- UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECTS -
2022 SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Fatma Pakdil, Ph.D. and Steve Muchiri, Ph.D. organized a Summer Research Institute titled "Collaborative Research: Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Big Data Analytics in Healthcare" on August 22-26, 2022 at Eastern.
The institute's macro level goals were: 1) to expose students to healthcare management related issues, 2) to enable students to research the dynamics of healthcare management systems, and 3) to analyze and understand the role of the Big Data concept in decision-making processes in the healthcare industry. The micro level goals were: 1) to analyze the readmission and length of stay (LOS) trends of pneumonia patients between 2010 through 2014 at a national scale using the Nationwide Readmission Database (NRD) provided by the HCUP in the U.S., 2) to examine the impact of LOS on the likelihood of hospital readmission, with an emphasis on discharge disposition and patients underlying conditions, and 3) to illustrate various readmission trends depicted by patients under different payers, medical comorbidity, and discharge disposition. |
Northeast Decision Science Institute 2022 Annual Meeting -
Vaccine Supply Chain Systems: An Analysis Using Operations Management Perspective
Although the interest in the literature on supply chain systems has grown over the last decades, designing and running vaccine supply chain (VSC) systems requires a unique attention among the Operations Research (OR)/Management Science (MS)/Operations Management (OM) community because of its particular position and complex structure in the global healthcare system. Given the current needs emerging in the national and global public health systems, this study focuses on analyzing VSC systems related literature in depth. By reviewing the literature on VSC systems, this study aims to answer the following questions: 1. What has been reported in previous literature that studied and analyzed VSCs? 2. What tools, techniques, perspectives, and approaches have been previously used to study the components of VSC systems? This study was conducted by Nancy Gonzalez, Nicole Thomassen, Aidan Dunn, Merita Cecunjanin in the Fall 2021 semester, and it was presented at NEDSI 2022 by Nancy Gonzalez.
Inventory Optimization in A Supermarket Warehouse Feeding A Single Cell Poke-Thru Production Line at Wiremold-LegrandThe purpose of this project is to analyze the replenishment points in the supermarket in order to meet the demand in the cell at a manufacturing firm that implemented lean principles. The problem that causes delay in the production line is the inefficiency to fulfill the demand of parts needed in the cell. This system functions by operators replenishing the bins to meet the demand of the inventory in the cell. This project develops a system that has the ability to input the demand for each product/part and relay the estimated amount of parts that need to be ordered.
Emily Vieten and Jenna Moreira studied on this project with Tim McMahon and Carissa Roman from Wiremold-Legrand. |
NEDSI 2019 Undergraduate Research Poster Awards
“Practically Applied” Undergraduate Research Projects were awarded in Northeast Decision Sciences Annual Conference – NEDSI 2019 in Philadelphia PA.
Led by Faculty Mentor Dr. Fatma Pakdil, BUS 363 and BUS 350 undergraduate project groups worked with local businesses and analyzed several topics in Fall 2019. “We collaborated with companies located in our community by focusing on their problems, issues, and projects so students could see the real life applications and practices of topics covered in the courses” quotes Dr. Pakdil. In addition to the examples and practice questions analyzed in class, having a real case with various topics to work on was more challenging and showed students what they can expect after graduation. These community based projects highlight Eastern’s commitment to “Liberal Arts Practically Applied”.
Led by Faculty Mentor Dr. Fatma Pakdil, BUS 363 and BUS 350 undergraduate project groups worked with local businesses and analyzed several topics in Fall 2019. “We collaborated with companies located in our community by focusing on their problems, issues, and projects so students could see the real life applications and practices of topics covered in the courses” quotes Dr. Pakdil. In addition to the examples and practice questions analyzed in class, having a real case with various topics to work on was more challenging and showed students what they can expect after graduation. These community based projects highlight Eastern’s commitment to “Liberal Arts Practically Applied”.
Seven undergraduate student projects were presented in NEDSI 2019 conference and three posters were awarded honorary mansions. Emily Vieten, Kaitlyn Hohman, Alexandra Maistrelis, Nicole Silva, Jenna Moreira, and Daniel Huacho received honorary mention awards. Megan Cole and Jaqueline Scanlon were awarded Third Place in the Undergraduate Student Poster Competition.
