Understand and utilize the latest developments in Weibull inferential methods

While the Weibull distribution is widely used in science and engineering, most engineers do not have the necessary statistical training to implement the methodology effectively. "Using the Weibull Distribution: Reliability, Modeling, " "and Inference "fills a gap in the current literature on the topic, introducing a self-contained presentation of the probabilistic basis for the methodology while providing powerful techniques for extracting information from data.

The author explains the use of the Weibull distribution and its statistical and probabilistic basis, providing a wealth of material that is not available in the current literature. The book begins by outlining the fundamental probability and statistical concepts that serve as a foundation for subsequent topics of coverage, including:

- Optimum burn-in, age and block replacement, warranties

and renewal theory

- Exact inference in Weibull regression

- Goodness of fit testing and distinguishing the Weibull

from the lognormal

- Inference for the Three Parameter Weibull

Throughout the book, a wealth of real-world examples showcases the discussed topics and each chapter concludes with a set of exercises, allowing readers to test their understanding of the presented material. In addition, a related website features the author's own software for implementing the discussed analyses along with a set of modules written in Mathcad(R), and additional graphical interface software for performing simulations.

With its numerous hands-on examples, exercises, and software applications, "Using the Weibull Distribution "is an excellent book for courses on quality control and reliability" "engineering at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. The book also serves as a" "valuable reference for engineers, scientists, and business analysts who gather and interpret" "data that follows the Weibull distribution

A Beginners guide to understanding a Coordinate Measuring Machines, angles, planes, and general ground floor knowledge in the CMM field.

This book outlines an interesting method of showing how to use Six Sigma Quality at the workplace. The steps described in the book allow a middle manager to take control of his work-life, rather than play catch up each day. The tools explained facilitate improving business performance. The content is beneficial to any consultant or student of Six Sigma Quality in order to gain insights into its practical applications.

DMAIC - Believe it or not but there is a very simple systematic solution for solving problems and it can be taught to pretty much anyone that is willing to learn. The problem solving method taught in this book will change your entire prospective about going after those hard to solve problems within your environment at work and in your personal life. Every problem has a solution and the solution is found by solving the puzzle. Over the past 20 years I have discovered that the major failure most people have when attempting to solve problems is the fact they do not fully understand how to find the starting point. By using this simple but very effective method you will not only be able to find the starting point, but you will be able to solve the problem and eliminate it from reoccurring. Once you have mastered this simple method you can teach others around you. Now imagine everyone around you having the same level of expertise Everyone becomes an expert problem solver and numerous more problems will get solved. Solving a problem is like solving a puzzle, once you have the solution it becomes very simple to solve

Structures that are essential for economy and security such as energy production, transportation and supply, water supply, buildings, are susceptible to failure, because of defects already present in the material, or created at fabrication, or appearing during service. Methods of assesment of the nocivity of these defects are needed, to predict the remaining service life and the eventual emergency of stopping service and repairing, if possible. To reach this objectives, this book presents the last methods derived from the classical linear, non-linear fracture mechanics concepts, including fatigue and notch fracture mechanics. Several examples of structures rehabilitations and repairing are given.

This book gathers the presentation made during the Advanced Research Workshop held in Portoroz (Slovenia) in October 2008, under the auspices of NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme. It is edited by Professor Guy Pluvinage from the University Paul Verlaine - Metz (France) and Professor Aleksandar Sedmak from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Both have a long and rich experience in analysis of theoretical and practical cases in safety and reliability of structures. Other contributors are all known as experts in the areas of fatigue, facture and reliability of structures.

Detailed and comprehensive, "Waste Management in the Oil Industry" deals with strategies required to manage wastes emanating from oil exploration, development, refining, storage, and distribution in an ecologically friendly manner. Drawing on his extensive experience in the environmental engineering industry and pollution control, Dr. Aloysius A. Aguwa takes an in-depth look at the dilemmas facing the oil industry today.

