This book examines key aspects of the increasingly important phenomenon of reshoring - the decision of companies to reverse offshoring by bringing manufacturing back from overseas. The aim is to equip readers with a full understanding of the current extent of reshoring, its drivers, and the associated opportunities and challenges. The impact of governments' economic policies on the location choices of entrepreneurs in an era of globalization is carefully analyzed, drawing on experiences in the United States and Italy, where contrasting encouragement is provided for reshoring decisions. The effect on reshoring of recent developments regarding technology, the environment, and other factors is assessed in depth, and readers will also find close scrutiny of the relationship between reshoring and manufacturing performance. The book will be of interest to all academics, researchers, and practitioners with an interest in the manufacturing industry and will be an excellent teaching aid for a variety of courses in different disciplines at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The book is focused primarily on characteristics and determinative methods of reservoir orientation, the concept of vector well pattern and corresponding realistic techniques of well pattern deployment, well pattern control principles, Optimum design of well pattern based on the reservoir direction characteristics, and the schemes of well spacing density regulation at different stages of development. The procedures for improving water flooding efficiency have been provided. This book is suitable for reservoir engineering managers, reservoir engineers, and students of petroleum engineering.

This book includes best selected, high-quality research papers presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Manufacturing and Energy Sustainability (ICIMES 2020) held at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malla Reddy College of Engineering & Technology (MRCET), Maisammaguda, Hyderabad, India, during August 21-22, 2020. It covers topics in the areas of automation, manufacturing technology and energy sustainability and also includes original works in the intelligent systems, manufacturing, mechanical, electrical, aeronautical, materials, automobile, bioenergy and energy sustainability.

This book presents the proceedings of the first International Upcycling Symposium 2020, held on 4th September 2020 at De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester, UK (online), as a joint effort between DMU, Lund University, Nottingham Trent University and Newcastle University. This book presents state of the art of research and practice in "upcycling" at the international level. The subject of this book, upcycling, is a term to describe the processes of creating or modifying a product from used or waste materials, components and products, which is of equal or higher quality or value than the compositional elements. This book describes new theories, approaches and scientific research findings related to upcycling and presents examples of upcycling practice, across multiple sectors, scales and contexts. Bringing together research from over 35 multidisciplinary experts, the book discusses state-of-the-art knowledge and practices on upcycling in different geographical, economic, socio-cultural and technological contexts at an international level. Readers will gain fundamental understanding of upcycling with its varied definitions and forms across sectors and scales, and to be informed of the latest upcycling research and practices including valuable ideas, theories, projects, experiences and insights by global experts.

This thesis develops a systematic, data-based dynamic modeling framework for industrial processes in keeping with the slowness principle. Using said framework as a point of departure, it then proposes novel strategies for dealing with control monitoring and quality prediction problems in industrial production contexts. The thesis reveals the slowly varying nature of industrial production processes under feedback control, and integrates it with process data analytics to offer powerful prior knowledge that gives rise to statistical methods tailored to industrial data. It addresses several issues of immediate interest in industrial practice, including process monitoring, control performance assessment and diagnosis, monitoring system design, and product quality prediction. In particular, it proposes a holistic and pragmatic design framework for industrial monitoring systems, which delivers effective elimination of false alarms, as well as intelligent self-running by fully utilizing the information underlying the data. One of the strengths of this thesis is its integration of insights from statistics, machine learning, control theory and engineering to provide a new scheme for industrial process modeling in the era of big data.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th European Lean Educator Conference ELEC 2021, hosted in Trondheim, Norway, in October 2021 and sponsored by IFIP WG 5.7. The conference was held virtually. The 42 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 82 submissions. They are organized in the following thematic sections: Learning Lean; Teaching Lean in the Digital Era; Lean and Digital; Lean 4.0; Lean Management; Lean Coaching and Mentoring; Skills and Knowledge Management; Productivity and Performance Improvement; New Perspectives of Lean.

