Closing the Gap is an accessible overview of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and the impact it is set to have on various sectors in South Africa and Africa. It explores the previous industrial revolutions that have led up to this point and outlines South Africa’s position been through each one.

With a focus on artificial intelligence as a core concept in understanding the 4IR, this book uses familiar concepts to explain artificial intelligence, how it works and how it can be used in banking, mining, medicine and many other fields.

Written from an African perspective, Closing the Gap addresses the challenges and fears around the 4IR by pointing to the opportunities presented by new technologies and outlining some of the challenges and successes to date

The definitive practical guide to choosing the optimum manufacturing process, written for students and engineers.
Process Selection provides engineers with the essential technological and economic data to guide the selection of manufacturing processes. This fully revised second edition covers a wide range of important manufacturing processes and will ensure design decisions are made to achieve optimal cost and quality objectives.
Expanded and updated to include contemporary manufacturing, fabrication and assembly technologies, the book puts process selection and costing into the context of modern product development and manufacturing, based on parameters such as materials requirements, design considerations, quality and economic factors. Key features of the book include: manufacturing process information maps (PRIMAs) provide detailed information on the characteristics and capabilities of 65 processes and their variants in a standard format; process capability charts detailing the processing tolerance ranges for key material types; strategies to facilitate process selection; detailed methods for estimating costs, both at the component and assemby level.
The approach enables an engineer to understand the consequences of design decisions on the technological and economic aspects of component manufacturing, fabrication and assembly.
This comprehensive book provides both a definitive guide to the subject for students and an invaluable source of reference for practising engineers.
* manufacturing process information maps (PRIMAs) provide detailed information on the characteristics and capabilities of 65 processes in a standard format
* process capability charts detail the processing tolerance ranges for key material types
* detailed methods for estimating costs, both at the component and assembly level

Manufacturing operations are the real wealth creators within a business, accounting for the majority of management and financial assets needed to sustain the company. Make it encapsulates the author's many years of experience gained designing manufacturing systems and supply-chains in factories across the world. It provides a proven, logical sequence of events needed to design effective modular factories capable of competing with the world's best.

In their 1999 'Best-Managed' Companies Awards, 'Aviation Week and Space Technology' (Vol. 150, No. 22) quoted the author's former company, Lucas Aerospace, as achieving 'Most improved major aerospace company 1994 - 1998' status, ranking it second in Competitiveness, assessed by an amalgamation of asset utilisation, productivity and financial stability.
This book has been written for managers charged with the responsibility for improving business profitability and for engineers facing the challenge of introducing more cost effective manufacturing processes. Many manufacturing businesses have failed to invest adequate resources in designing factory operations, mainly due to the lack of expertise and detailed knowledge needed to undertake this demanding task.
John Garside is a Principal Fellow at Warwick International Manufacturing Group, The University of Warwick. This follows an extensive industrial career in highly competitive first tier system and component manufacturing businesses, who supplied many of the world's leading aerospace, automotive and industrial equipment makers.
Written in a concise style giving ready access to information.
Provides detailed checklists allowing managers to make informed judgements concerning the critical resources needed to meet and exceed customer expectations.
Informs you how to 'Make it ' imparting practical knowledge on how to create world class factories.

Control Theory Applications for Dynamic Production Systems Apply the fundamental tools of linear control theory to model, analyze, design, and understand the behavior of dynamic production systems In Control Theory Applications for Dynamic Production Systems: Time and Frequency Methods for Analysis and Design, distinguished manufacturing engineer Dr. Neil A. Duffie delivers a comprehensive explanation of how core concepts of control theorical analysis and design can be applied to production systems. Time-based perspectives on response to turbulence are augmented by frequency-based perspectives, fostering new understanding and guiding design of decision-making. The time delays intrinsic to decision making and decision implementation in production systems are addressed throughout. Readers will discover methods for calculating time response and frequency response, modeling using transfer functions, assessing stability, and design of decision making for closed-loop production systems. The author has included real-world examples emphasizing the different components of production systems and illustrating how practical results can be quickly obtained using straightforward Matlab programs (which can easily be translated to other platforms). Avoiding unnecessary theoretical jargon, this book fosters an in-depth understanding of key tools of control system engineering. It offers: A thorough introduction to core control theoretical concepts of analysis and design of dynamic production systems Comprehensive and integrated explorations of continuous-time and discrete-time models of production systems, employing transfer functions and block diagrams Practical discussions of time response, frequency response, fundamental dynamic behavior, closed-loop production systems, and the design of decision-making In-depth examples of the analysis and design of complex dynamic behavior requiring approaches such as matrices of transfer functions and modeling of multiple sampling rates Perfect for production, manufacturing, industrial, and control system engineers, Control Theory Applications for Dynamic Production Systems will also earn a place in the libraries of students taking advanced courses on industrial system digitalization, dynamics, and design.

