Amin Gharehyakheh | University of Texas at Arlington (original) (raw)
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Papers by Amin Gharehyakheh
Applied Ergonomic, 2020
Since the inception of High Reliability Theory in 1981, researchers and practitioners have theori... more Since the inception of High Reliability Theory in 1981, researchers and practitioners have theorized about the questions, “How do you know if you're an HRO, and how do you validate it?” Evidence now exists that organizations seeking high reliability and resilience have moved away from the theoretical phase, and into the application phase where organizations adopt the HRO hallmarks plus culture as operational targets and create interventions to effect change. The evidence of high reliability operations in organizations is key for validating that HRO is implementable and is also beneficial. After collecting over 1400 artifacts, we found 34 scholarly efforts published which purposefully targeted implementation measures toward achieving an HRO state and measured the outcomes. From that evidence, we concluded that three specific interventions have been used which were useful and generalizable to guide practitioners in moving toward an HRO state: process redesign, training, and organization redesign. We suggest that this evidence may assert that organizations which are not functioning as an HRO can be redesigned to do so.
Sustainability, 2020
The food distribution process is responsible for significant quality loss in perishable products.... more The food distribution process is responsible for significant quality loss in perishable products. However, preserving quality is costly and consumes a tremendous amount of energy. To tackle the challenge of minimizing transportation costs and CO2 emissions while also maximizing product freshness, a novel multi-objective model is proposed. The model integrates a vehicle routing problem with temperature, shelf life, and energy consumption prediction models, thereby enhancing its accuracy. Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II is adapted to solve the proposed model for the set of Solomon test data. The conflicting nature of these objectives and the sensitivity of the model to shelf life and shipping container temperature settings are analyzed. The results show that optimizing freshness objective degrade the cost and the emission objectives, and the distribution of perishable foods are sensible to the shelf life of the perishable foods and temperature settings inside the container.
Proceedings of international annual conference of the IISE, 2018
A modern customer expects high quality of food products, and consequently, retailers must present... more A modern customer expects high quality of food products, and consequently, retailers must present their products in a decent quality to improve their reputation and customer retention in the market. There are many factors which can influence the quality of food products; one of the vital factors is maintaining products in a predetermined temperature through their life cycle since it can slow the bacteria growth which deteriorates food quality. The necessity of implementing a proper temperature-controlled system creates various challenges in a supply chain. This research is focused on selecting a sustainable fleet of vehicles to minimize environmental effects and costs of delivering food products from a distribution center to retailers. A simulation model was developed to represent the relationship of supply chain actors, and it was followed by an optimization approach to determine the optimal number of vehicles. The results of this study show a comparative analysis of delivery costs and environmental effects to show that the sustainable selection of the fleet of vehicles is an efficient approach to preserve the quality of perishable products during transportation phase.
Proceedings of international annual conference of the ASEM, 2018
Food banks are non-profit organizations with a mission to alleviate food insecurity and hunger, b... more Food banks are non-profit organizations with a mission to alleviate food insecurity and hunger, both of which are serious and growing public health concerns in low-income communities. On a daily basis, food bank managers are faced with the challenge of balancing demand and supply to maximize the fulfillment of nutritional requirements, while operating with limited resources. The objective of this research is to develop an optimization model that will engage all the available food bank and agency resources in food collection and distribution. This model maximizes the collection of food considering the type of food based on a recommended dietary guideline, subject to transportation and warehouse capacity constraints. Accurate estimation of client demand based on a standard guideline encourages food bank managers to collect more nutritionally valuable food items, leading to greater organizational food distribution efficiency and effectiveness. Food bank performance using this approach is compared with current food bank logistics, in terms of amount of distributed food. The results of implementation of this approach show a significant reduction in amount of uncollected food which means more valuable foods are available for people in need, and less foods are wasted in the system.
The High Reliability Organization (HRO) literature contains numerous observations that the five H... more The High Reliability Organization (HRO) literature contains numerous observations that the five HRO hallmarks have not been empirically tested and are difficult to implement directly. One literature review focused on HRO in health care noted there is no evidence that practitioners have heeded suggestions made in the one article by Dr. Karlene Roberts that provided guidance for managers in HROs. This begs the question, why is HRO so easy to understand but difficult to quantify? One group of researchers noted that taking Roberts' advice may be as simple as applying standard Industrial Engineering and business tools with a focus on HRO; i.e., understand organizational culture and systems, apply tools such as economic analysis, simulation modeling, and performance management and measurement. This paper argues that quantitative measures for the qualitative hallmarks of HRO can be developed that will make organizations better able to implement HRO practices, track performance, and understand whether their vision to operate as an HRO is achievable. A framework that translates the qualitative HRO hallmarks into quantitative actions is desirable. The HRO Strategic Measurement Framework with notional strategies, objectives, measures, targets, and initiatives adaptable to any organization was developed for operationalized HRO hallmarks, including a sixth hallmark.
