Wine has been around for thousands of years, grape growing and wine production is worldwide, and recipes are prolific. However, this approach to winemaking root cause analysis is original and cannot be found in any other winemaking publications. The book start with the basics, with the authors' own basic winemaking steps. This provides a winemaking process and common language. With this understanding and departure point, they describe Root Cause Analysis (RCA) methods as applied to winemaking. Though winemaking appears to have simple steps, problems or flaws inevitably arise. Instant access to online materials can provide ad-hoc answers to given conditions; however, the applicability of these solutions to one's own situation ad particular conditions is not always clear. Selective changes may or may not solve the problem and in the winemaking world, it may take years to finish the wine and understand if the quality actually improved or not. A finished wine will have thousands of particular current and historical conditions that played some role in its quality.The root cause analysis (RCA) approach provides a path to sort these out and guide winemakers to the solution. It creates a problem statement and systematically divides the world into six discrete groups. This book tackles each and all of these, one group at a time. The text contains examples that prioritize the contributing factors. Observations are noted, possibilities identified, and likelihoods assessed. Actions and tests are identified to aid in assigning risk, corrective action, and preventive measures. Given limited time and resources, prioritized risks and actions improve the chance of solving the problem. The book provides problems exploring each of their respective six group characteristics. Each RCA step is described and illustrated in detail. The process is revealed and explained through multiple examples. Feature 1: Organized systematic method for solving winemaking quality problems Feature 2: Applicable to amateur or commercial winemakers or any other product or system development activity and organization Feature 3: Unique new application to the wine making world but similar methods historically used in complex aerospace product development Feature 4: Teaching winemakers and producers how to think about uncertainty and error. It's possible that gold medal wine, or 95-point Wine Spectator score, or 93-point Robert Parker score was deserved for that particular wine and vintage. But it is also possible you were very lucky. It may not be earned again in next year's vintage. This book teaches approaches and methods to maintain and or improve the quality, every year. Feature 5: Application of a potentially 'dry' rigorous root cause analysis approach in a world that enables the joy of creating and appreciating something very enjoyable. It will help you smile, at least once a year.

The packaging industry is under pressure from regulators, customers and other stakeholders to improve packaging's sustainability by reducing its environmental and societal impacts. This is a considerable challenge because of the complex interactions between products and their packaging, and the many roles that packaging plays in the supply chain. Packaging for Sustainability is a concise and readable handbook for practitioners who are trying to implement sustainability strategies for packaging. Industry case studies are used throughout the book to illustrate possible applications and scenarios. Packaging for Sustainability draws on the expertise of researchers and industry practitioners to provide information on business benefits, environmental issues and priorities, environmental evaluation tools, design for environment, marketing strategies, and challenges for the future.

Optimal Control and Optimization of Stochastic Supply Chain Systems examines its subject the context of the presence of a variety of uncertainties. Numerous examples with intuitive illustrations and tables are provided, to demonstrate the structural characteristics of the optimal control policies in various stochastic supply chains and to show how to make use of these characteristics to construct easy-to-operate sub-optimal policies. In Part I, a general introduction to stochastic supply chain systems is provided. Analytical models for various stochastic supply chain systems are formulated and analysed in Part II. In Part III the structural knowledge of the optimal control policies obtained in Part II is utilized to construct easy-to-operate sub-optimal control policies for various stochastic supply chain systems accordingly. Finally, Part IV discusses the optimisation of threshold-type control policies and their robustness. A key feature of the book is its tying together of the complex analytical models produced by the requirements of operational practice, and the simple solutions needed for implementation. The analytical models and theoretical analysis propounded in this monograph will be of benefit to academic researchers and graduate students looking at logistics and supply chain management from standpoints in operations research or industrial, manufacturing, or control engineering. The practical tools and solutions and the qualitative insights into the ideas underlying functional supply chain systems will be of similar use to readers from more industrially-based backgrounds.

This book provides insights into the possibilities, realities and challenges of the rapidly evolving world of 3D printing or additive manufacturing. Contributors cover the applications for 3D printing, available materials, research, and the business of additive manufacturing from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. As an important part of the Women in Science and Engineering book series, the work highlights the contribution of women leaders in additive manufacturing, inspiring women and men, girls and boys to enter and apply themselves to world of 3D printing and be a part of bringing the true potential of 3D printing to fruition. The book features contributions of prominent female engineers, scientists, business and technology leaders in additive manufacturing from academia, industry and government labs. Provides insight into women's contributions to the field of additive manufacturing; Presents information from academia, research, government labs and industry into advances and applications in the rapidly evolving and growing field of 3D printing; Includes applications in industries such as medicine, aerospace, and automotive.

