online Grocery Delivery Service​​​​"​​ 

NokNok is a Lebanese startup company operating in the quick grocery delivery industry. Since its launch, NokNok has achieved significant success by positioning itself as a delivery app that prides itself on delivering orders within a remarkable 15-minute timeframe from the moment of order placement. However, it has come to our attention that this claim was not consistently met. Our focus throughout the year was on enhancing the efficiency of one of NokNok's busiest warehouses, located in Badaro, which currently handles the packing and delivery of an average of 600 orders per day. We identified three key areas for improvement: inventory management, facilities planning, and quality control. These areas aimed to address issues such as out-of-stock item complaints, inefficient warehouse management, and delays in order processing, which led to a significant increase in customer complaints. In terms of inventory management, we proposed an optimal ordering policy by utilizing a combination of Newsvendor, order-up-to, and EOQ model ordering policies for different item categories. To address layout inefficiencies, we employed the Systematic Layout Planning (SLP) method to suggest a more streamlined layout plan. In tackling latency issues and customer complaints, we implemented Six Sigma concepts and recommended two improvements. Through the analysis of a substantial sample of customer complaints, we identified three main trends: orders with missing or defective items, and delays in delivery. Following the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) process, we developed an Out-of-Control Action Plan (OCAP) model to handle orders with missing or defective items. Additionally, we suggested two improvements for addressing late orders. The first improvement focused on optimizing the number of pickers by providing an optimal schedule for picker allocation in the warehouse at all times. Regarding the second improvement related to picking distance, we conducted experiments using various route optimization algorithms. Our findings indicated that for orders with fewer than 5 departments, all algorithms produced similar results. However, when dealing with orders containing five or more departments, the Savings method algorithm proved to yield the most optimal route. These optimizations aim to enhance NokNok's operational processes and provide a higher level of customer satisfaction. By implementing these improvements, NokNok can strengthen its position as a preferred grocery delivery service in Lebanon.​

• Batol Al Ghafari, Nagham El Hallak, Ahmad El Saadi, Pierre Nassar, Kevin Tannous– “Naggiar Metal Optimization​​​"​​​ 

Naggiar Metals is a metal supplier established in 1860 that provides metal work services, including bending, laser cutting, CNC punching, etc. across Lebanon. Naggiar conducts its metal sheets fabrication services in their Service Center, located in Quarantina. Their warehouse is located in Ghazieh (south of Lebanon) where most of the inventory is stored. The company needs to optimize operations in several fields, mainly: facility planning, ergonomics and safety, and inventory control and transportation, as well as information system. During our project, we used several IE tools and techniques to formulate specific problems and identify initiatives to solve them. Up until last semester, we progressed in two primary areas of focus: inventory planning, and facility layout design. In this report, we present key results for this semester, including an engineering economy analysis to complete the facility planning study, the design of a new information system, and an ergonomic study of the workspace. All in all, our project can be summed up by improvements in four main areas: First, we were able to decrease Naggiar’s transportation costs by 40%. Second, by designing a new layout, we were able to create two new areas for scrap and WIP, and to decrease inefficiencies and improve workflow. Third, workers’ safety, wellbeing, and productivity has been increased by implementing the ergonomics recommendations. Fourth, data handling has been eased for Naggiar’s data management team by designing an MS Access database. Interactions with Naggiar are also detailed. Furthermore, we made sure all the necessary steps were taken to roll off the project as smoothly as possible.

• Joy Bechara, Rachel El Hajjar, Lucie Marie Gebrael, Nareg Panossian, Joseph Soueidy – “Optimization of Arcenciel’s Hospital Waste Treatment Center ​​"

Arcenciel is a Lebanese non-profit NGO that provides support to Lebanon’s most underprivileged and marginalized communities. Among its multiple areas of work, Arcenciel holds the largest treatment operations for Infectious Healthcare Waste (IHCW) in Lebanon, with its biggest treatment center being in Beirut. If not managed properly, IHCW presents a risk of infection to patients, healthcare personnel, and the general public. Recently, this risk escalated further due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after which the amount of IHCW generated daily in Lebanon almost doubled. Thus, it is crucial to optimize the Arcenciel Hospital Waste Treatment Center’s operations to mitigate the increase in IHCW generation. In fact, the Beirut treatment center requires optimization in several fields of its operations, including data management, ergonomics and worker training, facility planning and optimizing cost expenditures. To accomplish this, we will pinpoint specific problems to tackle using a variety of Industrial Engineering tools and techniques. The solutions will require the use of software, various strategies for data collection, algorithms and computations, and specified equipment. During the fall semester, we worked on two primary areas of focus: the routes and cost optimization of the waste transportation by leveraging the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP), and the inventory planning of essential material and equipment on which Arcenciel’s operations depend using the Lot-Size-Reorder Point Systems method with stochastic demand. As for the Spring semester, we worked on digitalizing the waste tracking form, ergonomically optimizing the workers’ tasks, applying facilities planning and evaluating the feasibility of sustainable alternatives. We present sections on methods, models, and results, as well as our interactions with Arcenciel, while touching on challenges faced and planning for the future through a revised timeline.

