Non destructive testing aimed at monitoring, structural identification and di- nostics is of strategic importance in many branches of civil and mechanical - gineering. This type of tests is widely practiced and directly affects topical issues regarding the design of new buildings and the repair and monitoring of existing ones. The load bearing capacity of a structure can now be evaluated using well established mechanical modelling methods aided by computing facilities of great capability. However, to ensure reliable results, models must be calibrated with - curate information on the characteristics of materials and structural components. To this end, non destructive techniques are a useful tool from several points of view. Particularly, by measuring structural response, they provide guidance on the validation of structural descriptions or of the mathematical models of material behaviour. Diagnostic engineering is a crucial area for the application of non destructive testing methods. Repeated tests over time can indicate the emergence of p- sible damage occurring during the structure's lifetime and provide quantitative estimates of the level of residual safety.

The Toolset is a comprehensive collection of the relevant Design for Six Sigma+Lean tools, which are necessary for successfully implementing innovations. All tools are presented in a clear structure, providing a good overview of the methodology.

The chronology of the listed tools corresponds to the procedure in a Design for Six Sigma+Lean development project with the stages Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify. Due to this unique structure by which tools can be found and applied quickly we created a book that facilitates project work in practical use enormously.

Migrating from a tool based approach to a question based approach is a decisive success factor in our opinion enabling firstly, increased efficiency of project work for the Project Leader, his team and the associated Stakeholders, and secondly, significantly increasing the probability of success for the respective innovation projects.

In this global wake-up call, nuclear physicist Jeff Eerkens explores remedies for the impending energy crisis, when oil and natural gas are depleted. The Nuclear Imperative demonstrates that solar, wind, and biomass power are incapable of supplying the enormous quantities of electricity and heat needed for manufacturing portable synthetic fuels to replace our current use of fossil fuels. It offers a fresh look at uranium-produced energy as the optimal affordable solution.

To be able to compete successfully both at national and international levels, production systems and equipment must perform at levels not even thinkable a decade ago. Requirements for increased product quality, reduced throughput time and enhanced operating effectiveness within a rapidly changing customer demand environment continue to demand a high maintenance performance. In some cases, maintenance is required to increase operational effectiveness and revenues and customer satisfaction while reducing capital, operating and support costs. This may be the largest challenge facing production enterprises these days. For this, maintenance strategy is required to be aligned with the production logistics and also to keep updated with the current best practices. Maintenance has become a multidisciplinary activity and one may come across situations in which maintenance is the responsibility of people whose training is not engineering. This handbook aims to assist at different levels of understanding whether the manager is an engineer, a production manager, an experienced maintenance practitioner or a beginner. Topics selected to be included in this handbook cover a wide range of issues in the area of maintenance management and engineering to cater for all those interested in maintenance whether practitioners or researchers. This handbook is divided into 6 parts and contains 26 chapters covering a wide range of topics related to maintenance management and engineering.

In this probing critique of aviation security since 9/11, Andrew R. Thomas, a globally recognized aviation security expert, examines the recent overhaul of the national aviation security system.
Despite the complete federal takeover of aviation security in November 2001, Thomas notes many continuing problems, including: millions of passenger bags that are still not screened or matched; the unresolved problem of air rage and unruly passenger behavior; the "forgotten chasm" of air cargo, which remains largely unchecked due to inadequate resources; and lax standards, the hiring of high-risk employees, and the failure to secure critical areas in many of our nation's airports.
Thomas also considers many of the proposed solutions to these vulnerabilities: biometrics, profiling, air marshals, bomb-detection devices, and smart technology that links reservations systems to private and government databases. How practical are these proposals? Will they work? What will they cost? How much time will be needed to implement any or all of them? In light of the restructuring of airline security, what new roles will be played by the airline industry, government, airports, and the Transportation Security Administration? Thomas's thorough analysis and command of all the facts create an enlightening overview of the airline security dilemma and its numerous formidable challenges.
Finally, he considers the future, outlining a strategic approach for government and industry to meet new and existing threats while continuing to serve the public in an efficient manner.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th IFIP WG 5.5 International Precision Assembly Seminar, IPAS 2012, held in Chamonix, France, in February 2012. The 15 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized into the following topical sections: micro processes and systems; handling and manipulation in assembly; tolerance management and error compensation methods; metrology and quality control; intelligent control of assembly systems; and process selection and modelling techniques.