Dr. Aguwa discusses key strategies needed to effectively control and manage waste associated with the oil and gas industry. These strategies can be grouped into the following categories:

Input substitution Product reformulation Production process redesign/modernization Improved operation and maintenance of production Recovery/recycle Waste treatment Drawings, figures, and tables also help support Dr. Aguwa's research. Those responsible for implementing environmentally sound disposal activities in the oil industry will find "Waste Management in the Oil Industry" an invaluable resource.

The Root Cause Analysis Handbook presents a proven system for investigating, categorizing (and ultimately eliminating) the root causes of incidents with safety, health, environmental, quality, reliability, and production-process impacts. Understanding and applying the processes outlined in this book increases your businessa ability to recover from and prevent incidents with financial and health/safety implications.

The book outlines ABS Consultingas SOURCETM (Seeking Out the UndeRlying Causes of Events) root cause analysis (RCA) system, enabling businesses to generate specific, concrete recommendations for preventing incident recurrences. The instructions for performing RCA activities include:

a[ Initiating an investigation: How to determine whether an incident has occurred, how to classify and categorize the incident, and how to decide whether or not to conduct an in-depth investigation.

a[ Data gathering: How to collect data related to people, processes, procedures, documents (hard copy & electronic), position, and physical data associated with an incident.

a[ Data analysis: How to analyze incidents to determine causal factors using tools such as causal factor charts, timelines, and cause and effect trees.

a[ Developing recommendations: How to document causal factors and root causes identified during the earlier analysis including how to identify what changes (recommendations) may be needed to enhance management systems and reduce risks.

a[ Reporting and trending: How to archive findings and recommendations to allow review and trending of incident patterns after some period of SOURCETM use.

The book is an excellent guide for Marine Engineers, especially those who have just about started with a career out at sea. Lost in the confines of a never-seen-before engine room, this book brings a deep insight into the actual functioning and the ropes of maintaining machinery on a sea going vessel. Most books are written with the purpose of succeeding at the examinations for certification. This book discusses performance criteria of equipment in detail, maintenance based on those criteria with over 170 sketches, drawings and images, and troubleshooting to resolve problems faced on those rust buckets. The book emphasizes training to be a great manager, staying one step ahead of peers (and may be half a step ahead of superiors). Like they say - who needs mathematics to trace a choked filter, huh? A fun book and yet an eye-opener for those still to find their sea legs.

CONTENTS: Preface Introduction -- Muriel Mitchell-Smith Regulations and Standards General and Biological Risks Radioluminous Materials Mining, Agricultural, and Construction Materials Containing Radioactivity Products Containing Radioactive Sources Miscellaneous Products Panel Discussion

Important text offers lucid explanation of how to regulate variables and maintain control over statistics in order to achieve quality control over manufactured products, crops and data. Topics include statistical control, establishing limits of variability, measurements of physical properties and constants, and specification of accuracy and precision. First inexpensive paperback edition.

The Pharmaceutical Engineering Series is a comprehensive reference for the pharmaceutical professional covering all aspects from quality, documentation and validation through manufacturing processes to facility design and management. In 'Quality', Dr Kate McCormick provides the reader with comprehensive coverage of this vital subject, including the quality life cycle, management and cost of quality, GMP, auditing and inspections. This book with the others in the series will become a unique source of reference and educational material for the readership.

Case studies and examples make the book of direct practical relevance to the professional in the pharmaceutical industry
Find the answers you are looking for quickly and easily with clear indexing and referencing
Reference to international standards and practice mean this book will be useful wherever you are working

This book provides a practical and comprehensive analysis of control systems for boilers and HRSGs (heat-recovery steam generators) in a variety of applications from waste-to-energy plants through to combined-cycle gas-turbine power stations (CCGTs). It describes process transmitters, advanced DCS configurations and final elements such as control valves and dampers. Basics such as methods of connecting instruments to the process are explained while more advanced discussions of the design features of distributed control systems are also included. At every stage, emphasis is given to the complex, multivariable, interactive nature of steam-raising plant and to the importance of dealing with the problems that result. Chapters are devoted to the application of modern nomenclature systems and to the documentation required to ensure that the equipment and systems meet all the requirements of performance, accuracy, safety and maintainability. This book will provide invaluable practical guidance for systems engineers, operators, maintenance staff and specifiers of power plant control and instrumentation (C&I) systems.