• Marwan Mroueh, Leila Sukkar, Marie Yared – “Improving the Operations of Benta Pharmaceuticals ​​"

The economic crisis in Lebanon has resulted in a severe shortage of medication due to the state's inability to provide aid for essential imports, leaving many citizens without necessary medication. BPI, a Lebanese pharmaceutical company, aims to manufacture pharmaceutical products and medical devices. This project's primary goal is to optimize BPI's production process for Bisocor and Paracetamol, the cheapest and most in-demand medications, and meet their monthly demand. The study began by collecting data on the production process, machines, processing times, and batch capacity. Then, a model was constructed on Arena, representing the actual production process, while machine utilization rates were obtained using work sampling and machine fractions calculated to determine the optimal number needed. Simulation was used to verify the results. The packaging process was also analyzed through a time study to identify unnecessary motion and delays affecting the workflow. Lean Manufacturing tools, such as Kanban, were used to improve communication between departments. Python was employed to forecast demand for 2023 and 2024 for inventory analysis, and inventory modelling codes were used to minimize BPI's total costs. Agile management was implemented in a pilot area at BPI, resulting in a 15.4% improvement in the OEE. Finally, a cost-benefit analysis was conducted to determine the most profitable solutions for BPI since implementing all of them was not feasible.

• Christian Allam, Clara Dagher, Hassan Jichi, Mia Kamal, Patrick Salameh – “Optimizing Efficiency and Effectiveness of Beesline’s and Transportation Systems ​​"​

Beesline’s journey started in 1992 with scientist-siblings wanting to create an all-natural safe and hypo-allergenic cream to cure their mother’s harsh skin reaction. A year later, it was founded, and soon enough, their first product was born and quickly achieved great success: the beeswax lip care. Since then, after 30 years of pioneering clean formulations, Beesline counts more than 170 team members and the natural skincare brand is present in over 22 countries, spread over 6 continents. Beesline aims to propose the highest quality care, to solve the most difficult skin problems, by offering different product lines for every type of skin or needed results (Beesline, 2017). They base their products on the science of apitherapy, which uses materials derived from natural bee products, and they provide consumers with a powerful alternative to chemical cosmetics manufactured by multinationals. Beesline has been facing the pain of a lack of a good transportation system for its internal operations between its warehouses. This issue has led to several consequences for the company, including delays in transferring products between its locations, increased transportation costs, and difficulties in maintaining adequate inventory levels. These challenges ultimately affect the company's production capacity and operational efficiency. Improving the transportation system is necessary for Beesline to overcome these challenges and maintain its growth in the market, both locally and internationally. A better transportation system would lead to more efficient and timely transfer of products between warehouses, lower transportation costs, and the ability to better manage inventory levels. Therefore, during this semester, our team focused improving the transportation operations within the warehouses of Beesline. Our objective is to increase efficiency while minimizing costs. We 5 started by using linear programming, a mathematical optimization technique, to determine the optimal number of trips between the packing material warehouses, the central production warehouse, and the finished product warehouse.

• Alec Acaf, Denise Attoue, Kristy Salamoun, Mikael Breiss, and Nour Pharaon  – “Optimization of Hopital Hayek ​​"​

In Lebanon, the health sector has been severely affected by a range of factors including the economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the deadly explosion that destroyed parts of the country. As industrial engineers, we recognized our responsibility to improve systems and make them more efficient, especially in the medical sector. We chose to work with Hopital Hayek, a private hospital located in Sin El Fil, Lebanon, to improve their facility planning, scheduling process, quality control, and explore the feasibility of implementing solar panels. During the first part of the project, we analyzed and enhanced the hospital's facility planning, focusing on the emergency room and patient rooms. We proposed the implementation of an automated distribution system and the digitalization of the patient information-taking process. We also recommended rearranging the disposition of the patient rooms to reduce noise levels and eliminate backtracking, significantly increasing efficiency. We then worked on improving the hospital’s nurse scheduling process by transforming it from manual to automated. For the second part of the project, we conducted quality control research to track the supply of drugs and medical equipment from suppliers. We followed the DMAIC process and identified the three main issues affecting the hospital: long delivery times, inaccurate orders, and damaged/defective products. We recommended that the hospital works with suppliers to optimize delivery scheduling and routing, improve packaging accuracy, and invest in training programs for staff to handle products properly.​

• Yara Abi Saab, Nour Chaghoury, Zeina Farhat, Jennifer Ghaleb,  Ghida Zaatari  – “Optimization of PepsiCo Factory in Lebanon ​​"​

SMLC is a bottling company founded in Lebanon that introduced Pepsi to the Lebanese market in 1952 becoming the first franchisee in the Levant area. Over the years, it expanded its product line and included Miranda, 7up, Tropicana, Aquafina, Lipton as well as other brands. Today, the company has the highest market share in carbonated soft drinks and is a member of the Pepsi chairman’s club. Their main production facility is in Choueifat, Lebanon and is the core of our project; we will also be looking at their central warehouse for finished products. This study comprises three main parts. Firstly, we will assess the environmental impact of replacing PET bottles with aluminum cans. Secondly, we will optimize the finished products warehouse by utilizing the SLP method and analyzing the human factors involved. Lastly, we will evaluate the e-commerce platform of the company and propose sales and marketing strategies through data analytics and inventory and replenishment systems. Our objective is to suggest improvements that will enhance the efficiency of SMLC PepsiCo's finished products warehouse and boost their e-commerce sales. To achieve this, we will use various Industrial Engineering tools and techniques supported by data collection and software analysis. 