In Optimization of Industrial Unit Processes, the term "optimization" means the maximizing of productivity and safety while minimizing operating costs. In a fully optimized plant, efficiency and productivity are continuously maximized while levels, temperatures, pressures, or flows float within their allowable limits.
This control philosophy differs from earlier approaches - where levels and temperatures were controlled at constant values, and plant productivity was only an accidental, uncontrolled consequence of those controlled variables. With this approach, the sides of a multivariable control envelope are the various constraints while inside the envelope the process is continuously moved to maximize efficiency and productivity.
Because one must understand a process before one can control it (let alone optimize it), Optimization of Industrial Unit Processes discusses the "personality" and characteristics of each process in term of its time constants, gains, and other unique features.
This book provides information for engineers who design or operate industrial plants and who seek to increase the profitability of their plants. It recognizes that all industrial processes involve operations such as material transportation, heat transfer, and reactions. Therefore each plant consists of a combination of basic unit operations and can be optimized by maximizing the efficiency, and minimizing the operating cost, of the individual unit operations from which it is composed.
Optimization of Industrial Unit Processes discusses real world processes - where pipes leak, sensors plug, and pumps cavitate - offering practical solutions to real problems. Each control system described in the book works, illustrating the state of the art in controlling a particular unit operation. This second edition reflects the continual improvement and evolution of control systems as well as anticipates future advances.

The United States spends more than 17% of its GDP on health care, while other developed countries throughout the world average 8.7% of GDP on healthcare expenditures. By 2028, that percentage in the United States is projected to be 19.7% of GDP. Yet all this spending apparently doesn't equate to value, quality, or performance. Among 11 high-income countries the United States healthcare industry ranked last during the past seven years in four key performance categories: administrative efficiency, access to care, equity, and healthcare outcomes. This book presents the implantable medical device (IMD) supply chain ecosystem as a microcosm of how these challenges of affordability and healthcare outcomes are created and are allowed to fester. The IMD Spiderweb, as the authors call it, is exposed as an example of how a wide range of participants-including physicians, health system CEOs, group purchasing organizations, health insurance companies and supply chain executives-become ensnared in a web designed to benefit only one player. The book also details the affordability challenges in the industry caused by the past and current IMD ecosystem and presents a model for meeting those challenges. The result is that the true cost of IMDs is hidden, while hospitals and health systems in the United States pay as much as six times more for some IMDs as their counterparts do in Europe, and prices for the same model of a particular IMD vary wildly even among different U.S. hospitals. While there is a fascination with the latest and greatest device there is also a shroud around visibility into how these products-which include cardiac rhythm management devices such as pacemakers and orthopedic implants such as knees and hips-have performed and are likely to perform in patients. The costs continue to rise not only in healthcare expenditures, but also in death and disability. The IMD spiderweb is presented as a prime lesson in the challenges in healthcare affordability and outcomes that occur throughout the entire healthcare industry. It is also put forward as an opportunity. The story behind how these challenges arose and are deepened by the ecosystem provides a foundation for solutions.

Healthcare has recently seen numerous exciting applications of artificial intelligence, industrial engineering, and operations research. This book, designed to be accessible to a diverse audience, provides an overview of interdisciplinary research partnerships that leverage AI, IE, and OR to tackle societal and operational problems in healthcare. The topics are drawn from a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from optimizing the location of AEDs for cardiac arrests to data mining for facilitating patient flow through a hospital. These applications highlight how engineering has contributed to medical knowledge, health system operations, and behavioral health. Chapter authors include medical doctors, policy-makers, social scientists, and engineers. Each chapter begins with a summary of the health care problem and engineering method. In these examples, researchers in public health, medicine, and social science as well as engineers will find a path to start interdisciplinary collaborations in health applications of AI/IE/OR.

By simultaneously examining the concerns of design, production, purchasing, finance, and marketing from the very first stages of product planning, concurrent engineering makes doing it right the first time the rule instead of the exception. This should be the first book managers read when they are ready to eliminate waste in the product development process.