This book examines pedestrian shoe-floor slip resistance from an engineering standpoint in order to better understand friction and wear behavior. This analysis includes an extensive investigation into the surface properties of shoes and flow, and the measurement of dynamic friction and other mechanical and physical aspects of shoe-floor tribology. Lastly, the book proposes a measurement concept for the identification and classification of operational floor surfaces under a range of different conditions. Novel techniques and methods are proposed that can improve the reliability of slip resistance assessments. The current state of knowledge is critically examined and discussed from a tribological perspective, including aspects like friction, wear, lubrication and the mechanical behavior of shoes, floors and their wider environment. Further, the book reports on extensive experimental investigations into the topographical characteristics of shoe and floor surfaces and how they affect slip resistance. Slips resulting in pedestrian falls are a major cause of injuries and deaths for all age groups. This important book provides essential insights for researchers, practicing engineers and public safety officials wishing to learn about how the risk of pedestrian slips can be assessed and understood.

This book contains advanced-level research material in the area of lubrication theory and related aspects, presented by eminent researchers during the International Conference on Advances in Tribology and Engineering Systems (ICATES 2013) held at Gujarat Technological University, Ahmedabad, India during October 15 17, 2013. The material in this book represents the advanced field of tribology and reflects the work of many eminent researchers from both India and abroad. The treatment of the presentations is the result of the contributions of several professionals working in the industry and academia. This book will be useful for students, researchers, academicians, and professionals working in the area of tribology, in general, and bearing performance characteristics, in particular, especially from the point-of-view of design. This book will also appeal to researchers and professionals working in fluid-film lubrication and other practical applications of tribology. A wide range of topics has been included despite space and time constraints. Basic concepts and fundamentals techniques have been emphasized upon, while also including highly specialized topics and methods (such as nanotribology, bio-nanotribology). Care has been taken to generate interest for a wide range of readers, considering the interdisciplinary nature of the subject."

Innovative Management in Information and Production is based on the proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Innovative Management, Information and Production. This symposium is held by International Society of Management Engineers. The symposium took place on October 8-10, in HCMC, Vietnam. This book examines recent innovative management of information and productions such as digital collection management and operations planning, scheduling and control.

The book is concerned with production planning problems arising in the context of make-to-order assembly. After introducing the general decision context, a survey of the relevant literature in the fields of assembly management, make-to-order manufacturing, and project scheduling is given. The main part of the book provides a hierarchical planning approach with three levels: order selection, manufacturing planning, and operations scheduling. The decision problem of each level is carefully elaborated and stated in terms of a mathematical programme. Suited solution procedures such as list scheduling, tabu search, and linear programming are proposed and experimentally tested.

This study presents exploratory work and seeks to identify and evaluate the success and failure factors that could form a guideline for further study and to some extent help professionals to understand some critical aspects that impact project performance concerning construction in India. A total of 55 attributes affecting the performance of construction projects are analysed in terms of their level of influence on four key performance criteria - schedule, cost, quality, and no disputes - using a two-stage questionnaire survey. These attributes are then further analysed, interpreted and evaluated. Based on the critical success factors obtained from the study, a neural network model-based predictive model for project performance has been developed. The performance prediction models have been derived for all four project performance criteria. Further, a hypothesis that 'project success' is influenced by 'success traits' has also been formulated. The hypothesized positive inter-relationships between success traits and project success have been tested using the structural equation modelling technique. Besides supporting the intuition of past researchers in recognizing 'coordination' as a key success factor, this study has revealed that coordination is not an isolated and independent activity, but is a typical management function with an inherent role in all major management activities. Key elements affecting coordination have also been identified and their influence on coordination effort has been studied. Furthermore, the present study has also identified three broad skill groups required of effective project coordinators. The results are validated through case studies of live projects and structured interviews with experts in the field of construction management.

In today's global economy, supply chains are an essential ingredient to corporate survival and growth. Operations strategy in supply chains must assume an ever-expanding and strategic role of risks that modern enterprises face when they operate in an interdependent supply chain environment. These operational and strategic facets entail a brand new set of operational problems and risks that have not always been understood or managed very well. It falls to supply chain managers to identify and to educate corporate managers on what these critical operational problems and risks involve. This book provides business students and practitioners with the means to understand, to model and to analyze these outstanding issues and problems that are the essential elements in managing supply chains today. This book will consider these problems in depth and draw essential conclusions regarding their management in supply chains. As a textbook treatment, it will examine traditional operational problems, expressing them in a strategic context, understanding their complexity, and recognizing their interdependency with other firms within a supply-chain environment. Used throughout the book will be application examples that illustrate all the aspects of dealing with and solving these kinds of problems. The content of SUPPLY CHAIN GAMES: Operations Management and Risk Valuation is presented in three sections, each of which will emphasize important facets of supply chain management operations. (1) Supply chains and operations modeling and management section will provide static and time models and their gradual extension to a supply chain environment. The section will give special attention tothe new concerns and issues at this level of analysis. (2) Inter-temporal supply chain management section will address this aspect as differential games. The differential games will be presented as natural continuous-time extensions of static models so that the effect of various types of dynamics on supply chains can be assessed and insights can be developed. (3) Risk and supply chain management section will deal with risk and supply chains as well as providing numerous applications regarding the management of interdependent operations and quality in a supply chain environment.

