UNS – The Doctoral Program (S3) in Industrial Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering (FT), Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, has successfully graduated its second Doctor of Industrial Engineering through a public dissertation defense held at the Multimedia Room, FT UNS Building 4, on Wednesday (23/10/2024). The newly awarded doctorate was earned by Dr. Ir. Rahmaniyah Dwi Astuti, S.T., M.T., a lecturer of the Industrial Engineering Department at FT UNS.

Dr. Rahmaniyah is the second graduate of the FT UNS Doctoral Program in Industrial Engineering, and she earned her doctorate with honors, achieving a Cumlaude distinction after completing her studies in just 2 years and 9 months. Her dissertation, titled “Study of Noise Impact on Cognitive Aspects Based on Electroencephalography (EEG) Signals: A Review of Attention, Stress, Mental Workload, and Situation Awareness,” was successfully defended. The dissertation defense was chaired by Prof. Dr. Ir. Wahyudi Sutopo, S.T., M.Si., with Prof. Dr. Ir. Bambang Suhardi, S.T., M.T. serving as the promoter, and Dr. Eng. Pringgo Widyo Laksono, S.T., M.Eng., and Dr. Ing. Novie Susanto, S.T., M.Eng., as co-promoters. The defense also featured internal examiners Prof. Dr. Ir. Eko Pujianto, S.Si., M.T., and Prof. Dr. Ir. Susy Susmartini, MSIE, as well as an external examiner, Prof. Dr. Ir. Heru Prastawa, DEA., from Universitas Diponegoro.

In her dissertation, Dr. Rahmaniyah explained that in modern industrial environments, noise causes physical disruptions and can potentially impact the workers’ mental health and cognitive performance. Her research highlights how noise affects the mental performance of industrial workers by utilizing EEG signal technology to analyze brain responses under different noise conditions, measuring its impact on attention, stress, mental workload, and situation awareness.

Her findings revealed a significant relationship between cognitive tasks, types of noise, brainwave patterns, and noise levels on cognitive performance. The spectral power density analysis on cognitive attention showed that participants demonstrated optimal attention during continuous and intermittent noise at 65 dB for certain tasks. Regarding stress, the results indicated that participants were relaxed or not stressed when exposed to continuous noise at 65 dB during specific cognitive tasks and at 55 dB during intermittent noise for others. As for mental workload, participants began showing signs of mental strain at 70 dB in both continuous and intermittent noise conditions.

During the question-and-answer session, one of the examiners inquired about the real-world application of her research. Dr. Rahmaniyah confidently explained that noise reduction in the real world could be achieved through the use of sound insulation or noise-dampening equipment in work environments.

“In real-world implementation, it leans more towards environmental noise control using sound insulation or dampening tools,” she explained.

At the conclusion of the defense, her promoter, Prof. Dr. Ir. Bambang Suhardi, S.T., M.T., expressed his appreciation and extended his congratulations on her new doctoral title.

“These findings support the SDGs related to industrial development, innovation, and infrastructure in technology. The ideas presented can be of great benefit to society,” he noted.

“I congratulate Dr. Rahmaniyah, and I hope her knowledge will benefit us all, especially Dr. Rahmaniyah herself. Congratulations, Dr. Rahmaniyah,” Prof. Bambang said.

HUMAS UNS