An introductory handbook, it gives managers 16 clear guidelines for achieving concurrent engineering and contains abundant case studies of Japanese, U.S., and European company success stories.
The book also: Defines the concurrent engineering task force as a full-time, multidisciplinary unit of operation.Discusses the necessary interdependence of concurrent engineering, Quality Function Deployment, Total Quality Control, and CAD/CAM.

• Shows how concurrent engineering can be structured to fit your company and used to gain flexibility and efficiency.

The book explores the concepts and challenges in developing novel approaches using the Internet of Things, intelligent systems, machine intelligence systems, and data analytics in various industrial sectors such as manufacturing, smart agriculture, smart cities, food processing, environment, defense, stock market and healthcare. Further, it discusses the latest improvements in the industrial sectors using machine intelligence learning and intelligent systems techniques, especially robotics. Features: * Highlights case studies and solutions to industrial problems using machine learning and intelligent systems. * Covers applications in smart agriculture, smart healthcare, intelligent machines for disaster management, and smart manufacturing. * Provides the latest methodologies using machine intelligence systems in the early forecasting of weather. * Examines the research challenges and identifies the gaps in data collection and data analysis, especially imagery, signal, and speech. * Provides applications of digitization and smart processing using the Internet of Things and effective intelligent agent systems in manufacturing. * Discusses a systematic and exhaustive analysis of intelligent software effort estimation models. It will serve as an ideal reference text for graduate students, post-graduate students, IT Professionals, and academic researchers in the fields of electrical engineering, electronics and communication engineering, computer engineering, and information technology.

Evaluating Production Efficiency in China examines production from engineering and statistics perspectives rather than from economics and mathematics perspectives. The authors present an observable benchmark as the criterion of the production efficiency to replace the unobservable production frontier surface. This book discusses several different computing technologies, controllable variable as a path of identification, changes in production efficiency by decision making on specific operating conditions, and optimal resource allocation. The book provides a channel to tap inside the success stories of China, exploiting the way of changes in production efficiency during China's development in the past 30 years. This book examines the concepts and realization of production efficiencies across all areas of the economy. Also the book provides the perspective of foreign direct investment (FDI) absorption to identify how Chinese economy changes in production efficiency.

Responding to the need for an integrated approach in manufacturing engineering oriented toward practical problem solving, this updated second edition describes a process morphology based on fundamental elements that can be applied to all manufacturing methods - providing a framework for classifying processes into major families with a common theoretical foundation. This work presents time-saving summaries of the various processing methods in data sheet form - permitting quick surveys for the production of specific components.;Delineating the actual level of computer applications in manufacturing, this work: creates the basis for synthesizing process development, tool and die design, and the design of production machinery; details the product life-cycle approach in manufacturing, emphasizing environmental, occupational health and resource impact consequences; introduces process planning and scheduling as an important part of industrial manufacturing; contains a completely revised and expanded section on ceramics and composites; furnishes new information on welding arc formation and maintenance; addresses the issue of industrial safety; and discusses progress in non-conventional processes such as laser processing, layer manufacturing, electrical discharge, electron beam, abrasive jet, ultrasonic and eltrochemical machining.;Revealing how manufacturing methods are adapted in industry practices, this work is intended for use by students of manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering and engineering design; and also for use as a self-study guide by manufacturing, mechanical, materials, industrial and design engineers.

"Process Control Engineering" is a textbook for chemical, mechanical and electrical engineering students, providing the theoretic fundamentals of control systems, and highlighting modern control theory and practical aspects of industrial processes. The introductory nature of the text should appeal to undergraduate students, while later chapters on linear systems, optimal control, adaptive control and intelligent control are directed toward advanced students and practising engineers. The textbook has been extensively tested in both undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Alberta. Features of the book include: "Process Control Engineering Teachware" (PCET) on one 1.2 Mb IBM-compatible diskette; summary sections and tables to synopsize basic concepts and key information; coverage of intelligent control; and an instructor's manual.