• Lynn Zeineddine, Christian Boustany, Lama Fakher,  Zeina Chatila, Salam Afiouni  – “Optimizing Benta Pharma Industries’ Operations ​​"​

Final Year Projects 2021-2022

​​​Emergency departments in hospitals are characterized by complex processes that include interconnected flows of people, materials, and information. Often, these processes are subject to high variability due to the numerous inputs and stakeholders involved in the proper functioning of the system. Consequently, ensuring adherence to quality and healthcare standards can make the difference between a decent and excellent level of care, which usually translates to more lives saved (Balcom & Reyes, 2019). The American University Medical Center (AUBMC), considered the leading healthcare institution in the country, has deeply suffered from the country’s economic crisis, which led to staffing and medicine shortages due to the inability to import materials, and caregivers fleeing the country for better opportunities abroad. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the strain on the overwhelmed medical system which is still recovering from the impact of the virus. The overflow of patients into the ED and the decrease in medical personnel has created a suboptimal admissions process where patients may wait up to 24 hours to be assigned a hospital bed. Between 2019 and 2021 the percentage of patients who wait for more than 24 hours increased by 1% to 10%. As a result of the high variability in the ED boarding times, our project focuses on addressing this issue using the Lean Six Sigma methodology. We will apply the DMAIC process to tackle process variability and identify root causes and suggest improvements by applying Lean principles and machine learning. We will follow a two-part approach where we tackle both the admissions and discharges since they are closely related. Our study begins with a general system description, followed by a more detailed understanding of the processes involved and our project scope. We move on to the data collection methodology before proceeding with the bulk of our analysis which involves analyzing the system and identifying root causes. Finally, we conclude with our proposed solutions along with a brief feasibility and control plan tailored to each solution. We look back on our study in the final discussion and talk about limitations and future work.

• ​​​​​​Anthonio Choucair, Bernard Khawan, Karim Riman, Michelle Baaklini,​ Yara Fares​ – “Improving the Customer’s Banking Experience and Optimizing the Bank's Operations and C​osts​"

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Functional banking systems constitute one of the pillars supporting modern economies, stable or growing. Growing beyond its original intent of safekeeping one's wealth, banks have become institutions with the power to regulate the distribution of wealth and stimulate economies. Owing to the long-standing political instability, recently coupled with the prevailing economic crisis and pandemic outbreak in Lebanon, demand for banking services has rapidly and strikingly risen. Unfortunately, when demand mismatches supply, customers face the consequences and grow frustrated. Discrete event simulation facilitates the modeling of present and potential systems for a timely and economic analysis of KPIs. Discrete event simulation was used to facilitate the modeling of the call center operations as well as to measure some key performance metrics. Arena was employed and the simulation was applied on the proposed and actual training programs, which showed that the resource utilization of tellers is reduced by half thanks to the better trained employees, therefore reducing the need for half of the staff in the call center. We also suggested the implementation of a smart chatbot in the application as well as the website of the bank which was also proven to be less costly when compared to the current situation in terms of long term cost of wages while also ensuring lower chance of bottlenecks, waiting times, lower proportion of unanswered requests, and therefore higher customer satisfaction. Discrete event simulation was also employed on the proposed solution which showed that the resource utilization of tellers is reduced by 10% thanks to the facilitated operations and help provided by the chatbot, therefore reducing the need for part of the staff in the call center.​​​

• Amine Arayssi Naji Arnous Tamara El Koussa Rime Hamadeh Cyprien Nshimiyimana​​ – “Improving Beesline’s E-commerce Warehousing System​​"​

​Fueled by changing lifestyles, new technologies, and unprecedented events such as covid-19, the ever-growing e-commerce’s dominance of the retail industry represents a paradigm shift in the way businesses interact with their customers. These dynamics provide lucrative incentives for businesses to tap more into the online market. Beesline, a Lebanese cosmetics company, wishes to expand its e-commerce operations to accommodate its increasing online demand. In fact, in our past progress report, tackled three key areas: ABC XYZ classification for, demand forecasting and space requirement. We used our analytical conclusions from these topics to tackle new objectives for our final report: warehouse location analysis, replenishment system, order-picking technique as well as delivery system analysis. First, we studied the company’s e-commerce warehouse location alternatives using the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis method to select the best location. Second, we approached the replenishment system optimization by leveraging the ABC XYZ classification, and using established replenishment policies, such as probabilitized EOQ and (s,S) policies. Third, we conducted experiments with four order-picking heuristics and compared them based on the average pick time. Finally, we conducted a cost-benefit analysis to compare three delivery system alternatives which are the Third-Party Logistics (3PL), vertical integration, and outsourced last mile delivery. Our results reveal that Beesline should locate their e-commerce warehouse in the Achrafieh warehouse we selected within the greater Beirut area. For the replenishment system, we selected personalized replenishment policies including the probabilitized EOQ, the (s,S) policy, and the three-months multiplier method depending on the ABC XYZ product classification. Moreover, our experiments revealed that the shortest-to-shortest order picking method outperforms other alternatives. Finally, our cost-benefit analysis yielded that vertical integration is the most cost-effective delivery system.​

