This title examines the concepts of systems reliability and the techniques available for determining both 'technical' and 'human' hazard and risk. Emphasis is placed on technical systems and human factors and the increasing importance of psychological factors in the overall assessment of safety. This edition includes material that reflects the fact that the tool of Risk Assessment has been taken up by many industrial and commercial sectors since the first edition.

Fatigue and Fracture Reliability Engineering is an attempt to present an integrated and unified approach to reliability determination of fatigue and fracture behaviour, incorporating probability, statistics and other related areas. A series of original and practical approaches, are suggested in Fatigue and Fracture Reliability Engineering, including new techniques in determining fatigue and fracture performances. It also carries out an investigation into static and fatigue properties, and into the failure mechanisms of unnotched and notched CFR composite laminates with different lay-ups to optimize the stacking sequence effect. Further benefits include: a novel convergence-divergence counting procedure to extract all load cycles from a load history of divergence-convergence waves; practical scatter factor formulae to determine the safe fatigue crack initiation and propagation lives from the results of a single full-scale test of a complete structure; and a nonlinear differential kinetic model for describing the dynamical behaviour of an atom at a fatigue crack tip. Fatigue and Fracture Reliability Engineering is intended for practising engineers in marine, civil construction, aerospace, offshore, automotive and chemical industries. It is also useful reading for researchers on doctoral programmes, and is appropriate for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in any mechanically-oriented engineering discipline.

The author of this book made an attempt to create the general theory of optimization of linear systems (both distributed and lumped) with a singular control. The book touches upon a wide range of issues such as solvability of boundary values problems for partial differential equations with generalized right-hand sides, the existence of optimal controls, the necessary conditions of optimality, the controllability of systems, numerical methods of approximation of generalized solutions of initial boundary value problems with generalized data, and numerical methods for approximation of optimal controls. In particular, the problems of optimization of linear systems with lumped controls (pulse, point, pointwise, mobile and so on) are investigated in detail.

The characteristics of "Co-operative Process Management" covered in this book concern the requirements of the dynamic situation "per se" as well as the requirements of the co-operation. Important factors are that no single person can have an overview of the situation; that expertise is distributed both temporally and qualitatively; that the ongoing process has to be represented in some way whether or not computerized; that co-operation is dependent on formal as well as informal information transfer; that predictions of the developing situation have to be performed; and that knowledge and skills of the participants must develop on different levels. What results is a book which covers analyses, field studies, micro-world studies, training and the creation of computer artefacts under the Co-operative Process Management umbrella.; This book should be of interest to those engaged in research or building applications in a dynamic co-operative information technology environment. It presents the work of some of the world's leading researchers from the four corners of CSCW, HCI, Process Control and Cognitive Ergonomics.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203212673

This book demonstrates that emotion is a highly influential component in creating a new society and new engineering, revealing the importance of emotion in various aspects of the Connected World. It addresses a wide variety of topics, but with this one underlying aim throughout. Further, it stands out for the approach it takes to the Internet of Things and the Connected Society. The contributing authors illustrate that humans are essentially either playmakers or playing managers, with teamwork and play being crucial aspects of our lives. They argue that strategy is becoming increasingly important, and consider the most adaptable strategy, one that will allow us to respond to today's quickly and radically changing situations. The book is particularly focused on the Connected Society as the point of departure, and explores what motivates humans, what decisions they should make, and what actions they should take. With engineering quickly moving from product development to experience development, and the role of emotion in engineering becoming increasingly apparent, this book offers a timely and valuable resource for engineers and researchers alike.

This book explains global trends and strategies in the shipping business, looking at the role of logistics service providers and at how information technology can help shipping operations. It also introduces best practices and advice that will allow professionals to improve the management of shipping and logistics activities.  The book consists of sections examining shipping and trade, business strategies for shipping, intermodal container transport operations, and ports.  This new edition adds a new fifth section with four new chapters that discusses contemporary issues in shipping. The new chapters are related to risk management in shipping, shipping security and safety, environmental and social sustainability, and a review of new technologies in the shipping industry and their future potential.   An invaluable source of information for researchers and advanced, or graduate, students, Shipping and Logistics Management is also a useful reference for shipping practitioners and consultants.

Undoubtedly, the most urgent task for companies today is to take a hard look at the future. To remain competitive, management must nurture a strong capability for self development and a strong corporate culture, both of which form part of the foundation for improvement. But simply understanding management techniques doesn't mean you know how to use them. You need the tools and technologies for implementation.