Powerful and elegantly simple.

Achieve higher quality...lower costs...faster time to market

Companies worldwide have used the methods of quality expert Genichi Taguchi for the past 30 years with phenomenal product development cost savings and quality improvements. Robust Engineering, by this three-time Deming Prize winner, along with Subir Chowdhury and Shin Taguchi, is the first book to explain and illustrate his newest, most revolutionary methodology, Technology Development. It joins Design of Experiments and Robust Design as the framework on which your company can build a competitive edge. Case studies of real-world organizations Ford, ITT, 3M, Minolta, NASA, Nissan, Xerox and 9 others show you how the techniques of all three methodologies can be
successfully applied. Youll hammer flexibility into your manufacturing organization to minimize product development costs, reduce product time-to-market, and fully satisfy customers needs.

Project Management is going to be huge in the next decade...--Fortune

Busy managers single-source guide to planning, organizing and controlling projects

At last theres a concise, compact (5Ó x 8Ó) hands-on guide that puts state-of-the-art management concepts and processes at your fingertips. Project Managers Portable Handbook, by David I. Cleland and Lewis R.
Ireland, is your step-by-step guide to the nuts-and-bolts details that spell project management success. YouÕre shown how to organize and manage everything from small to multiple projects...lead and coach project team
members...and manage within a strategic context from project
partnering to dealing with the board of directors and other stakeholders.
Youll find out how to:
Select and use PM software; Develop winning proposals;
Handle legal considerations; Come out on top in contract

The field of "On-Line Fault Detection and Supervision in the Chemical Process Industries" is relatively young. Major activity in this area has taken place only in the last fifteen years. The goals of the first workshop in Delaware were to discuss various methodologies necessary for solving industrial problems in fault diagnosis/supervision and to encourage interactions between academia and industry. This workshop also focused on development and evaluation of methodologies for on-line fault detection and supervision in the chemical process industries. It addressed theory, application, validation, performance and evaluation of methodologies such as parameter estimation, observers, parity equations, signal analysis methods, classification, rule-based systems with probabilistic approaches, fuzzy logic and neural networks.

There are several trends that make the topic of this workshop especially relevant in today's world. The first is the tremendous advances made in automation and information technology that can potentially bring in an ever-increasing amount of information on to computer screens in the operating room of a plant. Avoiding problems of information overload and converting plant data to "on-line useful knowledge" is a key challenge. In some respects, one can draw parallels here to biological evolution where, over billions of years, human beings have evolved "mental models" to interpret the huge amount of information received through their senses. In the absence of the time advantage that evolution has had, we have to rely on methodologies such as those presented in this workshop to provide assistance to operators and engineers in interpreting plant information.

A second trend that makes this field relevant in today's world is the increasing emphasis on environment and safety. Community activism and accidents such as those in Bhopal, India have caused media spotlights to be turned on the smallest of toxic releases or loss of life due to chemical accidents. The negative publicity generated by such events as well as the need to maintain the image of an environmentally conscious company make industry more sensitive to the issues of early detection of faults.

The third trend that makes this field very relevant is that of the globalization of the world economy. Increasing globalization of the chemical process industry puts pressure on economic competitiveness and higher productivity. This implies reduced down-time due to faults, quick and flexible response of production to supply and demand changes, increasing reliance on automation and reduced personnel.

It is increasingly accepted that future dependable, real-time digital computer control systems will have distributed architectures. Advantages of distributed computer control systems include the possibility of composing large systems out of pre-tested components with minimal integration effort, their well-defined fault containment properties and their capacity to make effective use of mass-produced silicon chips.