• Elena El Chammas, Melissa Chalhoub, Tala El Zouheiri, Rani El Kantari, Tara Shantouf​ – “ Optimize BPI’s Production P​rocess for Bisoprolol, Metformin and Paracetamol​​"​

Lebanon is facing a dire shortage in medicine since the cash-strapped state struggles to provide aid on key imports causing an almost complete halt in shipments of necessities. This economic crisis has led the pharmacists to run out of essential drugs and has left many citizens in need of medication. BPI is a Lebanese pharmaceutical company that is committed to manufacturing pharmaceutical products as well as medical devices. This project’s main objective is to optimize BPI’s production process for Bisoprolol, Metformin and Paracetamol, the cheapest and most demanded medications, and satisfy their monthly demand. We started our study by collecting data regarding the production process, machines, processing times and batches capacity. Then, we constructed a model on Arena that adequately represents the actual production process, a work sampling to obtain machine utilization rates and calculated the machine fractions to determine the optimal number needed and verified our results using the simulation. We conducted a time study for the packaging process which allowed us to identify unnecessary motion and delays that affect the workflow. Moreover, we applied Lean Manufacturing tools such as Kanban that improved the communication between departments. As well, we performed inventory analysis by forecasting the demand for 2023 and 2024 using python and implemented LP to minimize BPI’s total costs. We performed a manufacturing analysis which proved that a make-to-order system with reduced service times and increased availability will yield better results at BPI than their make-to-stock system at the moment. Additionally, we implemented the pillars of total productive maintenance on a pilot area at BPI which led to an improvement of 2.9% of the OEE. Finally, we computed a cost benefit analysis in order to determine which solutions would be the most profitable for BPI as implementing all them wouldn’t be feasible. ​​

• Ghassan Hage, Issam Al Haffar, Jamal Selwan,​​ Joseph Azzi,​ Kate Mchayleh​​ – “ Improve Dipndip Customer Experience​​"​

Dipndip is a chocolate café in which shareholders and owners aim for one vision, becoming the number one chocolate café in t​he world. Currently, dipndip does not only provide premium chocolate but also allows its customers to enjoy a truly theatrical experience, through commodities such as drizzling chocolate from a height to create drama and anticipation. However, in our day and time, the above dream cannot be fulfilled if dipndip continues to restrict its operations to the form of an in-house café. This being said, the concept of “Dip at Home”, dipndip retail was introduced. We started our project by conducting an economic feasibility study. The study confirmed that the initiation of an Ice Cream Factory for dipndip in Egypt is feasible and economically profitable as per the Monte Carlo Simulation. We then designed our Ice Cream product prototype based on market and user research. We also performed an inventory plan analysis to carefully generate the optimal production plan. Furthermore, we tackled the manufacturing aspect of the project through different Industrial Engineering tools; we constructed a model on ARENA that represents the manufacturing process to analyze our manufacturing system and validate our production capabilities. Additionally, we conducted an inventory plan. We designed the optimal facility layout by comparing different layouts generated from three different algorithms, choosing the one with the smallest total cost. Finally, we accounted for ergonomic elements to be implemented in the factory to avoid workers' injuries while simultaneously increasing their efficiency.​

• ​Thierry Abdel Massih, Haya Al Zaatari, Jad Khalaf, Rami Hafez,​ Reem Rayes​​ – “ Waste Management of the Production Line at Fantasia ​​​"​​

This initiative is being carried out in collaboration with Fantasia, a Lebanese food processing company that specializes in the production of flavored potato chips. Several difficulties with the production of salted natural potato chips, one of their hallmark products, have been detected. Food waste is produced at a rate that exceeds Fantasia's permitted norms in the making of this potato chip. In addition, inefficiencies are discovered during the manufacturing process. They are characterized mostly by a high amount of manual inspection, which overwhelms line employees and produces bottlenecks. The goal of the project is to create a new system that tackles these issues and solves them as much as possible. The enhanced system would be built to eliminate waste on the production line while also increasing overall efficiency. The Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) phases of the Lean Six Sigma approach are followed. The manufacturing system was thoroughly examined, and various measurements were obtained and analyzed using control charts, hypothesis testing, simulation, and other mathematical and engineering tools until several system proposals were developed. We will compare these improvement models and make a recommendation based on our findings. This model includes optimizing the workers' shift time and choosing the best frying oil parameters. Moreover, a simulation model will be used to test this new system. This model would reduce employee workload and lower long-term production costs for Fantasia. In this report, we explain the detailed approach we used to meet the project's goals. ​

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​​Final Year Projects 2020-2021

• Hilal Chehab, Rayan Idriss, Hassan Mahaidli, Mohamad Youness – “Optimizing Distribution Processes Using Industry 4.0 Technologies"
  