This reference text discusses the potential of efficient R&D management during times of pandemic crisis and how it can provide time-bound real-life deliverables to ward-off the contamination-linked vulnerability aspects of social interaction. It discusses important topics including mechanical ventilator with oxygen enrichment, hospital waste management facility, hospital care assistive robotic devices, implementation of smart manufacturing, special purpose machines, micro machining, 3D printing, disposal of plastic waste utilizing high temperature plasma, automatic biomass briquetting plant, and fully automatic biodiesel plant. Features: Discusses novel technological innovations developed especially to effectively counter pandemics such as COVID 19. Explores how R&D modelling of technology can be interspersed with socio-economic values. Covers how innovative technological solutions can be developed as per the situational requisites and deployed in the least possible time to make maximum impact. Discusses industrial manufacturing and automation techniques. The text will be useful for graduate students, and academic researchers working in diverse areas such as mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, production engineering, manufacturing science, and automobile engineering. It covers influences of Pandemics on water and sanitation services, floating capsule-based biofilm reactor (FCBBR) methodology, and innovative segregation of waste through a mechanized model.

Providing a broad introduction to industrial and systems engineering, this book defines industrial and systems engineering, describes it place in the business world, and offers a wide picture of the functional areas with some solution techniques. Divided into three parts, the reference explains the role industrial and systems engineering play in an organization and how to manage and control the function ... covers elementary systems theory and feedback ... presents a typical problem for each of the major methodologies of industrial and systems engineering and provides the tools and techniques for effectively solving it ... discusses computerization of these techniques ... emphasizes the relationship of industrial engineering to such areas as operations research and ergonomics ... explores integrated systems design, showing how the I.E. must bring together all the detailed pieces into an integrated system ... adds coverage of simulation ... and updates data where applicable. Suitable for industrial and systems engineers.

This book aims to offer a thorough study and reference textbook on electrical machines and drives. The basic idea is to start from the pure electromagnetic principles to derive the equivalent circuits and steady-state equations of the most common electrical machines (in the first parts). Although the book mainly concentrates on rotating field machines, the first two chapters are devoted to transformers and DC commutator machines. The chapter on transformers is included as an introduction to induction and synchronous machines, their electromagnetics and equivalent circuits. Chapters three and four offer an in-depth study of induction and synchronous machines, respectively. Starting from their electromagnetics, steady-state equations and equivalent circuits are derived, from which their basic properties can be deduced. The second part discusses the main power-electronic supplies for electrical drives, for example rectifiers, choppers, cycloconverters and inverters. Much attention is paid to PWM techniques for inverters and the resulting harmonic content in the output waveform. In the third part, electrical drives are discussed, combining the traditional (rotating field and DC commutator) electrical machines treated in the first part and the power electronics of part two. Field orientation of induction and synchronous machines are discussed in detail, as well as direct torque control. In addition, also switched reluctance machines and stepping motors are discussed in the last chapters. Finally, part 4 is devoted to the dynamics of traditional electrical machines. Also for the dynamics of induction and synchronous machine drives, the electromagnetics are used as the starting point to derive the dynamic models. Throughout part 4, much attention is paid to the derivation of analytical models. But, of course, the basic dynamic properties and probable causes of instability of induction and synchronous machine drives are discussed in detail as well, with the derived models for stability in the small as starting point. In addition to the study of the stability in the small, a chapter is devoted to large-scale dynamics as well (e.g. sudden short-circuit of synchronous machines). The textbook is used as the course text for the Bachelor's and Master's programme in electrical and mechanical engineering at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of Ghent University. Parts 1 and 2 are taught in the basic course 'Fundamentals of Electric Drives' in the third bachelor. Part 3 is used for the course 'Controlled Electrical Drives' in the first master, while Part 4 is used in the specialised master on electrical energy.

This text provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles of industrial control and instrumentation. The author not only outlines the basic concepts and terminology of measurement and control systems, he also discusses in detail the elements used to build up such systems. As well as a final consideration of measurement and control systems, each chapter concludes with relevant problems in order that students can test their newly acquired knowledge as they progress. Students studying for BTEC National Certificate and Diploma courses in electrical and electronic, communications and computer engineering will find that their course requirements are more than satisfied by this comprehensive text.

