This book provides extensive insights and analysis into pricing models for autonomous manufacturing. Taking a cost engineering approach, it shows how businesses facing technological change can provide visibility to pricing sensitivity and maximize price, and profit in every transaction. The book pulls together the many elements of cost engineering; cost estimation, cost control, business planning and management, profitability analysis, cost risk analysis and project management, planning, and scheduling, and considers the many different approaches and methods for estimating or assessing costs. It aims to help companies with decision making, cost management, and budgeting with respect to product development, and highlights the importance of cost estimation during the early stages of product development. A discussion of appropriate pricing models is also included to determine the most effective course for handling operational costs in autonomous manufacturing systems in order to create a more productive and profitable system. Cost Engineering and Pricing in Autonomous Manufacturing Systems will provide new insights for researchers and students, as well as industrial practitioners interested in applied models which can be employed and implemented in real cases.

This practical guide covers the steps necessary to sustain quality in a project from start to finish. The book shows how to identify risks at different processes, phases, and stages and offers directions on how to mitigate and reduce risks using analysis, evaluation, and monitoring. Risk Management Applications Used to Sustain Quality in Projects: A Practical Guide focuses on applying risk management principles to manage quality in all project management processes, stages, and phases. The book discusses the potential risks that may occur at the different phases of the project life cycle, their effects on projects, and how to prevent them. It explores all the process elements and activities of risk management and provides steps on how to make the project more qualitative, competitive, and economical. Risk management processes are discussed at each project management processes and project lifecycle phase/stage to help the reader understand how various risks can occur and how to mitigate and reduce them. The main audience for this book is project management professionals, quality managers, systems engineers, construction managers, and risk management professionals as well as industrial engineers, academics, and students.

Despite widespread interest in the trade union movement and its history, it has never been easy to trace the development of individual unions, especially those now defunct, or where name changes or mergers have confused the trail. In this respect the standard histories and industrial studies tend to stimulate curiosity rather than satisfy it. When was a union founded? When did it merge or dissolve itself, or simply disappear? What records survive and where can further details of its history be found? These are the kinds of question the Directory sets out to answer. Each entry is arranged according to a standard plan, as follows: 1. Name of union; 2. Foundation date: Name changes (if any) and relevant dates. Any amalgamation or transfer of engagements. Cessation, winding up or disappearance, with date and reasons where appropriate and available; 3. Characteristics of: membership, leadership, policy, outstanding events, membership (numbers). 4. Sources of information: books, articles, minutes etc; location of documentation.

Currently, the prime focus for US business plans should not be on the manufacturing process design and delivery processes, but on greatly improving innovation leadership, design engineering capability, and sales and marketing innovation. These three areas have been sadly lacking significant performance improvement during the past 20 years. The magic word for US business is "simplification." Most of the books written to date focus on the solution development aspect of the Innovation System Cycle, which is less than 15% of the total innovative system. Focusing on solution development is only the start -- the rest of the innovation system cycle is what turns an idea into a profitable business. The techniques in this book are directed at key tasks across the innovative process, such as maximizing quality, productivity, maintainability, usability, and reliability, while focusing on reducing the product cycle time and costs within the innovative process. This book uses more than 50 different approaches/concepts, which leads the reader in a very simple method for understanding, establishing, and effectively using an innovative system to provide a significant marketing advantage. Previous books have focused on what to do; however, this book focuses on how to do it. It transforms a complicated complex system into easy-to-use and understand methodology.

Will Africa be the world's next hub of manufacturing? China is answering in the affirmative and investing accordingly. This book dispels the notion that this crucial story is merely about China's exploitation of Africa's resources, illuminating deep questions about our own, Western approach to development, and the implications for the future of manufacturing.Important research on a crucial global business trend: the shifting of manufacturing to Africa and its implications.Fascinating story and perspective from an author with direct experience of how this trend is happening.Rich, vivid, detailed examples illustrating the changing landscape, companies' success and failure in Africa.Insights and lessons highlighting the contrast between China's approach to business and economic development in Africa versus the West's aid-oriented approach.Engaging and absorbing writing, with the author's integral personal story interwoven with the research and ideas.Audience:C-level executives of companies operating internationally who have manufacturing (especially offshore manufacturing) as part of their operations.Senior executives and managers involved in global supply chain strategy and operations.Investors.Business readers interested in China, emerging markets, the global economy, and economic development.Intelligent general readers interested in economic development, foreign aid policy and practice.