It is vital to have a sustainable supply chain (SSC) to enhance and maintain the organization's c... more It is vital to have a sustainable supply chain (SSC) to enhance and maintain the organization's competitiveness in the market. Quantitative modeling (QM) techniques are widely used to analysis the behavior of system to ensure organizations will meet their goals. Historically, QM is well-developed technique in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM)'s body of science which was the main encouragement to review papers in which sustainability of supply chain (SC) is quantitatively modeled in the past 10 years. Distribution of QM and sources of uncertainty over the distinct aspects of sustainability were reviewed in this research. The results of this study show that application of QM in SSCM is increasing in recent years, even though, not all QM techniques and sustainability goals are developed enough, and this area of research still needs a quite elevated level of attention in future. Moreover, this review highlighted the impacts of various sources of uncertainty on efficiency of SSCM.
The term critical infrastructure (CI) derives from a series of Presidential Executive Orders and ... more The term critical infrastructure (CI) derives from a series of Presidential Executive Orders and Policy Directives which evolved from July 1996 as a systematic way of defining the Nation's public and private infrastructures and protecting them from failure. The current iteration of those initiatives, titled as Presidential Policy Directive #21 (PPD-21), identifies the components of the Nation's 16 CI sectors, but does little to identify tools, techniques, or measures for implementing actionable protection for those infrastructures. The purpose of this paper was to survey the literature using a systematic review to determine whether sufficient guidance exists to manage the emerging CI domain. The survey found that governmental sources provided significant definitional information and general guidance, but provided little which would direct actual protection. In contrast, however, academic and practitioner evidence did suggest implementation strategies and tactics. Although never formally validated, High Reliability Theory (HRT) has been suggested as an implementation approach to CI protection (CIP). Resilience, one of the five hallmarks of HRT, was found to be the most frequently recommended mechanism, while the remaining four hallmarks were also frequently found, although described with varying semantic language. The contribution of this paper consists of showing that the progress of the work toward defining CI protection has validated HRT, and suggests that the separate research streams and independent progress toward defining HRT and CI have converged into a single construct which can be generalized to guide practitioners in developing and managing strategies, tools, and implementation techniques in either domain.
This paper considers a multi-objective integrated production-distribution problem (IPDP) for mult... more This paper considers a multi-objective integrated production-distribution problem (IPDP) for multi-product and multi-production facility with limited capacity vehicles over a multi-period horizon in a two-level supply chain. In order to consider uncertainty of a real supply chain, some fuzzy parameters are considered for costumer demands, machine and labor levels of each manufacturer. The proposed model minimizes total production, inventory and distribution costs and total delivery time simultaneously, and the performance of the proposed model is evaluated on several randomly generated instances. The results show that integrating production and distribution decisions is more efficient than making these two decisions, separately.
After the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear plant meltdown, a claim was made that "accidents happen,... more After the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear plant meltdown, a claim was made that "accidents happen," suggesting that such catastrophes were inevitable. That concept was eventually labeled normal accident theory (NAT). Soon after, however, research into so-called "high reliability organizations" (HROs) began which disputed that claim and evolved into what became known as high reliability theory (HRT). This paper surveyed the literature published since 1979 to determine the level of continuing interest in the subject, and determine how it has been applied. Since 2004, it has been found a strong uptick in the number of publications which address HRO, suggesting that, interest in HRO theory, application, and tools remains strong. Coincident with this increase has been the creation and evolution of Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD/21) "Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience," one action of which was to update the national infrastructure protection program (NIPP). The objectives of PPD/21 closely parallel the underpinnings of HRT, including a focus on integrated systems, understanding threats, and a focus on resilience. The literature has suggested that HROs are relevant for mainstream organizations since they "provide insights to a distinctive set of processes that foster effectiveness under trying conditions." The survey found recent literature addressing the intersection of NIPP and HRO leading this research to the hypothesis that HRT has evolved to the point where it can significantly inform and advance the objectives of the PPD/21 toward protecting national critical infrastructure (CI) using an approach which emphasizes a more reliable, more resilient, organization.