There is an evident lag in the adoption of new technologies within Lebanese companies, regardless of the industry type, especially when it comes to data exchange and management operations. Today's available tools can make the process of extracting and utilizing suitable information an effortless task. All it needs is proper organization and mapping through Industry 4.0 technologies. Our project aims to push Wafic Idriss Ets., a Fast-Moving Consumer Goods producer and distributor, towards the implementation of this trend by creating a smart environment of completely automated data exchange. This transformation requires that the environment undergoes an overhaul since the data onhand is either on paper or has been digitized poorly. Several steps towards reaching this milestone have been achieved, such as cleaning the data, creating a Microsoft Excel application with executable macros, and developing a Microsoft Access interface with appropriate forms that display all information needed for the distribution operations. In the second part of this project, we designed a software robot dedicated to facilitating data transfer between the two platforms. We also developed a mobile application that makes use of the newly formed database. It organizes the drivers' daily deliveries based on client locations, monitors the status of deliveries, and updates the database after completing an order. The application uses Google technologies to guide the drivers to use the best possible routes to reach each customer and provides them with an incentive to complete more jobs, therefore increasing their productivity. The results of the project will be analyzed through the robot's performance by assessing reduction in time spent to run daily tasks, and the application's ability to increase productivity, therefore minimizing overall costs spent on our industry partner's delivery sector.

• Bashar Abu Hawili, Haya Ammar, Lea Dandan, Lea El Khoury, Raya Muqattash – “We Got a Henkel on Things: Ergonomics, Simulation, and Facilities Planning to optimize factory processes"
  

As industrial engineering students, the optimization of processes, elimination of wastes, and integration of efficient systems are important concepts that we have learned throughout our years at the American University of Beirut (AUB). In our Final Year Project (FYP), we intend to use all the different concepts, methods, and theories that we have learned throughout our years at AUB to support in the optimization of the factory processes of Henkel, a multi-national laundry and home care company. After thoroughly examining the different processes, focusing on the production process and the worker tasks, we will be suggesting solutions that tackle worker safety and optimization of production efficiency, in attempts to implement them. We decided to focus on these processes since we observed several issues that indicate a need for major improvement. With those in mind, and a chance of Henkel moving their factory to a different location, we came to an agreement that the three main components of our project, discussed in detail throughout the report, are ergonomics (by using the EMG device, RULA, NIOSH, and discomfort rating), simulation (by conducting a time study and using the Arena software), and facilities planning in order to optimize their spatial requirement. Our focus during the fall semester was on ergonomics and simulation, leaving facilities planning to be tackled during the spring semester. So far, since we discovered that one of the processes in the factory (the palleting process) causes harm to the lower back of the workers, we are working on finding a less harmful design for it. As for simulation, we have found the bottlenecks of the machines and are researching cost-effective ways to resolve them.

• Mira Debs, Samer Haidar, Hadi Hashem, Hussein Mahfouz – “Store-Wide Space Planning at Mini Mall"
  

We propose to maximize the overall profits of Mini Mall, a supermarket in Nabatieh, by promoting impulse buying. To do this, we aim to optimize shelf-space allocation of supermarket products in a way that increases the visibility of items with a high impulse purchase rate and thus drive the customers to buy more. Following the analysis of 51,379 ereceipts, the various products (i.e. Twix, Persil, etc.) were organized into product categories and located on the current layout of the supermarket. Depending on the location of the shelves within the store, product visibility rates and customer traffic intensity rates may fluctuate, which is why calculating those rates was necessary. We also conducted surveys to compute the impulse purchase rates of specific product categories. The results of these three computed rates were used to clearly demonstrate which areas of Mini Mall attract the most customers. Visualizations of correlations in the customer basket data gathered using R software were developed to better picture the information presented. Based on our analysis, we propose optimal positioning of products around the store, and we forecast a significant increase in profitability based on these moves. While it is not possible to “manually" figure out the best revenue-boosting moves, we suggest a 0-1 integer programming model towards this end. The model formulation and the estimation of its input parameters are complete. Our ongoing work is on coding and solving the model as well as using AMPL compiler and CPLEX solver which can handle a model with thousands of decision variables and constraints such as ours. Our work is expected to be a successful application of predictive and prescriptive based on big data in retailing.

• Cynthia Braidy, Tala Farha, Joanne Kas Hanna, Remi Otayek,  Joanna Ziad – “Optimizing the Delivery Network of Roadster Diner: Merging with Sister Companies"

Roadster Diner is the leading national casual diner and offers food delivery services all over Lebanon. However, their delivery network faces profit losses and timing problems. This paper revolves around one main objective: the optimization of Roadster's delivery network, which in turn leads to a major increase in their productivity and profitability. This study tests the feasibility of merging the delivery network of the two sister companies Zaatar W Zeit and Bar Tartine with that of our stakeholder. This paper will focus on three main topics studied. First, the optimization of the delivery operations. Second, the improvement of internal operations in the kitchen of delivery centers. This Final Year Project revolves around finding engineering methods to provide our stakeholders with the fastest delivery service for the least possible cost. Furthermore, the paper will discuss the results obtained from our pilot research, and the results expected by the end of the year.