'The way that Ricardo Semler runs his company is impossible; except th at it works, and works splendidly for everyone. I relish this book. It revived my faith in human beings and my hope for business everywher e' Charles Handy--Workers make the decisions previously made by their bosses--Managerial staff set their own salaries and bonuses--Everyone has access to the company books--No formality - a minimum of meetings, memos and approvals--Internal walls torn down--Shopfloor workers set their own productivity targets and schedulesResu lt - Semco is one of Latin America's fastest-growing companies, acknow ledged to be the best in Brazil to work for, and with a waiting list o f thousands of applicants hoping to join it. This book offers the chanc e to learn Ricardo Semler's secrets and let some of the Semco magic ru b off on you and your company

Exploring the concept of win-win agreements, this book analyses how they pose an important challenge for entrepreneurs, managers and advisors involved in complex negotiations among firms. Providing an overview and discussion of existing literature, the author further develops a theoretical framework for analysing corporate negotiations, and illustrates how this can be implemented in real-life situations. This book presents an empirical case study from the automotive industry and analyses the negotiation between Fiat Chrysler in 2009, offering practical strategies for those involved in corporate negotiations. Presenting how win-win agreements can improve competitive advantage, this book will be an invaluable read for practitioners and scholars alike.

Most books on the biotechnology industry focus on scientific and technological challenges, ignoring the entrepreneurial and managerial complexities faced bio-entrepreneurs. The Business Models for Life Science Firms aims to fill this gap by offering managers in this rapid growth industry the tools needed to design and implement an effective business model customized for the unique needs of research intensive organizations. Onetti and Zucchella begin by unpacking the often-used 'business model' term, examining key elements of business model conceptualization and offering a three tier approach with a clear separation between the business model and strategy: focus, exploring the different activities carried out by the organization; locus, evaluating where organizational activities are centered; and modus, testing the execution of the organization's activities. The business model thus defines the unique way in which a company delivers on its promise to its customers. The theory and applications adopt a global approach, offering business cases from a variety of biotech companies around the world.

An ambitious and shocking expose of America's hidden empire in Liberia, run by the storied Firestone corporation, and its long shadow In the early 1920s, Americans owned 80 percent of the world's automobiles and consumed 75 percent of the world's rubber. But only one percent of the world's rubber grew under the U.S. flag, creating a bottleneck that hampered the nation's explosive economic expansion. To solve its conundrum, the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company turned to a tiny West African nation, Liberia, founded in 1847 as a free Black republic. Empire of Rubber tells a sweeping story of capitalism, racial exploitation, and environmental devastation, as Firestone transformed Liberia into America's rubber empire. Historian and filmmaker Gregg Mitman scoured remote archives to unearth a history of promises unfulfilled for the vast numbers of Liberians who toiled on rubber plantations built on taken land. Mitman reveals a history of racial segregation and medical experimentation that reflected Jim Crow America-on African soil. As Firestone reaped fortunes, wealth and power concentrated in the hands of a few elites, fostering widespread inequalities that fed unrest, rebellions and, eventually, civil war. A riveting narrative of ecology and disease, of commerce and science, and of racial politics and political maneuvering, Empire of Rubber uncovers the hidden story of a corporate empire whose tentacles reach into the present.

A comprehensive, practical introduction to one of the most important new trends in manufacturing, globally The delivery of a service component as an added value when providing products, servitization is all the rage in the manufacturing sector around the world. Yet, despite the clear competitive advantage of servitization, most manufacturers remain reluctant to venture into, what for them, is a strange new world. Written by a team of internationally respected servitization experts and innovators, this book provides you with a detailed road map for successfully navigating the servitization terrain. Unlike most authors on the subject who merely sing the praises of servitization, Baines and Lightfoot provide you with a framework for accessing the feasibility of adopting a services-led competitive strategy in your company, along with strategies for designing and implementing the kinds of service offerings customers increasingly are coming to expect. * Grounded in real-world practice and supported by a wealth of up-to-the minute research, this book helps ease the way for manufacturers considering adopting a servitization model * Shows how to exploit your company's manufacturing competencies to build a strong servitization element without becoming "just another services company" * Provides numerous illustrations and examples of services-led competitive strategies, with an emphasis on the advanced services most widely associated with servitization worldwide * Packed with fascinating and instructive case studies from leading manufacturing firms across industry sectors, including Caterpillar, Rolls-Royce, Alstom, MAN, Xerox and others

E-Manufacturing: Business Paradigms and Supporting Technologies opens with a set of interesting selections from invited authors, covering perspectives such as concurrent engineering in product and process design, the tools needed to deal with people, relationships and networks, enterprise networking in Europe. This section closes with business and innovation topics, handling issues such as knowledge, innovation and investment, and joint ventures for innovation and competitiveness. The remaining parts of the book tackle the following e-manufacturing issues: advanced logistics, mechatronics, manufacturing systems integration and supporting technologies.

DIY check-outs, drones, self-driving cars, and e-government all are signs of the coming auto-industrial age. Will this end in mass unemployment or will new kinds of work emerge? Will 3D print production, desktop workshops and mass customization make up for lost blue-collar jobs? What will happen to health and education in the auto-industrial age? Will machines replace teachers and doctors? What might the economic and social future dominated by self-employment and a large DIY industry look like? Peter Murphy's lively, provocative book addresses these questions head-on.

