Indra Gunawan

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Tel:	+603-78801777 ext 222

Research Interests

Reliability engineering; quality control; application of operations research; applied statistics; probability modeling; engineering systems design: optimization and evaluation.

·        Reliability Evaluation of Multistage Interconnection Networks

Multistage Interconnection Networks (MINs) are network systems providing fast and efficient communication at a reasonable cost.  MINs connect input devices to output devices through a number of switch stages, where each switch is a crossbar network.  The number of stages and the connection patterns between stages determine the routing capability of the networks.  These networks can provide the communication needed in a parallel processing system consisting of a large number of processors that are working together to perform a single overall task. Reliability of MINs, as the best measure of system performance is evaluated to obtain an optimal network topology.  A methodology is proposed in this research to enhance the MINs performance, to analyze the reliability of network systems, to improve the design process resulting in a highly reliable multistage interconnection network, and to reduce the total communication cost.
 

·        Dynamic Planning for Fast-Tracking Projects

The fast-tracking delivery method has received considerable attention over the last decade and its time saving feature has placed it as a possible alternative to the traditional more sequential method. Along with its benefits, however, fast-tracking also has greater potential to impact the project development process than the traditional method. In the literature, this is usually attributed to the increased level of uncertainty and researches on fast-tracking have mainly focused on uncertainty reduction but without explicit study of the feedback processes involved in fast-tracking. However, closer observations of the project development process suggest that to effectively handle uncertainty and minimize the negative impact of fast-tracking, the feedback processes involved in fast-tracking need to be identified and the dynamic behavior of construction resulting from those feedback processes needs to be dealt with in a systematic manner.

As an effort to meet these needs, this research presents Dynamic Planning Methodology (DPM), a planning methodology based on System Dynamics. Focusing on the dynamic behavior of fast-tracking projects, DPM aims to improve the planning and management of fast-tracking projects by providing overlapping strategies, workforce control policies, and schedule adjustments that will minimize the negative impact of fast-tracking.
 

·        A Comparative Productivity Study of Pre-Cast vs. Conventional Cast-In-Situ Methods

Advantages of pre-cast technology in the construction of commercial, residential and institutional buildings are well documented in literature. However, the acceptance of this technology in Malaysia is relatively low with few projects being constructed with pre-cast components. It is commonly acknowledged that pre-cast technology has tremendous potential towards productivity improvement as it encompasses aspects of standardization, highly controlled and quality pre-cast components which complements the various programs to increase productivity and quality through the adoption of Modular Coordination (MC) and Industrialized Building System (IBS).

The project objectives are to measure productivity in terms of labor productivity, machine utilization, to examine productivity indicators between pre-cast and cast-in-situ methods, and to explore areas of improvements to promote adoption of pre-cast technology in Malaysia.

·        Assessing Project Evaluation Techniques Used For Major Transportation Projects in Asia

The purpose of the research is to identify and develop methods that can be used to help public officials, government agencies, developers, and other actors prepare better proposals through better understanding and discussion of the range of options – engineering, financial, institutional, and geographical - that are available. The research will utilize case studies and comparisons of major transportation projects in Asia, including major bridges, new airports, transit systems, or high speed rail lines.

The research will help ensure that the right questions are asked and that the major options and issues are presented early enough to receive serious consideration. The research will help government agencies in Malaysia identify and evaluate a broader range of possible transportation projects and, over time, to implement more effective projects.

Selected Publications

·       Fard, N .S. and Gunawan, I., “Terminal Reliability Improvement of Shuffle-Exchange Network Systems”, International Journal of Reliability, Quality and Safety Engineering, Vol. 12, No. 1, 51-60, 2005

·       Gunawan, I., “Reliability Estimation of Gamma Network”, Proceedings of 13th INFORMS Applied Probability Society Conference, July 6-8, 2005, Ottawa, Canada.

·       Gunawan, I., “Networks Reliability Improvement based on Monte Carlo Method”, Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Mechatronics 2005 (ICOM'05), May 10-12, 2005, Malaysia.

·       Gunawan, I., “A Productivity Comparative Study Between Pre-Cast Buildings and Conventional Cast-In-Situ Buildings”, Industrialized Building Systems (IBS) Quarterly Publication, April-June 2005, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), Malaysia.

·        Gunawan, I., “ Advanced Science and Technology Experimental Research (ASTER) ”, Technology Assessment Report submitted to Multimedia Super Corridor Research and Development Grant Scheme (MGS), Malaysia, November 2, 2004.

·        Gunawan, I., “ A Comparative Productivity Study of Pre-Cast versus Conventional Cast-In-Situ Buildings at Sintok, Kedah and Nilai, Negeri Sembilan ”, Research Project Report submitted to Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), Malaysia, August 31, 2004.

·        Gunawan, I., Palaniappan, S., and Lim, C. S., “Extra-Stage Cube Network Reliability Estimation Using Stratified Sampling Monte Carlo Method”, Best Paper at the 3 rd Technical Postgraduate Symposium , December 15-16, 2004 , University of Malaya , Malaysia

·       Gunawan, I., “Network Reliability Improvement with Stratified Sampling Monte Carlo Method”, 6 th Electronics Material and Packaging Conference (EMAP 2004) , December 5-7, 2004 , Universiti Sains Malaysia , Penang , Malaysia

·       Gunawan, I., “Redundant Paths in a Gamma Network”, 12 th INFORMS/Applied Probability Society, June 23-25, 2004 , Beijing , China

·        Gunawan, I., “Reliability Analysis of Shuffle-Exchange Networks”, 3 rd Hawaii International Conference on Statistics and Related Fields , June 9-12, 2004 , Honolulu , Hawaii

·       Gunawan, I., “ Reliability Evaluation of Network Systems”, Proceedings of 2 nd Technical Postgraduate Symposium, 404-409, December 16-17, 2003 , University of Malaya , Malaysia

·        Fard, N. S. and Gunawan, I., “Broadcast Reliability Evaluation of Multistage Interconnection Network Systems”, Bulletin of the Institute of Management Science/Operations Research Society of America (Euro INFORMS) , July 2003, Istanbul

·       Gunawan, I., “Terminal Reliability Evaluation of Gamma and Extra-Stage Gamma Networks”, 2 nd Hawaii International Conference on Statistics and Related Fields , June 5-8, 2003 , Honolulu , Hawaii

·        Fard, N. S. and Gunawan, I., “Performance Analysis of Parallel Computer Systems”, Proceedings of MSIE 2003 Annual Conference, March 17, 2003

·        Fard, N. S. and Gunawan, I., “Reliability Analysis of Multistage Interconnection Networks”, The 30 th International Conference on Computers and Industrial Engineering, June 29 - July 2, 2002 , Tinos Island , Greece

·        Fard, N. S. and Gunawan, I., “Reliability Bounds for Large Multistage Interconnection Networks”, Conference on Applied Parallel Computing ( PARA '02) , 507-514, June 15-18, 2002 , Espoo , Finland

·        Fard, N. S. and Gunawan, I., “Multistage Interconnection Networks Reliability”, Institute of Industrial Engineers Annual Conference, May 19-21, 2002 , Orlando , Florida

·        Fard, N. S. and Gunawan, I., “Performance Improvement in Communication Network Systems”, Proceedings of IV SIMPOI/Production and Operations Management Society, 69-76, August 11-14, 2001 , Guaruja/SP, Brazil

 

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