This book presents state-of-the-art probabilistic methods for the reliability analysis and design of engineering products and processes. It seeks to facilitate practical application of probabilistic analysis and design by providing an authoritative, in-depth, and practical description of what probabilistic analysis and design is and how it can be implemented. The text is packed with many practical engineering examples (e.g., electric power transmission systems, aircraft power generating systems, and mechanical transmission systems) and exercise problems. It is an up-to-date, fully illustrated reference suitable for both undergraduate and graduate engineering students, researchers, and professional engineers who are interested in exploring the fundamentals, implementation, and applications of probabilistic analysis and design methods.

This book presents a number of approaches to Fine-Kinney-based multi-criteria occupational risk-assessment. For each proposed approach, it provides case studies demonstrating their applicability, as well as Python coding, which will enable readers to implement them into their own risk assessment process. The book begins by giving a review of Fine-Kinney occupational risk-assessment methods and their extension by fuzzy sets. It then progresses in a logical fashion, dedicating a chapter to each approach, including the fuzzy best and worst method, interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy VIKOR and interval type-2 fuzzy QUALIFLEX. This book will be of interest to professionals and researchers working in the field of occupational risk management, as well as postgraduate and undergraduate students studying applications of fuzzy systems.

This book highlights the concept and applications of Remanufactured Fashion. The first book on this subject, it covers reverse logistics, exemplars, and case studies of remanufactured fashion design. Textile waste is a major issue for all countries, and converting that waste into useful products offers a sensible solution. Remanufactured Fashion is one such sustainable waste management strategy. It involves the conversion of discarded garments into useful retail products, without which they would be dumped at landfills, posing a number of environmental issues. Remanufacturing recovers a product's inherent value once that product no longer fulfills the user's desired needs. The application and use of discarded clothing in remanufacturing processes could greatly reduce the percentage of clothing waste (and mitigate related waste management issues), while also contributing to resource conservation. There has been scant research investigating what is actually involved in the fashion remanufacturing process and how the process could be up-scaled to the mass market in order to achieve greater environmental gains. This book addresses that gap in the literature and examines all aspects pertaining to the concept and applications of Remanufactured Fashion.

Reliability of Microtechnology discusses the reliability of microtechnology products from the bottom up, beginning with devices and extending to systems. The book's focus includes but is not limited to reliability issues of interconnects, the methodology of reliability concepts and general failure mechanisms. Specific failure modes in solder and conductive adhesives are discussed at great length. Coverage of accelerated testing, component and system level reliability, and reliability design for manufacturability are also described in detail.

The book also includes exercises and detailed solutions at the end of each chapter.

Containing selected papers from the ICRESH-ARMS 2015 conference in Lulea, Sweden, collected by editors with years of experiences in Reliability and maintenance modeling, risk assessment, and asset management, this work maximizes reader insights into the current trends in Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS) and Risk Management. Featuring a comprehensive analysis of the significance of the role of RAMS and Risk Management in the decision making process during the various phases of design, operation, maintenance, asset management and productivity in Industrial domains, these proceedings discuss key issues and challenges in the operation, maintenance and risk management of complex engineering systems and will serve as a valuable resource for those in the field.

This book showcases cutting-edge research papers from the 8th International Conference on Research into Design (ICoRD 2021) written by eminent researchers from across the world on design processes, technologies, methods and tools, and their impact on innovation, for supporting design for a connected world. The theme of ICoRD'21 has been "Design for Tomorrow". The world as we know it in our times is increasingly becoming connected. In this interconnected world, design has to address new challenges of merging the cyber and the physical, the smart and the mundane, the technology and the human. As a result, there is an increasing need for strategizing and thinking about design for a better tomorrow. The theme for ICoRD'21 serves as a provocation for the design community to think about rapid changes in the near future to usher in a better tomorrow. The papers in this book explore these themes, and their key focus is design for tomorrow: how are products and their development be addressed for the immediate pressing needs within a connected world? The book will be of interest to researchers, professionals and entrepreneurs working in the areas on industrial design, manufacturing, consumer goods, and industrial management who are interested in the new and emerging methods and tools for design of new products, systems and services.