The IFAC Workshop series on Distributed Computer Control Systems (DCCS) focuses on design requirements and fundamental principles encountered in such systems and highlights and traces the growth of key concepts at their various stages of development. Theoretical and application-oriented viewpoints receive equal emphasis. These Workshops also provide an excellent forum for the exchange of information on recent technological advances and practices in the distributed computer control field.

The 1997 DCCS Workshop was notable for the attention given to practical implementations of ideas that have been under discussion for decades and maintained the high technical standard set by previous Workshops in the series - the policy of concentrating on a specific topic, inviting a number of key authors and of accepting only a limited number of papers paid dividends.

This volume contains the proceedings of the IFAC Workshop on "Singular Solutions and Perturbations in Control Systems "(SSPCS-97) held at Pereslavl-Zalessky, Russia on 7-11 July 1997. The Workshop was sponsored by IFAC and organized jointly by the Russian National Committee of Automatic Control, the Program Systems Institute and the Institute for Information Transmission Problems at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the University of Pereslavl.

The objective of this workshop was to provide an international forum for the discussion of recent developments and advances in the fields of singular control problems, impulsive control, singular perturbations technique in control systems, computational problems and others.

The Workshop was devoted both to theoretical and applicative aspects of the so-called "nonclassical" problems in the area of control theory, such as problems with singular perturbations, impulse and generalized controls. These problems arise in various areas of applications, including mechanics, information processing, medicine and economy. At the same time they stimulate the development of new mathematical tools in the classical theory of control and differential equations.

All papers included in this volume are given in the form presented by the authors.

Control often follows predictions: predictive control has been highly successful in producing robust and practical solutions in many real-life, real-time applications. Adaptive prediction covers a variety of ways of adding 'intelligence' to predictive control techniques. Many different groups, with widely varying disciplinary backgrounds and approaches, are tackling the same problem from different angles; these groups are sometimes unaware of alternative approaches from other disciplines. This book attempts to give a unified and comprehensive coverage of the principles and methods that these groups have developed. It avoids basing its descriptions on very complex mathematical formulations but still gives a rigorous exposure to the subject, and illustrates the theory with many practical examples. It is chiefly aimed at students, researchers and practitioners, but will also be accessible to the non-specialist.

The term ""Taguchi methods"" was coined in the United States. It pertains to the evaluation and improvement of the robustness of products - or what may also be termed ""quality engineering"". The purpose of this book is to explain these terms and it is aimed at managers, technology developers and engineers of manufacturing enterprises. The book contains a general discussion about the productivity of manufacturing enterprises, which is equivalent to cost reduction and quality improvement at the following five manufacturing stages - technology development, product planning, product design, design of the production process and management of the production process.

Load-Oriented Manufacturing Control is unique as it gives comprehensive and self-contained principles for the implementation of an appropriate production control technique of general applicability. It is based on the "funnel model," a new approach to scheduling and scheduling control which has an extensive monitoring and diagnosis system. Its most important system components include throughput diagrams, load-oriented order release, schedule-oriented capacity planning and control. The "funnel model" is getting increasing implementation in manufacturing companies. It is available in numerous variants and is especially significant for the job-shop and series production. Load-Oriented Manufacturing Control provides a large number of practical examples and is therefore relatively easy to understand. It offers direct implementation of this new important technique in manufacturing scheduling and control.

Philipp Wittke charakterisiert spanlos gefertigte Innengewinde aus den Aluminium- und Magnesiumlegierungen AlSi10Mg, AZ31 und AZ91. Neben der Entwicklung einer zerstoerungsfreien Methode zur Beurteilung der Gewindequalitat werden vom Autor grundlagenorientierte Untersuchungen durchgefuhrt, um den Einfluss von Prozessparametervariationen wahrend der Gewindefertigung auf die Mikrostrukturen und somit auf die quasistatischen und zyklischen Eigenschaften der Innengewinde zu ermitteln. In diesem Zuge werden Strategien zur Abkurzung der Versuchszeiten fur zyklische Untersuchungen entwickelt, bei denen mittels anwendungsoptimierter Sensorik charakteristische Kennwerte zur Lebensdauervorhersage ermittelt werden. Der Autor: Philipp Wittke arbeitete als wissenschaftlich Beschaftigter am Fachgebiet Werkstoffpruftechnik (WPT) der Technischen Universitat Dortmund und schloss dort seine Promotion mit dem Fokus auf die zeiteffiziente Charakterisierung der Ermudungseigenschaften neuartiger Gewindeverbindungen in Kooperation mit dem Institut fur Spanende Fertigung (ISF) der Technischen Universitat Dortmund ab.