• Mahmoud Ayoub, Joe El Feghali, Karim Hammoud, Jules Mahfoud – “Digitalization of Complaint Handling Process and Cargo Revenue Management at Middle East Airlines (MEA)"
  

Passenger complaints are very common in the airline industry, and leading airlines continuously work to minimize the number of complaints by examining their root causes. However, major airlines also put considerable emphasis on efficiently handling complaints using modern systems. Middle East Airlines (MEA) still uses a manual complaint handling system, where complaints are stored in and retrieved from physical books, which makes handling complaints a difficult and unorganized activity. Another problem that MEA faces is the lack of a systematic cargo shipment policy, which is leading to missed revenues. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the airline industry is known for its low profit margins. In light of these problems, and with MEA's desire to digitalize its operations and improve its performance, we set out to accomplish two objectives: digitalizing the complaint handling process and optimizing cargo loading at MEA. For our first objective, we started by interviewing key people in the Customer Relations department and, based on their inputs, created process flow diagrams for both the current and future (proposed) states of the process. We then worked on digitalizing the process by developing an Excel application that features a user-friendly interface and easy-to-use commands. To complete our second objective, we started by interviewing key decision-makers in the Cargo Shipment department to understand how they currently plan cargo shipments. We were then given previously collected data about the Paris-Beirut route, including the number and weight of passengers carried, and the weight and allocation of bags and cargo. After that we forecasted future outstanding weights and developed an Integer Linear Program that aims to optimize cargo loading and thus help MEA in generating higher revenues from cargo shipments.

• Ibrahim Awwad, Jennifer El Nahas, Pamela Nakhle, Lory Sleiman – “Zeeni Trading Agency: Toward's efficiency"
  

Our Final Year Project focuses on improving the efficiency of the Zeeni's Trading Agency. This Lebanese company produces a variety of products ranging from personal care products to boats. It even produces its own machines for the production lines of these products. We decided to help the company improve the production and the overall business by exploring and studying many different aspects of its operations. Our focus will be on a new production line created to produce “AmbiPur" floor cleaners. When we watched how this line operates, we directly noticed a huge need for improvement and therefore set our first objective as to improve the production line efficiency of “AmbiPur" floor cleaners. In addition to that, the company manages three different warehouses, and stocks a lot of inventory, raw material, chemical products, packaging boxes, etc. To help them ensure an efficient, safe and cost-effective warehouse, we decided to work on optimizing the main warehouse which is the second floor for storing finished goods. Using a time study, we were able to document the standard method used, list and divide the processes into elements and get the standard time of the operation. In addition to that, we simulated the process using the Arena software in order to find a way to reduce the time wasted in the production line. Based on the results obtained, the updated model will replace two elements (capping and wiping) by one automated machine which will reduce the number of working days, workers needed and labor costs. Concerning the warehouse optimization, the team is currently aiming to find the optimal layout that will minimize the objective function set and eventually reduce the cost and time of handling the products.

• Nura Afaneh, Serge Daou, Mohammad Ghamloush, Sara Nasser – “Don't Let Blood Donors' Efforts be in “Vein": Blood Donor Scheduling Using Modeling Techniques and Interface Design"
  

This paper outlines the progress taken to improve the amount of fulfilled volunteer-based blood donations by Donner Sang Compter (DSC). The World Health Organization set a goal to turn the global blood supply from a replacement system to a 100% volunteer system by 2025, and Lebanon is behind on this goal. The head of Donner Sang Compter (DSC), Yorgui Teyrouz, estimates that in 2019, the replacement system still constitutes 90% of the blood donations in Lebanon. Our objective is, therefore, to improve the amount of volunteer-based blood donations in Lebanon by improving DSC's donor rate. The initial phase of our project consisted of forecasting blood demand and its fulfilment by DSC, and simulation of the call center processes. At this stage, the results so far have disclosed the widening gap between the demand DSC receives and the blood requests they fulfill, as well as the lag time between receiving and fulfilling a demand. In the next phase of our project, we plan to utilize predictive donor scheduling and ergonomic interface improvement to increase demand fulfillment.

• Rami El Kfoury, Afif Fattouh, Simon Matta, Wissam Obeid – “The Optimization of Beirut Airport's Check-in and Luggage System"
  

Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport's ground handling processes lack efficiency. This inefficiency leads to high cost, low productivity, and low customer satisfaction. Therefore, we will tackle two major operations at the airport: the check-in and the luggage handling systems. This paper will present different tools and techniques used to analyze the current systems, and propose some improvements that aims to optimize the processes. According to several studies, an improvement in the airport processes can help boost tourism which is one of the most developed sectors in Lebanon. This can in return positively impact the Lebanese economy. In addition, the luggage operators carry excessively heavy loads for long periods of time, leaving them prone to injuries. Our team decided to study these operations which will consider the worker's safety and will make every traveler's life easier. Finally, this project would help our country achieve lower operations costs, and higher tourist's revenues.