This fourth volume on detox fashion focuses on case studies, which are essential to showcase how practical applications have been accomplished, and provide an opportunity for others to (learn about and) adopt the best practices, challenges and practical implications. The book consists of three core chapters: Detoxifying the Supply Chain: Slow Production Networks in South-East European Garment Factories; Detoxifying the Luxury and Fashion Industry: The Case of Market-driving Brands; and Detox My Fashion under Mission 2020-Case Studies from Different Brands.

This book presents the select proceedings of the International Conference on Functional Material, Manufacturing and Performances (ICFMMP) 2019. The book covers broad aspects of several topics involved in the metrology and measurement of engineering surfaces and their implementation in automotive, bio-manufacturing, chemicals, electronics, energy, construction materials, and other engineering applications. The contents focus on cutting-edge instruments, methods and standards in the field of metrology and mechanical properties of advanced materials. Given the scope of the topics, this book can be useful for students, researchers and professionals interested in the measurement of surfaces, and the applications thereof.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of quality and quality management. It also explores total quality management, covering its human, technological and analytical imperatives. It also examines quality systems and system standards, highlighting essential features and avoiding a reproduction of the ISO 9000 standard, as well as people-related issues in implementing a quality system. A holistic understanding of quality considerations, which now permeate every aspect of human life, should guide related policies, plans and practices. The book describes the all-pervasive characteristics of quality, putting together diverse definitions of "quality," outlining its different dimensions, and linking it with reliability and innovation. It goes on to assess the quality of measurements in terms of precision, accuracy and uncertainty and discusses managing quality with a focus on business performance. This is followed by a chapter on improving process quality, which is the summum bonum of quality management, and a chapter addressing the crucial problem of measuring customer satisfaction through appropriate models and tools. Further, it covers non-traditional subjects such as quality of life, quality of working life, quality assurance and improvement in education, with special reference to higher education, quality in research and development and characterizes the quality-related policies and practices in Indian industry. The last chapter provides a broad sketch of some recent advances in statistical methods for quality management. Along with the research community, the book's content is also useful for practitioners and industry watchers.

This book contains the description of machines and systems as investments goods in production. These machines have a technological and economical life cycle over the time used. By explaining the paradigms of life cycle management, the book describes how the life cycle of such investment goods can be designed, operated and optimized to deliver maximum benefit in industrial environment. Additional examples from industry including case studies and calculations demonstrate practical applications and deliver benefit not only for academic or educational purpose but also for industrial practitioners.

This book aims to address how nanotechnology risks are being addressed by scientists, particularly in the areas of human health and the environment and how these risks can be measured in financial terms for insurers and regulators. It provides a comprehensive overview of nanotechnology risk measurement and risk transfer methods, including a chapter outlining how Bayesian methods can be used. It also examines nanotechnology from a legal perspective, both current and potential future outcomes. The global market for nanotechnology products was valued at $22.9 billion in 2013 and increased to about $26 billion in 2014. This market is expected to reach about $64.2 billion by 2019, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.8% from 2014 to 2019. Despite the increasing value of nanotechnologies and their widespread use, there is a significant gap between the enthusiasm of scientists and nanotechnology entrepreneurs working in the nanotechnology space and the insurance/regulatory sector. Scientists are scarcely aware that insurers/regulators have concerns about the potential for human and environmental risk and insurers/regulators are not in a position to access the potential risk. This book aims to bridge this gap by defining the current challenges in nanotechnology across disciplines and providing a number of risk management and assessment methodologies. Featuring contributions from authors in areas such as regulation, law, ethics, management, insurance and manufacturing, this volume provides an interdisciplinary perspective that is of value to students, academics, researchers, policy makers, practitioners and society in general.