Applied Ergonomic, 2020
Since the inception of High Reliability Theory in 1981, researchers and practitioners have theori... more Since the inception of High Reliability Theory in 1981, researchers and practitioners have theorized about the questions, “How do you know if you're an HRO, and how do you validate it?” Evidence now exists that organizations seeking high reliability and resilience have moved away from the theoretical phase, and into the application phase where organizations adopt the HRO hallmarks plus culture as operational targets and create interventions to effect change. The evidence of high reliability operations in organizations is key for validating that HRO is implementable and is also beneficial. After collecting over 1400 artifacts, we found 34 scholarly efforts published which purposefully targeted implementation measures toward achieving an HRO state and measured the outcomes. From that evidence, we concluded that three specific interventions have been used which were useful and generalizable to guide practitioners in moving toward an HRO state: process redesign, training, and organization redesign. We suggest that this evidence may assert that organizations which are not functioning as an HRO can be redesigned to do so.
Sustainability, 2020
The food distribution process is responsible for significant quality loss in perishable products.... more The food distribution process is responsible for significant quality loss in perishable products. However, preserving quality is costly and consumes a tremendous amount of energy. To tackle the challenge of minimizing transportation costs and CO2 emissions while also maximizing product freshness, a novel multi-objective model is proposed. The model integrates a vehicle routing problem with temperature, shelf life, and energy consumption prediction models, thereby enhancing its accuracy. Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II is adapted to solve the proposed model for the set of Solomon test data. The conflicting nature of these objectives and the sensitivity of the model to shelf life and shipping container temperature settings are analyzed. The results show that optimizing freshness objective degrade the cost and the emission objectives, and the distribution of perishable foods are sensible to the shelf life of the perishable foods and temperature settings inside the container.
Proceedings of international annual conference of the IISE, 2018
A modern customer expects high quality of food products, and consequently, retailers must present... more A modern customer expects high quality of food products, and consequently, retailers must present their products in a decent quality to improve their reputation and customer retention in the market. There are many factors which can influence the quality of food products; one of the vital factors is maintaining products in a predetermined temperature through their life cycle since it can slow the bacteria growth which deteriorates food quality. The necessity of implementing a proper temperature-controlled system creates various challenges in a supply chain. This research is focused on selecting a sustainable fleet of vehicles to minimize environmental effects and costs of delivering food products from a distribution center to retailers. A simulation model was developed to represent the relationship of supply chain actors, and it was followed by an optimization approach to determine the optimal number of vehicles. The results of this study show a comparative analysis of delivery costs and environmental effects to show that the sustainable selection of the fleet of vehicles is an efficient approach to preserve the quality of perishable products during transportation phase.
Proceedings of international annual conference of the ASEM, 2018
Food banks are non-profit organizations with a mission to alleviate food insecurity and hunger, b... more Food banks are non-profit organizations with a mission to alleviate food insecurity and hunger, both of which are serious and growing public health concerns in low-income communities. On a daily basis, food bank managers are faced with the challenge of balancing demand and supply to maximize the fulfillment of nutritional requirements, while operating with limited resources. The objective of this research is to develop an optimization model that will engage all the available food bank and agency resources in food collection and distribution. This model maximizes the collection of food considering the type of food based on a recommended dietary guideline, subject to transportation and warehouse capacity constraints. Accurate estimation of client demand based on a standard guideline encourages food bank managers to collect more nutritionally valuable food items, leading to greater organizational food distribution efficiency and effectiveness. Food bank performance using this approach is compared with current food bank logistics, in terms of amount of distributed food. The results of implementation of this approach show a significant reduction in amount of uncollected food which means more valuable foods are available for people in need, and less foods are wasted in the system.
The High Reliability Organization (HRO) literature contains numerous observations that the five H... more The High Reliability Organization (HRO) literature contains numerous observations that the five HRO hallmarks have not been empirically tested and are difficult to implement directly. One literature review focused on HRO in health care noted there is no evidence that practitioners have heeded suggestions made in the one article by Dr. Karlene Roberts that provided guidance for managers in HROs. This begs the question, why is HRO so easy to understand but difficult to quantify? One group of researchers noted that taking Roberts' advice may be as simple as applying standard Industrial Engineering and business tools with a focus on HRO; i.e., understand organizational culture and systems, apply tools such as economic analysis, simulation modeling, and performance management and measurement. This paper argues that quantitative measures for the qualitative hallmarks of HRO can be developed that will make organizations better able to implement HRO practices, track performance, and understand whether their vision to operate as an HRO is achievable. A framework that translates the qualitative HRO hallmarks into quantitative actions is desirable. The HRO Strategic Measurement Framework with notional strategies, objectives, measures, targets, and initiatives adaptable to any organization was developed for operationalized HRO hallmarks, including a sixth hallmark.