Feasibility of Implementing ECT in Eastern Connecticut
Alexandra Maistrelis and Nicole Silva, focused on process mapping of CT Scans and MRIs services provided in the radiology department at UConn Health Hospital in Farmington, CT during the project. Value Stream Maps were created and the processes were analyzed in depth in terms of identifying potential wastes and calculating value-added and non-value-added process times in CT Scan and MRI services. This project revealed that using a clinical decision support system was a necessity for the radiology department. Their project was awarded Honorable Mention in NEDSI 2019 conference.
EEG Laboratory Performance Analysis Using DMAIC Process
The students, Jenna Moreira and Daniel Huacho, worked on analyzing an EEG (electroencephalogram) Laboratory at a university-affiliated hospital in CT in BUS 363 Introduction to Six Sigma course. This unit was fairly new to the hospital leading to uncertainty of the potential waste times in the system. The goal of the project was to identify where the potential wastes might have occurred and to minimize the amount of time an outpatient would spend in the EEG process. Through Six Sigma approach using DMAIC process, the team was able to identify the problems, analyze the EEG process, and develop improvement ideas for minimizing average wait time for an outpatient in the system. Current state Value Stream Map was created and used as a base to analyze the system. The data collected from the system were analyzed using several statistical analysis tools such as descriptive statistics, graphical analysis tools, distribution fitting, and control charts. The results of the project are expected to be implemented in decision making processes in the hospital. Their project was awarded Honorable Mention in NEDSI 2019 conference.
The students, Emily Vieten and Kaitlin Hohman, focused on process mapping of the services provided in the radiology department at a university-affiliated hospital. Within the radiology department, there are different modalities: Breast MRI, CT/Cat Scan, CEXA Bone Density Scan, Mammogram, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Nuclear Medicine, PET-CT Scan, Ultra Sound, and X-Ray. All of these modalities are imaging techniques that are used to diagnose and/or treat the diseases. Using Six Sigma approach in DMAIC process, the team analyzed those modalities and mapped the processes in swim lanes. The main problem analyzed in the project was the pre-authorization numbers that was not matching within the system that causing a delay in the patients care. The team analyzed the system using swim lanes and developed improvement alternatives to minimize the effects of nonmatching pre-authorization numbers. Their project was awarded Honorable Mention in NEDSI 2019 conference.
Undergraduate Student Research Projects at ECSU in 2018 |
BUS 260-03 Operations Management Term Project: The team of Patrick Cartier, Alyssa Reynolds, and Mark Curry analyzed a big data set including customer complaints and nonconformities in 2017 at General Cable. The Quality Engineers at General Cable helped the team analyze the data and interpret the findings. This team-based project was done as a part of BUS 260 Operations Management in Spring 2018. The project analyzed the root causes of the customer returns in an industrial market place where the final product is the variety of the wires. Using a data set including various variables that detail the customer returns, the team identified main root causes of the returns and searched the relationships between the variables. Several statistical data analysis tools were implemented in the data analysis of the project. The team presented the project in CREATE Conference at ECSU on April 13th, 2018. |
Improving Customer Satisfaction in WilliBrew
BUS 260-03 Operations Management Term Project: Two students of mine who took the BUS 260 Operations Management course during the Spring 2017 semester, Majesta Brouillette and Cayla Ruiz, developed a practice-based project at Willimantic Brewing Co. The team presented the project in CREATE in April 2017. The title of the project was “Improving Customer Satisfaction based on SERVQUAL and DINESERV in Willimantic Brewing Co.” The students measured customer satisfaction based on DINESERV scale at Willimantic Brewing Co. Previous studies on DINESERV were analyzed in order to create a questionnaire. In the data collection stage, 150 customers’ responses were collected over a two week period. Then, data analysis, using SPSS 22.0 helped determine what areas should be improved in order to increase customer satisfaction at Willimantic Brewing Co.
BUS 260-03 Operations Management Term Project: Two students of mine who took the BUS 260 Operations Management course during the Spring 2017 semester, Majesta Brouillette and Cayla Ruiz, developed a practice-based project at Willimantic Brewing Co. The team presented the project in CREATE in April 2017. The title of the project was “Improving Customer Satisfaction based on SERVQUAL and DINESERV in Willimantic Brewing Co.” The students measured customer satisfaction based on DINESERV scale at Willimantic Brewing Co. Previous studies on DINESERV were analyzed in order to create a questionnaire. In the data collection stage, 150 customers’ responses were collected over a two week period. Then, data analysis, using SPSS 22.0 helped determine what areas should be improved in order to increase customer satisfaction at Willimantic Brewing Co.