"In Building Organizational Fitness, "Ryuji Fukuda extends the power of his managerial engineering methodology into the context of the top management strategic planning role. Published here for the first time, the author provides information on the evolution of his CEDAC methods for use in strategic planning and implementation. The book introduces several key management technologies and describes their successful application in many Japanese, American and European companies, including: P/O (Policy Objective) Matrix, SEDAC (Structure for Enhancing Daily Activities through Creativity), Window Analysis ( a method for classifying and analyzing problem for a view point of management actions required), and Stockless Production (an approach to reduce work-in-process and lead time in an effective and easy-to-understand manner).

Aiming to change the paradigms of traditional management strategies, this work attempts to create an improved platform within the total quality management umbrella for supporting the profit motive by offering hands-on instructions for applying the theory of constraints in the manufacturing system. The book provides updated information in each area discussed.

Today, every engineer interested in manufacturing should have a firm grasp of computer architecture and how digital controllers are interfaced to electromechanical processes to gather information and control machines. The theories of continuous control and discrete control, and their application in manufacturing, are fundamental to designing and working with the next generation of manufacturing systems. The purpose of Computer Automation in Manufacturing: An introduction is to provide a broad introduction to digital control technology and its application in manufacturing automation. It covers the application of this technology from the machine level through the manufacturing cell and shop floor levels, provides broad coverage of subjects beginning with the architecture of computers and controllers, and ends with shop floor applications. Written specifically for engineering students, the book does not require a specialized background and can be used as early as the third year of an undergraduate engineering program. Readers will appreciate the broad scope and integration of topics, as well as the provision of numerous end-of-chapter problem sets.

The requirements for production systems are constantly changing as a result of changing competitive conditions. This poses a challenge for manufacturers in the various branches of industry and creates an ever-increasing need for flexibility.

With this as a background, this book explores the current developments and trends as well as their impact on today's production systems. It also compares known strategies, concepts and methods used to achieve production flexibility. Similarly, the practical knowledge and current research will be drawn upon and subjected to a sound scientific analysis, through which the technical and organizational flexibility ranges can be measured in their application in a production system. The convenience and usefulness of this concept for manufacturers is substantiated by its implementation in a software tool called ecoFLEX and its practical application, based on extensive examples. This illustrates how flexibility flaws can be quickly identified, classified and properly disposed of using ecoFLEX. This tool helps to close the gap between ERP / PPS systems and digital factory planning tools.

The 6th meeting sponsored by IFIP Working Group 7.5, on reliability and optimization of structural systems, took place in September 1994 in Assisi, Italy. This book contains the papers presented at the working conference including topics such as reliability of special structures, fatigue, failure modes and time-variant systems relibility.

This book provides up-to-date information about the promising use of feature technology for integrating computer-aided-design with subsequent applications. The book consists of 20 articles based upon the international IFIP conference on this topic held in Valenciennes, France in May 1994.

The interaction between engineering and the law is undergoing dramatic changes. Product liability, laws have been introduced in Japan, patent claims over living organisms have been made in bioengineering and the differing national laws of copyright protection and liability are in the process of harmonisation, especially in the European Union. The pace and complexity of these changes make it essential for technologists, lawyers, engineers and insurance experts to establish a common basis for understanding, co-operation and exchange of expertise. The recently founded International Society for Technology, Law and Insurance aims to foster such co-operation. This volume features 46 selected contributions which address various topical issues and the law. The most important issues relate to engineering risks, quality assurance and assessment and legal implications assiciated with them. Recent failure cases are explained and the technical, legal and insurance-related issues discussed in detail.

Providing an understanding of what is meant by quality and its unique position in a manufacturing environment to improve competitive business performance, this text defines all the fundamental ingredients required to introduce an improvement in quality. Concise and easy to read, the theory is backed up by numerous industrial experiences, illustrating the practical obstacles when implementing any quality change. Focusing on the essentials of quality (strategies, principles and techniques) designing for quality is also discussed and new techniques for assessing the risks and costs of non-conformance are introduced. The result is an insight to quality engineering that will prove invaluable to engineering students and professionals.

Stressing the theory involved in formulating suspensions, emulsions, and colloidal drug products, this Second Edition of a well-received reference test highlights typical formulations, the avoidance of formulation pitfalls, and compliance with established regulatory principles.

This book provides an overview of advanced manufacturing technology in Japan. It describes the prevalent manufacturing engineering concepts and highlights the current applications, technologies and systems in Japanese manufacturing industry.