• Magalie Aoun, Rayya Fahed, Isabelle Fayad, Rawan Hamdoun – “The Lebanese Red Cross: Improving the Efficiency of Lebanon's Largest Humanitarian Organization"

This paper aims to analyze and tackle some of the major challenges faced by the main emergency medical services center operating in Lebanon: The Lebanese Red Cross. This nongovernmental organization is a major pillar of the Lebanese community as it ensures the safety and well-being of all citizens. Its centers rely on independent volunteers to satisfy daily emergency calls. To ensure the efficient allocation of rescuers to shifts, this paper outlines the methods to develop an interface that prioritizes volunteer schedule preferences while accounting for organizational requirements. To further assist the Lebanese Red Cross, we will work on optimizing the efficiency and cost effectiveness of their main warehouse by categorizing the commodities based on criticality, forecasting their demand and ultimately developing an optimal ordering policy and an improved layout design.

• Samer Abou Diab, Abdul Rahman Badr, Firas Bahsoun, Sarah El Baba, Mazen Hajj Diab – “Cleared for Takeoff! Process Optimization for an In-Flight Catering Establishment"
  

In-flight catering is of utmost importance to airlines and has constantly proved to be one of the most significant deciding factors for travelers. This paper, conducted in partnership with the Lebanese Beirut Airport Catering Company, is driven by the evident importance of the in-flight catering industry and its relative complexity compared to other operational systems. Another key driver comes from empirical research and on-site observations that indicated problems facing the company at the level of quality, finances, and efficiency. In this paper, the team showcases the benefits of applying Statistical Process Control in helping the company improve the safety and quality of its catered food through the introduction of control charts into the control of the meal production process. A recommendation is also presented for the meal traceability issues facing the company through an Access database and an Excel interface. In addition, an AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average model is introduced that forecasted future demand as a prerequisite for the company's aggregate planning and economic order quantity models. The findings presented in this paper have provided the team with some promising results and a fitting springboard for optimization of the processes at the Lebanese Beirut Airport Catering Company.

• Julia Boughannam, Lydia Chaaban, Aya El Daouk, Sara Rahwanji– “Industrial Engineering in public systems: Optimizing Hadath Motor Vehicle Inspection Station"
  

Public institutions aim at providing citizens with better services to satisfy them and ensure their safety and wellbeing. In order to ensure car and road safety, the Lebanese Ministry of Interior performs annually motor vehicle inspections in four stations in Lebanon. The annual mechanical inspection checks the vehicles roadworthiness for conformity to technical standards and norms according to law 124. Lebanese citizens have been complaining about the long waiting queues while performing their annual motor vehicle car inspection especially at Hadath station. This station suffers from extensive congestion because it is the only station that serves citizens in the Beirut governorate. Also, the number of served cars has been increasing over the years without proper adjustments. Therefore, we decided to optimize the performance of this station and minimize queue times. In order to achieve our goal, we applied queuing theory on the current queue system upon arrival to assess its effectiveness and we designed a new queue system that is based on one queue, multiple servers that will minimize waiting time at this queue. Also, we used simulation in order to evaluate the performance of the current system, test the feasibility of different alternatives and design a new system that minimizes overall waiting time in system. Moreover, we investigated the possibility of using 'Psychology of Queuing' in order to reduce the impact of waiting time and to enrich citizens' experience. And, we analyzed the possibility of designing a system based on appointments in order to control the car arrival variability. The design of the new system will include differentiated lanes for old cars and new cars that will be determined by classifying a criterion using data analytics and RStudio depending on the model of the car to reduce congestion caused by older car models. Also, we aim to forecast the demand of car inspections in order to determine the required system capacity that will meet the increasing demand. Therefore, our project will improve the overall system efficiency and minimize waiting time.

• Nour Cattouf, Ariane El Gemayel, Melissa El Haddad, Ralph Gharios, Nicolas Hassoun – “Optimizing The Emergency Department: The Case of Mount Lebanon Hospital"

Emergency departments (ED) are a primary interface between patients and the healthcare industry. In this study, we focus on optimizing the ED of Mount Lebanon Hospital. This specific hospital unit is known to be a very dynamic place, where a considerable amount of processes and decision-making takes place. A lot of issues and obstacles may arise and interfere with the efficiency and accuracy of the services. Therefore, optimizing the overall management of ED's is of an extreme importance. In this work, we focus on generating industrial engineering solutions in MLH's ED and implementing them in their new expanded unit. In order to do that, we allocated a considerable amount of time in researching and observing the ED's procedures. Our goal was to be able to optimize the quality of the services while providing industrial engineering solutions accordingly for the future unit. In the remaining work we will perform simulation with ARENA software to decrease patients' waiting time and waste. Also, we will be working on optimizing the ED's layout to increase efficiency and productivity. Lastly, we will be tackling the matter from an ergonomic perspective.