This book brings together some of the most influential pieces of research undertaken around the world in design synthesis. It is the first comprehensive work of this kind and covers all three aspects of research in design synthesis:- understanding what constitutes and influences synthesis;- the major approaches to synthesis;- the diverse range of tools that are created to support this crucial design task.The chapters are comprised of cutting edge research and established methods, written by the originators of this growing field of research. They cover all major generic synthesis approaches i.e., composition, retrieval, change and repair, and tackle problems that come from a wide variety of domains within architecture and engineering as well as areas of application including clocks, sensors and medical devices. The book contains an editorial introduction to the chapters and the broader context of research they represent. With its range of tools and methods covered, it is an ideal introduction to design synthesis for those intending to research in this area as well as being a valuable source of ideas for educators and practitioners of engineering design.

Based on research funded by the European Commission, this important handbook provides a basis for a unified approach to three-dimensional surface finish assessment. It covers a broad range of issues related to 3-D micro-topography, with particular emphasis on standardisation, measurement, characterisation and interpretation. This reprint includes an updating introductory section. This work is to be the basis for a 3D international standard.
.Updated version of noted previous publication
.Contains basis, for the first time, for a unified approach to the subject
.The basis for a 3D international standard

Concurrent engineering is well-established as an approach to engineer product parts. However, the concept has much broader application. Complex Systems Concurrent Engineering: Collaboration, Technology Innovation and Sustainability demonstrates how concurrent engineering can be used to benefit the development of complex systems, to produce results that sustain balanced stakeholder satisfaction over time. Gathered from the 14th ISPE International Conference on Concurrent Engineering, the collected papers cover all aspects of the sustainable and integrated development of complex systems, such as airplanes, satellites, space vehicles, automobiles and ships. Complex Systems Concurrent Engineering: Collaboration, Technology Innovation and Sustainability focuses on five major areas: Knowledge and collaboration engineering and management; Systems engineering, analysis, modelling, simulation and optimisation (including value, cost, risk, and schedule issues); Product realisation processes, methods, technologies and techniques; Business, management and organisation issues (product life cycle processes other than development and manufacturing); and Information modelling, technology and systems.

The manufacturing industry will reap significant benefits from encouraging the development of digital manufacturing science and technology. Digital Manufacturing Science uses theorems, illustrations and tables to introduce the definition, theory architecture, main content, and key technologies of digital manufacturing science. Readers will be able to develop an in-depth understanding of the emergence and the development, the theoretical background, and the techniques and methods of digital manufacturing science. Furthermore, they will also be able to use the basic theories and key technologies described in Digital Manufacturing Science to solve practical engineering problems in modern manufacturing processes. Digital Manufacturing Science is aimed at advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students, academic researchers and researchers in the manufacturing industry. It allows readers to integrate the theories and technologies described with their own research works, and to propose new ideas and new methods to improve the theory and application of digital manufacturing science.

Proceedings of the 26th Symposium of the International Committee on Aeronautical Fatigue are a widely referenced summary of advances in aeronautical design against fatigue. This is a bi-annual event and the proceedings have been published in book form for over 35 years.

The direct generation of physical objects based on three dimensional computer aided design (3D-CAD) data is currently a manufacturing process of major importance. The dynamic development in this new high tech area is characterized by the different kinds of equipment commercially available at present, as well as the many new procedures that have been patented or are under development.
This book provides a major contribution to progress in industrial applications through its in-depth descriptions of the new technological methodologies and their implications in the planning and shaping of design.
All the essential commercially available systems are discussed in detail, and some important systems currently in development are also reviewed. Starting with the necessary 3D-Geometrical Modelling the general tasks for process realization are explained.
Further essential main points covered in the volume are:
Characteristics of the most suitable areas of application in the manufacturing industry.
Systematic approaches for decision-making for the most suitable equipment and usages (whether to invest or job out).
Methodical support for proper utilization of selected equipment.
Efficient combination with current manufacturing technologies.
Technological and economical aspects for evaluation and comparison of other traditional procedures.
The book will be of particular interest to workers and researchers in the fields of manufacturing (especially tool making), engineering, marketing, and CAD/CAM; CIM. The book is also suitable for students of engineering, management and economic disciplines.