Dieses Buch behandelt die wichtigsten Aspekte des European Train Control System (ETCS) als Bestandteil des European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). Lars Schnieder fuhrt, ausgehend von den rechtlichen Grundlagen, in die technischen Grundprinzipien von ETCS ein. Der Autor stellt den Aufbau- und die Wirkungsweise der unterschiedlichen Ausrustungsstufen dar und beschreibt die einzelnen Komponenten der Fahrzeug- und Streckeneinrichtung. Mit den von ETCS unterstutzten Betriebsarten wird aufgezeigt, wie ETCS in den verschiedenen Landern in den Bahnbetrieb integriert werden kann. Durch die Darstellung grundlegender technischer Zusammenhange und Sicherungsfunktionen wird ein Verstandnis fur das zukunftige einheitliche Europaische Zugsteuerungs- und Zugsicherungssystem geschaffen.

Innerstadtische Schienenverkehrssysteme stossen bei steigender Verkehrsnachfrage zunehmend an ihre Grenzen. Die Sicherheit und die Leistungsfahigkeit dieser Verkehrssysteme werden wesentlich durch die eingesetzte Leit- und Sicherungstechnik bestimmt. Eine Ausweitung des Verkehrsangebots erfordert leistungsfahige signaltechnische Systeme, die als Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) bezeichnet werden. Lars Schnieder stellt in diesem essential die Systemumgebung dar, in die sich die CBTC-Systeme in Nahverkehrsunternehmen integrieren. Daruber hinaus leitet er her, welchen Beitrag die einzelnen Sicherungsfunktionen von CBTC-Loesungen zur Gefahrdungsbeherrschung leisten. Auf dieser Grundlage zeigt der Autor, wie mit zunehmender Automatisierung sukzessive ein hoeherer Funktionsumfang von technischen Systemen ubernommen wird. Zum Abschluss diskutiert er an CBTC-Systeme gestellte nicht-funktionale Anforderungen wie Sicherheit, Verfugbarkeit, Leistungsfahigkeit und Wirtschaftlichkeit. Der Autor: Dr.-Ing. Lars Schnieder verantwortet in einer Software-Entwicklungsfirma das Geschaftsfeld Sicherheitsbegutachtung. Er ist international als anerkannter Sachverstandiger fur Zugsicherungsanlagen tatig.

Il presente testo si propone di far acquisire al lettore le conoscenze delle metodologie e teorie di base per effettuare analisi di sicurezza e valutazione del rischio in diversi ambienti aeronautici, in un quadro di Safety Management System. Vengono dapprima analizzati e descritti in dettaglio i metodi per effettuare studi prospettici di sicurezza di tipo probabilistico e per analisi quantitativa dei rischi associati a diversi pericoli nelle operazioni di volo, nella gestione delle operazioni di terra e nei processi manutentivi. Sono quindi presentate le metodologie formali per studi retrospettivi delle occorrenze ed incidenti, orientate alla ricerca delle cause ed alla definizione di raccomandazioni di sicurezza. Tutte le teorie sono inquadrate in un approccio sistemico, che prevede la valutazione integrata qualitativa e quantitativa dei rischi derivanti dai guasti meccanici e da fattori umani. Una serie di esempi semplici vengono associati alle diverse teorie e metodi presentati nel testo. Infine, per dimostrare praticamente come tali metodi si integrano in una valutazione globale del rischio, vengono discussi in dettaglio due esempi specifici di analisi prospettica del rischio associato ad un'operazione di volo e di studio retrospettivo di incidente, con relativa classificazione delle cause.