• Yara Bou Maachar, Mia El Boustani, Nadin El Maalouf, Yassmina Hachem, Kevin Torbey – “Enhancing the Facilities that Protect the Planet: Sorting Facility Optimization from Beit Mery to Kfarhazir"
  

Lebanon has a bad history of waste management systems that depend on dumping trash in landfills; to end this cycle, the use of sorting facilities to recycle our waste is necessary. Due to the importance of these entities, we decided to base our final year project on tackling the inefficiencies that plague these facilities. The main purpose of this paper is to study and understand the process and inefficiencies of sorting facilities, which would enable us to design an optimal one. Our first phase focused on understanding the problems present in the sorting facility. We compared current working conditions to ergonomic standards and suggested solutions to be implemented. We also conducted time studies on tasks to identify problematic ones that could be improved. Our second phase consisted of designing an optimal facility and supply chain by using three industrial engineering tools. First, we enhanced the old layout by using facilities planning techniques. Compared to the old layout, we got an increase of 48.4% in the adjacency score and a decrease of 25.7% in the distance-based objective. Second, we tackled the vehicle routing problem associated with the pick-ups of trash where we created a linear program. We identified the optimal route which resulted in an 8% decrease in time, money, distance, and carbon footprint. Third, we identified the most feasible recycling facilities to collaborate with while optimizing the drop off schedule of recyclables. Finally, to wrap everything up, we simulated the original and the improved systems to show the impact of our proposed modifications.

• Alessandro Chelala, Maya Hatoum, Sabine Kanaan, Lilas Moughrabi – “Advice You Can Bank On: Improving the Efficiency of and Digitizing the Banking Experience"

A growing number of banks are currently concerned with the optimization and digitization of their banking processes. New approaches and technologies are now available to cater to the specific needs of the banking system. This knowledge has directed us to study the possibility of combining the two banking profiles, referred to as the Personal Banker (who handles sales operations) and the Teller (who is responsible for cash operations) into one unified profile whose operations are assisted by new technologies. In order to do this, a detailed understanding of the different tasks performed by each and the times required for completion were necessary. From here, we selected a branch of study, documented the standard method for multiple banking operations, conducted time studies on six of these operations, and applied lean principles to identify waste. Small–scale improvements were then introduced and studied to obtain a more efficient set of operations for the new (merged) profiles. Two simulation models of the branch were also built. The first was built to simulate the current queueing system in order to analyze the branch at a macro-level, and the second to predict the number of bankers needed following the issuance of the updated and improved operations. That way, we maximize operator utilization while minimizing waiting time. New technologies will be introduced to assist both the operator and the client and to mitigate the operational risks associated with the merger. A final optimal branch layout will then be constructed.

Final Year Projects 2018-2019

As part of their graduation requirement, IE students worked in teams of three of four to complete a capstone final year project (FYP). The projects tackled a range of issues, including the optimization of the beirut international airport to the lean manufacturing and facility planning. Abstracts of this year's IE FYPs can be seen below.

• Leah Atallah, Ziad Baydoun, Layal Fleifel, and  Julie Haddad - " Optimization of the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport (Minimizing Waiting Time in a Queue )"

The main aim of any organization is to have high efficiency, profitability and customer satisfaction. Rafic Hariri International Airport has been facing chaotic scenes lately resulting from various reasons. Some of these reasons are: software error that lead to upheaval in baggage control, long queues at General Security desks due to lack of efficiency of the system used, uncertainty of the travel agencies, and severe staff shortage. These issues lead to a drastic increase in the waiting time of passengers. Accordingly, we decided to handle that obstacle and work on minimizing the waiting time of passengers from the moment they enter the airport until the boarding point. During the first part of this project, we simulated the current situation at the airport after interviewing different people working there and observing passengers go through each checkpoint while timing them. After completion of the first part of this project, we found out there are two bottleneck stations responsible mainly for the long waiting times in queue, which are the check-in counters and the security check at the entrance. The Lebanese laws regarding the security of the civil aviation restricts our ability to make the needed modifications to the security check at the entrance of the airport. In this second part of our project we will focus on fixing the problem of check- in counters by finding a standard method to allocate airplanes to check-in counters in order to have a more accurate representation of our airport's simulation. In addition, our team is also incorporating facilities planning by working on a new layout for the airport that will hopefully minimize the waiting time in queue and maximize the airport's efficiency to deliver a better, more optimal and more efficient experience at the Beirut Rafic Hariri International airport. 

• Hammam Abu Hatab, Kareem Kaddoura, Nadim Yatim, and Zein Zaher - " Data Analytics and Simulation at AUBMC: Reducing Patient Waiting Time "

A growing number of hospitals are using healthcare-specific simulation technology to identify process improvements, particularly when there are numerous alternatives under consideration. New software and database systems are available, which specifically meet the unique needs of healthcare systems and departments. This research describes a discrete event simulation study of the ophthalmology department at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) using Arena software. The main objectives are to reduce patient waiting time for the process by implementing the techniques aforementioned; consequently, this will increase patient inflow per day. Unlike the popular consensus that patients' waiting time immensely decreases by having additional doctors, this study shows that the bottleneck is in fact at the imaging process of the department. As patient waiting times are linked to resource availability, several alternatives are inspected. The optimal alternative benefiting the department suggests assigning an additional imaging staff and simultaneously rescheduling the tasks of two idle clinical assistants based on specific daily schedules. The clustering of patients enhances the simulation findings by showing how resource reallocation is a valuable extension to the alternative suggested. As a result, the average waiting time per patient decreases by 31.4%.