Digital Twin Driven Smart Manufacturing examines the background, latest research, and application models for digital twin technology, and shows how it can be central to a smart manufacturing process. The interest in digital twin in manufacturing is driven by a need for excellent product reliability, and an overall trend towards intelligent, and connected manufacturing systems. This book provides an ideal entry point to this subject for readers in industry and academia, as it answers the questions: (a) What is a digital twin? (b) How to construct a digital twin? (c) How to use a digital twin to improve manufacturing efficiency? (d) What are the essential activities in the implementation of a digital twin? (e) What are the most important obstacles to overcome for the successful deployment of a digital twin? (f) What are the relations between digital twin and New Technologies? (g) How to combine digital twin with the New Technologies to achieve high efficiency and smartness in manufacturing? This book focuses on these problems as it aims to help readers make the best use of digital twin technology towards smart manufacturing.

Control engineering seeks to understand physical systems, using mathematical modeling, in terms of inputs, outputs and various components with different behaviors. It has an essential role in a wide range of control systems, from household appliances to space flight. This book provides an in-depth view of the technologies that are implemented in most varieties of modern industrial control engineering.

A solid grounding is provided in traditional control techniques, followed by detailed examination of modern control techniques such as real-time, distributed, robotic, embedded, computer and wireless control technologies. For each technology, the book discusses its full profile, from the field layer and the control layer to the operator layer. It also includes all the interfaces in industrial control systems: between controllers and systems; between different layers; and between operators and systems. It not only describes the details of both real-time operating systems and distributed operating systems, but also provides coverage of the microprocessor boot code, which other books lack.

In addition to working principles and operation mechanisms, this book emphasizes the practical issues of components, devices and hardware circuits, giving the specification parameters, install procedures, calibration and configuration methodologies needed for engineers to put the theory into practice.
Documents all the key technologies of a wide range of industrial control systemsEmphasizes practical application and methods alongside theory and principlesAn ideal reference for practicing engineers needing to further their understanding of the latest industrial control concepts and techniques

Addressing product liability concerns and laws both in the U.S. and internationally, this book helps manufacturers and engineers develop and implement proactive processes that can reduce liability concerns and potential lawsuits. It discusses preventive measures in the engineering, development, and manufacturing of products and explains the procedures and processes manufacturers must have in place to reduce the likelihood of liability as well as to provide the best defense in case of a lawsuit. This is a premier resource for engineers, manufacturers, risk managers, and others concerned about product liability.

The primary aim of this volume is to provide researchers and engineers from both academic and industry with up-to-date coverage of new results in the field of robotic welding, intelligent systems and automation. The book is mainly based on papers selected from the 2019 International Workshop on Intelligentized Welding Manufacturing (IWIWM'2019) in USA. The articles show that the intelligentized welding manufacturing (IWM) is becoming an inevitable trend with the intelligentized robotic welding as the key technology. The volume is divided into four logical parts: Intelligent Techniques for Robotic Welding, Sensing of Arc Welding Processing, Modeling and Intelligent Control of Welding Processing, as well as Intelligent Control and its Applications in Engineering.

This book provides a comprehensive survey of the technology of flash lamp annealing (FLA) for thermal processing of semiconductors. It gives a detailed introduction to the FLA technology and its physical background. Advantages, drawbacks and process issues are addressed in detail and allow the reader to properly plan and perform their own thermal processing. Moreover, this books gives a broad overview of the applications of flash lamp annealing, including a comprehensive literature survey. Several case studies of simulated temperature profiles in real material systems give the reader the necessary insight into the underlying physics and simulations. This book is a valuable reference work for both novice and advanced users.

This book presents the state-of-the-art research in the field of transdisciplinary design, and highlights the challenges and issues from the perspectives of processes, people and products in transdisciplinary product design and development. It collates research papers resulting from the Workshop on the Future of Transdisciplinary Design written by leading researchers in engineering design and product development. The papers provide examples and case studies from existing practices, as well as future perspectives towards the development of the complex and ever-changing domains of engineering design and product development, with an emphasis on transdisciplinarity.