This book helps participants in agile software development environments learn to become leaders. Facilitative leaders should be at every level of the organization, from individual contributor to informal team leader to managers of all stripes -- it takes much focus and intentionality from senior organizational leaders, who have special obligations in creating successful lean and agile development environments. But, beyond the principles of facilitative leadership for agility, People over Process provides tips and demonstrative scenes for the more important and common software meetings: architecture simulations, project planning, team configurations, retrospectives, and more. The author fully illustrates the principles and shares proven techniques for the most important leadership events in agile projects. While this book focuses on facilitating extraordinarily well-prepared meetings, it serves as a metaphor for leadership more broadly. The leader's obligation to help their team make rigorous fact-based decisions; to gain broad input and have participants aligned on the outcomes and next steps; and to do so in an efficient way that respects the time of the participants is as relevant to every-day leadership activity as it is to conducting meetings. The author mixes background and explanation with demonstration -- in this case, the story of an agile project at the fictitious Pacifica Bank. The scenario constructed at Pacifica illustrates the concepts of effective leadership and productive workplace environments. The book concentrates on the flow of software from understanding what is needed through design, development, testing, and deployment. Essentially, the author provides a simple and powerful model of leadership, examples, and tips. This is not a cookbook on how to lead -- It is a set of principles and examples. All leaders must find their own way for their team, their organization, and their unique challenges.

This book presents the design and manufacturing of microsystems as well as necessary key technologies developed within the Collaborative Research Center 516. The research efforts of this collaboration are focused on active micro systems which are based on the electromagnetic actuator principle. The travel of the investigated actuator systems is on the order of several millimeters. The total construction size of the actuator is on the range of several centimeters whereas essential structures being several micrometers. The methods and the production technologies that are investigated on the basis of various research models incorporate the fundamental process chains of microsystems.

This book is devoted to analysis and design of supply chain contracts with stochastic demand. Given the extensive utilization of contracts in supply chains, the issues concerning contract analysis and design are extremely important for supply chain management (SCM), and substantial research has been developed to address those issues over the past years. Despite the abundance of classical research, new research needs to be conducted in response to new issues emerging with the recent changing business environments, such as the fast-shortening life cycle of product and the increasing globalization of supply chains. This book addresses these issues, with the intention to present new research on how to apply contracts to improve SCM. Contract Analysis and Design for Supply Chains with Stochastic Demand contains eight chapters and each chapter is summarized as follows: Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive review of the classical development of supply chain contracts. Chapter 2 examines the effects of demand uncertainty on the applicability of buyback contracts. Chapter 3 conducts a mean-risk analysis for wholesale price contracts, taking into account contracting value risk and risk preferences. Chapter 4 studies the optimization of product service system by franchise fee contracts in the service-oriented manufacturing supply chain with demand information asymmetry. Chapter 5 develops a bidirectional option contract model and explores the optimal contracting decisions and supply chain coordination issue with the bidirectional option. Chapter 6 addresses supply chain options pricing issue and a value-based pricing scheme is developed for the supply chain options. With a cooperative game theory approach, Chapter 7 explores the issues concerning supply chain contract selection/implementation with the option contract under consideration. Chapter 8 concludes the book and suggests worthy directions for future research.

Winner of the Walter E. Masing Book Prize 2019 at the International Academy for Quality. Perceptions as to the nature of the Quality Sciences and disciplines vary across the world depending on local industrial history. This can cause problems for global organisations who often want to retain the quality policies of the parent company whilst attempting to embrace the approaches familiar to local people. For example, whilst Western organisations have embraced Six Sigma, Lean and other Japanese management techniques, we have tended to adopt them in a hotchpotch fashion, bolting them on without ever understanding the context behind total quality control. In Japan, these concepts are not considered to be standalone but are all part of a seamless companywide matrix of interactive concepts, which can be summed up as company-wide quality work, of, by and for all. In essence, this means that 'quality' is everybody's responsibility from the chief executive downwards. David Hutchins has over several decades worked in all of the cultural blocks and has consistently managed to integrate all of these differences into a single companywide approach. When the concepts covered are integrated into a total company-wide programme, the intention is to make that organisation the best in its business; in Japanese terms this implies 'Dantotsu', which means 'number one thinking'. Accessible and practical in approach, Quality Beyond Borders is split into short sections, each representing a self-contained idea for the reader to digest and reflect on. It is a valuable resource for business practitioners, students and academics alike that will enable you to reach beyond your own borders to implement new ideas with significant results.