The theory of stochastic processes, for science and engineering, can be considered as an extension of probability theory allowing modeling of the evolution of systems over time. The modern theory of Markov processes has its origins in the studies of A.A. Markov (1856-1922) on sequences of experiments "connected in a chain" and in the attempts to describe mathematically the physical phenomenon Brownian motion. The theory of stochastic processes entered in a period of intensive development when the idea of Markov property was brought in. This book is a modern overall view of semi-Markov processes and its applications in reliability. It is accessible to readers with a first course in Probability theory (including the basic notions of Markov chain). The text contains many examples which aid in the understanding of the theoretical notions and shows how to apply them to concrete physical situations including algorithmic simulations. Many examples of the concrete applications in reliability are given. Features: * Processes associated to semi-Markov kernel for general and discrete state spaces * Asymptotic theory of processes and of additive functionals * Statistical estimation of semi-Markov kernel and of reliability function * Monte Carlo simulation * Applications in reliability and maintenance The book is a valuable resource for understanding the latest developments in Semi-Markov Processes and reliability. Practitioners, researchers and professionals in applied mathematics, control and engineering who work in areas of reliability, lifetime data analysis, statistics, probability, and engineering will find this book an up-to-date overview of the field.

Covers the entire process of risk management by providing methodologies for determining the sources of engineering project risk, and once threats have been identified, managing them through: identification and assessment (probability, relative importance, variables, risk breakdown structure, etc.); implementation of measures for their prevention, reduction or mitigation; evaluation of impacts and quantification of risks and establishment of control measures. It also considers sensitivity analysis to determine the influence of uncertain parameters values on different project results, such as completion time, total costs, etc. Case studies and examples across a wide spectrum of engineering projects discuss such diverse factors as: safety; environmental impacts; societal reactions; time and cost overruns; quality control; legal issues; financial considerations; and political risk, making this suitable for undergraduates and graduates in grasping the fundamentals of risk management.

Observations of uncertainty in measured data with time improves forecasting capability in a wide range of fields in engineering. This book provides an introduction to uncertainty forecasting based on fuzzy time series. It details descriptive, modeling, and forecasting methods for fuzzy time series. Coverage places emphasis on forecasting based on fuzzy random processes as well as forecasting involving fuzzy neuronal networks.

Safety is a paradoxical system property. It remains immaterial, intangible and invisible until a failure, an accident or a catastrophy occurs and, too late, reveals its absence. And yet, a system cannot be relied upon unless its safety can be explained, demonstrated and certified. The practical and difficult questions which motivate this study concern the evidence and the arguments needed to justify the safety of a computer based system, or more generally its dependability. Dependability is a broad concept integrating properties such as safety, reliability, availability, maintainability and other related characteristics of the behaviour of a system in operation. How can we give the users the assurance that the system enjoys the required dependability? How should evidence be presented to certification bodies or regulatory authorities? What best practices should be applied? How should we decide whether there is enough evidence to justify the release of the system? To help answer these daunting questions, a method and a framework are proposed for the justification of the dependability of a computer-based system. The approach specifically aims at dealing with the difficulties raised by the validation of software. Hence, it should be of wide applicability despite being mainly based on the experience of assessing Nuclear Power Plant instrumentation and control systems important to safety. To be viable, a method must rest on a sound theoretical background.

The 6th International Asia Conference on Industrial Engineering and Management Innovation is sponsored by the Chinese Industrial Engineering Institution and organized by Tianjin University. The conference aims to share and disseminate information on the most recent and relevant researches, theories and practices in industrial and system engineering to promote their development and application in university and enterprises.

This book compiles and critically discusses modern engineering system degradation models and their impact on engineering decisions. In particular, the authors focus on modeling the uncertain nature of degradation considering both conceptual discussions and formal mathematical formulations. It also describes the basics concepts and the various modeling aspects of life-cycle analysis (LCA). It highlights the role of degradation in LCA and defines optimum design and operation parameters. Given the relationship between operational decisions and the performance of the system's condition over time, maintenance models are also discussed. The concepts and models presented have applications in a large variety of engineering fields such as Civil, Environmental, Industrial, Electrical and Mechanical engineering. However, special emphasis is given to problems related to large infrastructure systems. The book is intended to be used both as a reference resource for researchers and practitioners and as an academic text for courses related to risk and reliability, infrastructure performance modeling and life-cycle assessment.

CMOS Test and Evaluation: A Physical Perspective is a single source for an integrated view of test and data analysis methodology for CMOS products, covering circuit sensitivities to MOSFET characteristics, impact of silicon technology process variability, applications of embedded test structures and sensors, product yield, and reliability over the lifetime of the product. This book also covers statistical data analysis and visualization techniques, test equipment and CMOS product specifications, and examines product behavior over its full voltage, temperature and frequency range.