This book focuses on the design of Robotic Flexible Assembly Cell (RFAC) with multi-robots. Its main contribution consists of a new effective strategy for scheduling RFAC in a multi-product assembly environment, in which dynamic status and multi-objective optimization problems occur. The developed strategy, which is based on a combination of advanced solution approaches such as simulation, fuzzy logic, system modeling and the Taguchi optimization method, fills an important knowledge gap in the current literature and paves the way for future research towards the goal of employing flexible assembly systems as effectively as possible despite the complexity of their scheduling.

This edited volume explores the fundamental aspects of the dark web, ranging from the technologies that power it, the cryptocurrencies that drive its markets, the criminalities it facilitates to the methods that investigators can employ to master it as a strand of open source intelligence. The book provides readers with detailed theoretical, technical and practical knowledge including the application of legal frameworks. With this it offers crucial insights for practitioners as well as academics into the multidisciplinary nature of dark web investigations for the identification and interception of illegal content and activities addressing both theoretical and practical issues.

This book contains selected papers from the International Conference on Progress in Automotive Technologies (ICPAT) 2019. The contents focus on several aspects of the automobile industry from design to manufacture, and the challenges involved therein. The book covers latest research trends in the automotive domain including topics such as aerodynamic design, vehicle sensors and electronics, engine combustion modeling, noise and vibration in vehicles, electric and hybrid vehicles, automotive tribology, and battery and fuel cell technologies. The book highlights the use of emerging technologies to tackle the growing environmental challenges. This book will be of interest to students, researchers as well as professionals working in automotive engineering and allied fields.

The area of Reliability has become a very important and active area of research. This is clearly evident from the large body of literature that has been developed in the form of books, volumes and research papers since 1988 when the previous Handbook of Statistics on this area was prepared by P.R. Krishnaiah and C.R. Rao. This is the reason we felt that this is indeed the right time to dedicate another volume in the Handbook of Statistics series to highlight some recent advances in the area of Reliability. With this purpose in mind, we solicited articles from leading experts working in the area of Reliability from both academia and industry. This, in our opinion, has resulted in a volume with a nice blend of articles (33 in total) dealing with theoretical, methodological and applied issues in Reliability.

This book covers a wide range of conventional and non-conventional machining processes of various composite materials, including polymer and metallic-based composites, nanostructured composites and green/natural composites. It presents state-of-the-art academic work and industrial developments in material fabrication, machining, modelling and applications, together with current practices and requirements for producing high-quality composite components. There are also dedicated chapters on physical properties and fabrication techniques of different composite material groups. The book also has chapters on health and safety considerations when machining composite materials and recycling composite materials. The contributors present machining composite materials in terms of operating conditions; cutting tools; appropriate machines; and typical damage patterns following machining operations. This book serves as a useful reference for manufacturing engineers, production supervisors, tooling engineers, planning and application engineers, and machine tool designers. It can also benefit final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students, as it provides comprehensive information on the machining of composite materials to produce high-quality final components. The book chapters were authored by experienced academics and researchers from four continents and nine countries including Canada, China, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Singapore, United Kingdom and the USA.

This book features a selection of revised and extended research articles written by prominent researchers who participated in the 26th World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science (WCECS 2018), held in San Francisco, USA, on October 23-25, 2018. Topics covered include engineering mathematics, electrical engineering, communications systems, computer science, chemical engineering, systems engineering, manufacturing engineering and industrial applications. With contributions carefully chosen to represent the most cutting-edge research presented at the conference and highlighting the state of the art in engineering technologies and the physical sciences and their applications, the book is a valuable reference resource for graduate students and researchers working in these fields.

These proceedings gather outstanding papers presented at the China SAE Congress 2019. Featuring contributions mainly from China, the biggest carmaker as well as most dynamic car market in the world, the book covers a wide range of automotive topics and the latest technical advances in the industry. Many of the approaches included can help technicians to solve practical problems that affect their daily work. In addition, the book offers valuable technical support to engineers, researchers and postgraduate students in the field of automotive engineering.