This book introduces fundamental, advanced, and future-oriented scientific quality management methods for the engineering and manufacturing industries. It presents new knowledge and experiences in the manufacturing industry with real world case studies. It introduces Quality 4.0 with Industry 4.0, including quality engineering tools for software quality and offers lean quality management methods for lean manufacturing. It also bridges the gap between quality management and quality engineering, and offers a scientific methodology for problem solving and prevention. The methods, techniques, templates, and processes introduced in this book can be utilized in various areas in industry, from product engineering to manufacturing and shop floor management. This book will be of interest to manufacturing industry leaders and managers, who do not require in-depth engineering knowledge. It will also be helpful to engineers in design and suppliers in management and manufacturing, all who have daily concerns with project and quality management. Students in business and engineering programs may also find this book useful as they prepare for careers in the engineering and manufacturing industries. Presents new knowledge and experiences in the manufacturing industry with real world case studies Introduces quality engineering methods for software development Introduces Quality 4.0 with Industry 4.0 Offers lean quality management methods for lean manufacturing Bridges the gap between quality management methods and quality engineering Provides scientific methodology for product planning, problem solving and prevention management Includes forms, templates, and tools that can be used conveniently in the field

Offering proof-of-concept (POC) to inventors is often a difficult task for most Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs). Through an in-depth analysis of 15 years of IP portfolio management by Oxford University Innovation (OUI), this book identifies the salient aspects of the technology transfer evolution and the role that technology transfer managers (TTMs) play in closing the gap between academia and business. Innovation Finance and Technology Transfer: Funding Proof of Concept seeks to prove that a well-managed POC Fund can achieve positive financial results and that the chances for an IP portfolio management to be "in the money" increases if the TTO is attached to an entrepreneurial University. This work illustrates how innovation based on Intellectual Property Rights protected and managed by a highly-skilled group of technology transfer managers succeeds in technology transfer. It offers a vademecum to practitioners to follow a step by step best practice procedure embraced by the Oxford TTO to manage the POC investment process. This book is valuable reading for intellectual property scholars, business school students, social sciences researchers, investment professionals and technology transfer practitioners, as well as those working in innovation think tanks and policy circles.

"Koistinen puts the 'political' back in political economy in this fascinating account of New England's twentieth-century industrial erosion. First-rate research and sound judgments make this study essential reading."--Philip Scranton, Rutgers University-Camden "Well-organized and clearly written, Confronting Decline looks at one community to understand a process that has become truly national."--David Stebenne, Ohio State University "Koistinen's important book makes clear that many industrial cities and regions began to decline as early as the 1920s."--Alan Brinkley, Columbia University "Sheds new light on a complex system of enterprise that sometimes blurs, and occasionally overrides, the distinctions of private and public, as well as those of locality, state, region, and nation. In so doing, it extends and deepens the insights of previous scholars of the American political economy."--Robert M. Collins, University of Missouri The rise of the United States to a position of global leadership and power rested initially on the outcome of the Industrial Revolution. Yet as early as the 1920s, important American industries were in decline in the places where they had originally flourished. The decline of traditional manufacturing--deindustrialization--has been one of the most significant aspects of the restructuring of the American economy. In this volume, David Koistinen examines the demise of the textile industry in New England from the 1920s through the 1980s to better understand the impact of industrial decline. Focusing on policy responses to deindustrialization at the state, regional, and federal levels, he offers an in-depth look at the process of industrial decline over time and shows how this pattern repeats itself throughout the country and the world. A volume in the series Working in the Americas, edited by Richard Greenwald and Timothy J. Minchin

This edited volume brings together a group of expert contributors to explorebthe opportunities and the challenges that Industry 4.0 (smart manufacturing) is likely to pose for regions, fi rms and jobs in Europe. Drawing on theory and empirical cases, it considers emerging issues like servitization, new innovation models for local production systems and the increase in reshoring. Industry 4.0 and Regional Transformations captures the complexity of this new manufacturing model in an accessible way and considers its implications for the future. It will be essential reading for advanced students and researchers and policy makers in regional studies, industrial policy, economic geography, innovation studies, operations management and engineering.

Examines the social and political consequences of the globalization of the apparel industry in Asia, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and the United States. This work analyzes the countries' trade policies, the apparel industry's network of capital ad labor, working conditions in garment factories, and the role of workers, especially women.

This book explores the mechanics of rotor spinning machines. It discusses the open-end spinning machine rotor's vibrations and bearings as well as the kinematics of the rotor's drive as individual drive or central drive, both as a reducing drive and multiplying drive. It examines explanations for the rotor's power requirements through different techniques such as Shirley institute (UK) and Zurich Federal Institute. It also covers power distribution inside the machine, different mechanisms of the machine, and air flow inside the spinning machine.