This book presents the essential concepts of operations research and engineering management in a structured manner. Starting with the basic functions of management - planning, organizing, leading and controlling - it introduces the reader to the process of strategic decision-making, covering the essentials of technological invention management, innovation and entrepreneurship, with ample examples of decision-making under certainty, uncertainty and risk conditions. It also exposes the reader to the fundamentals of managing projects and professional communication. In order to reinforce the theory used, practical case studies taken from relevant disciplines are introduced. For instance, case studies from the retail sector have been appended to the assignment problem and cases related to traffic have been introduced for queuing formulation. The concept of game theory is discussed in greater detail with an introduction to topics such as incentive compatibility, Bayesian representations for different games, budget balance, auctions and a broad coverage of mechanism design. While a few of these problems have been solved in the book, a few others have been left un-solved to promote readers' understanding. The mix of theoretical and practical examples reveals to the reader the underlying complexities and highlights the challenges entailed by field implementation.

Training for frontline managers and supervisors is being ignored as a business improvement tactic at the worst possible time. As management jobs become increasingly complex, we continue to be inundated with the latest methods for improving job performance, along with less time to sort through all this information. Focused on interpersonal management skills, this book explains what it takes to improve how you communicate and relate to your employees, customers, and bosses.

This book reports on advanced theories and methods in three related fields of research: applied physics, system science and computers. The first part covers applied physics topics, such as lasers and accelerators; fluid dynamics, optics and spectroscopy, among others. It also addresses astrophysics, security, and medical and biological physics. The second part focuses on advances in computers, such as those in the area of social networks, games, internet of things, deep learning models and more. The third part is especially related to systems science, covering swarm intelligence, smart cities, complexity and more. Advances in and application of computer communication, artificial intelligence, data analysis, simulation and modeling are also addressed. The book offers a collection of contributions presented at the 3nd International Conference on Applied Physics, System Science and Computers (APSAC), held in Dubrovnik, Croatia on September 26-28, 2018. Besides presenting new methods, it is also intended to promote collaborations between different communities working on related topics at the interface between physics, computer science and engineering.

This book deals with the contemporary subject of perception of risk and its influence on accidents and disasters. The contents examine the conventional viewpoints on human errors, incubation of errors, complexity and organisational deviance as a cause for accidents. Work of Mary Douglas with regard to risk, Charles Perrow's work on the normal accident theory and Diane Vaughn's theory on normalisation of deviance are examined from a fresh perspective in this book. It also discusses prominent accidents in aviation, space, nuclear energy, automotive and healthcare, using the pandemic and Boeing 737 Max as a backdrop to study accidents and disasters. It further explores the background and similarities to these events and addresses the core issues such as the state of regulation, the worldview of the sociologists, and proposes that mental models of complex systems, avarice and risk for gain as other possibilities for accidents. Using the concept of nudge in behavioural economics and the Elinor Ostrom’s viewpoint on regulating for common good, it suggests a way forward through the High Reliability Organisation Theory (HRO) leading to enhanced risk perception. The book will be of interest to those who would like to understand the need to incorporate risk perception into regulation, engineers and scientists, professionals and policy makers working in the areas of disaster and risk management, technology areas like aviation, nuclear plants, space and healthcare, students of the sociology of risk and of course the general reader.

This book consolidates the current state of knowledge on implementing cooperating robot-based systems to increase the flexibility of manufacturing systems. It is based on the concrete experiences of experts, practitioners, and engineers in implementing cooperating robot systems for more flexible manufacturing systems. Thanks to the great variety of manufacturing systems that we had the opportunity to study, a remarkable collection of methods and tools has emerged. The aim of the book is to share this experience with academia and industry practitioners seeking to improve manufacturing practice. While there are various books on teaching principles for robotics, this book offers a unique opportunity to dive into the practical aspects of implementing complex real-world robotic applications. As it is used in this book, the term "cooperating robots" refers to robots that either cooperate with one another or with people. The book investigates various aspects of cooperation in the context of implementing flexible manufacturing systems. Accordingly, manufacturing systems are the main focus in the discussion on implementing such robotic systems. The book begins with a brief introduction to the concept of manufacturing systems, followed by a discussion of flexibility. Aspects of designing such systems, e.g. material flow, logistics, processing times, shop floor footprint, and design of flexible handling systems, are subsequently covered. In closing, the book addresses key issues in operating such systems, which concern e.g. decision-making, autonomy, cooperation, communication, task scheduling, motion generation, and distribution of control between different devices. Reviewing the state of the art and presenting the latest innovations, the book offers a valuable asset for a broad readership.