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

This volume comprises select proceedings of the International Conference on Humanizing Work and Work Environment organized by the Indian Society of Ergonomics (HWWE2019). The book presents research findings on different areas of ergonomics for developing appropriate tools and work environment considering capabilities and limitations of working people for maximum effectiveness on their performance. This volume will be of interest to academics, professionals and practitioners in the field of ergonomics.

Manufacturing Technology, Volume 1 provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles and practice of engineering manufacturing processes. This third edition has been written, updated and expanded to reflect the current requirements of the Advanced GNVQ Engineering syllabus as well as BTEC NC/D engineering specifications. As such it also forms an ideal introduction to the subject for first-year degree courses in engineering. Topics covered include: alteration of shape, tooling, toolholding and workholding, kinematics of manufacturing equipment, computer numerical control (CNC), assembly, fabrication (including plastics), heat treatment, finishing, quality control, manufacturing relationships, and health and safety at work. This book leads the reader naturally onto the companion volume Manufacturing Technology, Volume 2, intended for those studying engineering manufacture at a more advanced level such as HNC/D and first/second-year engineering degree courses. The broad and in-depth coverage of this two-volume approach ensures that these texts not only satisfy the requirements of technician students up to the highest level but also provide an excellent technical background for undergraduates studying for a degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering and combined engineering.

Formerly titled Quality Control, the field's most accessible introduction to quality has been renamed and revamped to focus on quantitative aspects of quality improvement. New chapters on Lean Enterprise, Six Sigma, Experimental Design, and Taguchi's Quality Engineering have been added, and this new Ninth Edition adds comprehensive coverage of fundamental statistical quality improvement concepts. A practical state-of-the-art approach is stressed throughout, and sufficient theory is presented to ensure that students develop a solid understanding of basic quality principles. To improve accessibility, probability and statistical techniques are presented through simpler math or developed via tables and charts. As with previous editions, this text is written to serve a widely diverse audience of students, including the growing number of "math shy" individuals who must play key roles in quality improvement.

This book is presented to demonstrate how energy efficiency can be achieved in existing systems or in the design of a new system, as well as a guide for energy savings opportunities. Accordingly, the content of the book has been enriched with many examples applied in the industry. Thus, it is aimed to provide energy savings by successfully managing the energy in the readers' own businesses. The authors primarily present the necessary measurement techniques and measurement tools to be used for energy saving, as well as how to evaluate the methods that can be used for improvements in systems. The book also provides information on how to calculate the investments to be made for these necessary improvements and the payback periods. The book covers topics such as: * Reducing unit production costs by ensuring the reduction of energy costs, * Efficient and quality energy use, * Meeting market needs while maintaining competitive conditions, * Ensuring the protection of the environment by reducing CO2 and CO emissions with energy saving and energy efficiency, * Ensuring the correct usage of systems by carrying out energy audits. In summary, this book explains how to effectively design energy systems and manage energy to increase energy savings. In addition, the study has been strengthened by giving some case studies and their results in the fields of intensive energy consumption in industry. This book is an ideal resource for practitioners, engineers, researchers, academics, employees and investors in the fields of energy, energy management, energy efficiency and energy saving.

Optimization is the act of obtaining the "best" result under given circumstances. In design, construction, and maintenance of any engineering system, engineers must make technological and managerial decisions to minimize either the effort or cost required or to maximize benefits. There is no single method available for solving all optimization problems efficiently. Several optimization methods have been developed for different types of problems. The optimum-seeking methods are mathematical programming techniques (specifically, nonlinear programming techniques). Nonlinear Optimization: Models and Applications presents the concepts in several ways to foster understanding. Geometric interpretation: is used to re-enforce the concepts and to foster understanding of the mathematical procedures. The student sees that many problems can be analyzed, and approximate solutions found before analytical solutions techniques are applied. Numerical approximations: early on, the student is exposed to numerical techniques. These numerical procedures are algorithmic and iterative. Worksheets are provided in Excel, MATLAB(R), and Maple(TM) to facilitate the procedure. Algorithms: all algorithms are provided with a step-by-step format. Examples follow the summary to illustrate its use and application. Nonlinear Optimization: Models and Applications: Emphasizes process and interpretation throughout Presents a general classification of optimization problems Addresses situations that lead to models illustrating many types of optimization problems Emphasizes model formulations Addresses a special class of problems that can be solved using only elementary calculus Emphasizes model solution and model sensitivity analysis About the author: William P. Fox is an emeritus professor in the Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School. He received his Ph.D. at Clemson University and has taught at the United States Military Academy and at Francis Marion University where he was the chair of mathematics. He has written many publications, including over 20 books and over 150 journal articles. Currently, he is an adjunct professor in the Department of Mathematics at the College of William and Mary. He is the emeritus director of both the High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling and the Mathematical Contest in Modeling.

This book analyses and quantifies how and where energy and water are consumed by the ceramic sanitary-ware industry and provides solutions as to how to reduce this. The whole production process is mapped, including modelling methods. The book begins by providing an introduction to ceramic sanitary-ware production and types of factories casting technology. It then moves on to discuss the process and energy modelling for the production line, analysis of energy and water consumptions and proposals for improvements. The last chapter presents the practical implementation of the selected modelling configuration. This book is of particular interest to water and energy management professionals within the ceramic industry, but the methods are of interest to those in other production industries as well.

This volume gathers the latest advances, innovations and applications in the field of condition monitoring, plant maintenance and reliability, as presented by leading international researchers and engineers at the 5th International Conference on Maintenance Engineering and the 2020 Annual Conference of the Centre for Efficiency and Performance Engineering Network (IncoME-V & CEPE Net-2020), held in Zhuhai, China on October 23-25, 2020. Topics include vibro-acoustics monitoring, condition-based maintenance, sensing and instrumentation, machine health monitoring, maintenance auditing and organization, non-destructive testing, reliability, asset management, condition monitoring, life-cycle cost optimisation, prognostics and health management, maintenance performance measurement, manufacturing process monitoring, and robot-based monitoring and diagnostics. The contributions, which were selected through a rigorous international peer-review process, share exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster new multidisciplinary collaborations.

This book, to reflect the system's diverse, relevant characteristics, uses three different mathematical tools, namely probability theory, fuzzy theory and random fuzzy theory, to model and analyze the reliability of each system. Reliability system engineering is an interdisciplinary area that chiefly focuses on the lifecycle characteristics of products and involves many fields of basic mathematics, technical science and management science. In recent years, there have been many books on reliability theory, but comparatively few on the reliability of mathematical models, or the reliability of mathematical models based on single probability theory or fuzzy theory. The findings presented here will not only enrich and expand traditional reliability theory, but also promote the development of related disciplines, lending the book considerable theoretical significance.

This book presents the select peer-reviewed proceedings of the International Conference on Futuristic Trends in Mechanical Engineering (ICOFTIME 2020). The contents focus on latest research in different areas of mechanical engineering such as additive manufacturing, vibrations, robotics and automation, nano and smart materials, green energy, supply chain management, aviation, and biomechanics. The book also includes numerical and optimization methods relevant for several real-life mechanical engineering problems. Given its contents, this book will prove useful for researchers and professionals alike.