The Future of Transdisciplinary Design contains a selection of research papers in the following areas related to transdisciplinary design:

-Approaches

-Tools and methods

-Management and collaboration

-Distributed and culturally diverse teams

-Modeling, representing and managing information

-Education and training

A transdisciplinary design process is a design process involving the integrated use of knowledge, methods and tools from various disciplines. Design of product/services increasingly requires cross-disciplinary collaboration, and integration of specialized knowledge from different disciplines is necessary to tackle complex and large scale design problems. This book provides a valuable reference to researchers, professionals and PhD students in the field of engineering design and product development. Design practitioners and those involved in product development in the manufacturing industry will equally benefit from the research presented as well as future advances in this research.

"

Features coverage of the service systems lifecycle, including service marketing, engineering, delivery, quality control, management, and sustainment

Featuring an innovative and holistic approach, " Service Science: The Foundations of Service Engineering and Management" provides a new perspective of service research and practice. The book presents a practical approach to the service systems lifecycle framework, which aids in understanding and capturing market trends; analyzing the design and engineering of service products and delivery networks; executing service operations; and controlling and managing the service lifecycles for competitive advantage.

Utilizing a combined theoretical and practical approach to discuss service science, "Service Science: The Foundations of Service Engineering and Management "also features: Case studies to illustrate how the presented theories and design principles are applied in practice to the definitions of fundamental service laws, including service interaction and socio-technical naturesComputational thinking and system modeling such as abstraction, digitalization, holistic perspectives, and analyticsPlentiful examples of service organizations such as automobile after-sale services, global project management networks, and express delivery servicesAn interdisciplinary emphasis that includes integrated approaches from the fields of mathematics, engineering, industrial engineering, business, operations research, and management scienceA detailed analysis of the key concepts and body of knowledge for readers to master the foundations of service management

"Service Science: The Foundations of Service Engineering and Management" is an ideal reference for practitioners in the contemporary service engineering and management field as well as researchers in applied mathematics, statistics, business/management science, operations research, industrial engineering, and economics. The book is also appropriate as a text for upper-undergraduate and graduate-level courses in industrial engineering, operations research, and management science as well as MBA students studying service management.

The theory, practice, and example projects of international project management

A Singaporean corporation builds a manufacturing facility in Cambodia, with a Chinese partner, a Cambodian government agency, and value chain organizations in Germany, Morocco, Vietnam, and Brazil.

A Russian charity operates in the Balkans and the Persian Gulf. Pharmaceuticals and food come from ten different countries, physicians are from the EU and Russia, and donations are from Central Asia and the subcontinent.

A transnational organization markets through divisions in eighty-two countries. The products are designed in Italy, Sweden, and France, with customization done in each respective country.

International projects involve a complex network of cultures, politics, laws, languages, and resources that goes beyond the traditional training and experience of most project managers. International Project Management examines the different dimensions and responsibilities of international projects, and outlines what a project manager must know to lead global projects successfully. It also provides guidelines and examples for the international project management processes.

This book explores the professional best practices of international projects, emphasizing the importance of leadership skills and virtual teamwork to successfully navigate an international project. Along with discussions on the process groups, such as initiating, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing out, this reference is organized according to these knowledge areas:

Introduction to international project management

Integration management

HR management (Diversity & Communications)

Scope management

Cost and progress management

Risk management

Time management

Customer satisfaction (Quality)

Procurement management

CPE in the future

Integrating the PMBOK Guide--Fourth Edition, and the ICB, International Project Management provides international project managers, whether experienced or beginners, with the high cross-cultural intelligence, creative communication skills, ability to establish and maintain dependable project management processes, and compelling curiosity to manage international projects successfully.

Today s control system designers face an ever-increasing need for speed and accuracy in their system measurements and computations. New design approaches using microcontrollers and DSP are emerging, and designers must understand these new approaches, the tools available, and how best to apply them.
This practical text covers the latest techniques in microcontroller-based control system design, making use of the popular MSP430 microcontroller from Texas Instruments.
The book covers all the circuits of the system, including:
.Sensors and their output signals
.Design and application of signal conditioning circuits
.A-to-D and D-to-A circuit design
.Operation and application of the powerful and popular TI MSP430 microcontroller
.Data transmission circuits
.System power control circuitry
Written by an experienced microcontroller engineer and textbook author, the book is lavishly illustrated and includes numerous specific circuit design examples, including a fully tested and documented hands-on project using the MSP430 that makes use of the principles described. For students, engineers, technicians, and hobbyists, this practical text provides the answers you need to design modern control systems quickly and easily.
* Seasoned Texas Instruments designer provides a ground-up perspective on embedded control systems
* Pedagogical style provides a self-learning approach with examples, quizzes and review features
* Accompanying companion website contains source code and more "