It is vital to have a sustainable supply chain (SSC) to enhance and maintain the organization's c... more It is vital to have a sustainable supply chain (SSC) to enhance and maintain the organization's competitiveness in the market. Quantitative modeling (QM) techniques are widely used to analysis the behavior of system to ensure organizations will meet their goals. Historically, QM is well-developed technique in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM)'s body of science which was the main encouragement to review papers in which sustainability of supply chain (SC) is quantitatively modeled in the past 10 years. Distribution of QM and sources of uncertainty over the distinct aspects of sustainability were reviewed in this research. The results of this study show that application of QM in SSCM is increasing in recent years, even though, not all QM techniques and sustainability goals are developed enough, and this area of research still needs a quite elevated level of attention in future. Moreover, this review highlighted the impacts of various sources of uncertainty on efficiency of SSCM.
The term critical infrastructure (CI) derives from a series of Presidential Executive Orders and ... more The term critical infrastructure (CI) derives from a series of Presidential Executive Orders and Policy Directives which evolved from July 1996 as a systematic way of defining the Nation's public and private infrastructures and protecting them from failure. The current iteration of those initiatives, titled as Presidential Policy Directive #21 (PPD-21), identifies the components of the Nation's 16 CI sectors, but does little to identify tools, techniques, or measures for implementing actionable protection for those infrastructures. The purpose of this paper was to survey the literature using a systematic review to determine whether sufficient guidance exists to manage the emerging CI domain. The survey found that governmental sources provided significant definitional information and general guidance, but provided little which would direct actual protection. In contrast, however, academic and practitioner evidence did suggest implementation strategies and tactics. Although never formally validated, High Reliability Theory (HRT) has been suggested as an implementation approach to CI protection (CIP). Resilience, one of the five hallmarks of HRT, was found to be the most frequently recommended mechanism, while the remaining four hallmarks were also frequently found, although described with varying semantic language. The contribution of this paper consists of showing that the progress of the work toward defining CI protection has validated HRT, and suggests that the separate research streams and independent progress toward defining HRT and CI have converged into a single construct which can be generalized to guide practitioners in developing and managing strategies, tools, and implementation techniques in either domain.
This paper considers a multi-objective integrated production-distribution problem (IPDP) for mult... more This paper considers a multi-objective integrated production-distribution problem (IPDP) for multi-product and multi-production facility with limited capacity vehicles over a multi-period horizon in a two-level supply chain. In order to consider uncertainty of a real supply chain, some fuzzy parameters are considered for costumer demands, machine and labor levels of each manufacturer. The proposed model minimizes total production, inventory and distribution costs and total delivery time simultaneously, and the performance of the proposed model is evaluated on several randomly generated instances. The results show that integrating production and distribution decisions is more efficient than making these two decisions, separately.
After the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear plant meltdown, a claim was made that "accidents happen,... more After the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear plant meltdown, a claim was made that "accidents happen," suggesting that such catastrophes were inevitable. That concept was eventually labeled normal accident theory (NAT). Soon after, however, research into so-called "high reliability organizations" (HROs) began which disputed that claim and evolved into what became known as high reliability theory (HRT). This paper surveyed the literature published since 1979 to determine the level of continuing interest in the subject, and determine how it has been applied. Since 2004, it has been found a strong uptick in the number of publications which address HRO, suggesting that, interest in HRO theory, application, and tools remains strong. Coincident with this increase has been the creation and evolution of Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD/21) "Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience," one action of which was to update the national infrastructure protection program (NIPP). The objectives of PPD/21 closely parallel the underpinnings of HRT, including a focus on integrated systems, understanding threats, and a focus on resilience. The literature has suggested that HROs are relevant for mainstream organizations since they "provide insights to a distinctive set of processes that foster effectiveness under trying conditions." The survey found recent literature addressing the intersection of NIPP and HRO leading this research to the hypothesis that HRT has evolved to the point where it can significantly inform and advance the objectives of the PPD/21 toward protecting national critical infrastructure (CI) using an approach which emphasizes a more reliable, more resilient, organization.