This second edition details all productivity and quality methodologies, principles and techniques, and demonstrates how they interact in the three phases of the productivity and quality management triangle (PQMT): measurement, control and evaluation; planning and analysis; and improvement and monitoring. This edition features material on practical strategies for implementing quality programmes, balancing productivity and quality results , resolving quality problems and empowering employees.

This book is tailored designed for both researchers as well as academics teaching or introducing Advanced Manufacturing course to their classrooms. It presents the current state of research in this field of research and major challenges identified so far, for the integration of additive manufacturing into chemical processes. Unique capability of transforming materials into functional devices with specific geometry using the emerging additive manufacturing technologies has stimulated significant interest in biology, engineering and materials science, to provide custom-made designs for tailored applications. However, the applications of this emerging technology in the field of chemical sciences and engineering have started very recently. Therefore, the major focus of this book is to introduce the basic principles of additive manufacturing practices as well as advent into conventional chemical processes and various unit operations. The potential advantage of introducing these additive manufacturing technologies has the potential to scale down large scale chemical processes into small scale, which offers several advantages including lower foot print, waste reduction and efficient heat integration as well as distributed chemical manufacturing.

The kinds of management systems typically used in large companies throw up many roadblocks to innovation. This book compares the management systems of highly innovative companies with those of more typical companies and shows how they are different. Twenty different aspects of management are compared, from organization structure to communications systems to incentives to project funding systems.

Discusses the requirements for establishing, maintaining and revitalizing an efficient engineering documentation control system for use by technical and manufacturing personnel in private industry. The book stresses simplicity and common sense in the development and implementation of all control practices, procedures and forms. A list of effective interchangeability rules, a glossary of essential engineering documentation terms and an extensive bibliography of key literature sources are provided.;This work is intended for mechanical, computer, design, manufacturing and civil engineers; program, purchasing and documentation and production control managers; and upper-level undergraduate, graduate and continuing-education students in these fields.

This book is intended to give a general overview of reliability, faults, fault models, nanotechnology, nanodevices, fault-tolerant architectures and reliability evaluation techniques. Additionally, the book provides an in depth state-of-the-art research results and methods for fault tolerance as well as the methodology for designing fault-tolerant systems out of highly unreliable components.

Examines all important aspects of integrated circuit design, fabrication, assembly and test processes as they relate to quality and reliability. This second edition discusses in detail: the latest circuit design technology trends; the sources of error in wafer fabrication and assembly; avenues of contamination; new IC packaging methods; new in-line process monitors and test structures; and more.;This work should be useful to electrical and electronics, quality and reliability, and industrial engineers; computer scientists; integrated circuit manufacturers; and upper-level undergraduate, graduate and continuing-education students in these disciplines.

Particulate products make up around 80% of chemical products, from all industry sectors. Examples given in this book include the construction materials, fine ceramics and concrete; the delicacies, chocolate and ice cream; pharmaceutical, powders, medical inhalers and sun screen; liquid and powder paints. Size distribution and the shape of the particles provide for different functionalities in these products. Some functions are general, others specific. General functions are powder flow and require at the typical particulate concentrations of these products that the particles cause adequate rheological behavior during processing and/or for product performance. Therefore, this book addresses particle packing as well as its relation to powder flow and rheological behavior. Moreover, general relationships to particle size are discussed for e.g. color and sensorial aspects of particulate products. Product-specific functionalities are often relevant for comparable product groups. Particle size distribution and shape provide, for example, the following functionalities:

- dense particle packing in relation to sufficient strength is required in concrete construction, ceramic objects and pharmaceutical tablets

- good sensorial properties (mouthfeel) to chocolate and ice cream

- effective dissolution, flow and compression properties for pharmaceutical powders

- adequate hiding power and effective coloring of paints for protection and the desired esthetical appeal of the objects

- adequate protection of our body against sun light by sunscreen

- effective particle transport and deposition to desired locations for medical inhalers and powder paints.

Adequate particle size distribution, shape and porosity of particulate products have to be achieved in order to reach optimum product performance. This requires adequate management of design and development as well as sufficient knowledge of the underlying principles of physics and chemistry. Moreover, flammability, explosivity and other health hazards from powders, during handling, are taken into account. This is necessary, since great risks may be involved. In all aspects, the most relevant parameters of the size distribution (and particle shape) have to be selected.

In this book, experts in the different product fields have contributed to the product chapters. This provides optimum information on what particulate aspects are most relevant for behavior and performance within specified industrial products and how optimum results can be obtained. It differs from other books in the way that the critical aspects of different products are reported, so that similarities and differences can be identified. We trust that this approach will lead to improved optimization in design, development and quality of many particulate products."

The world of artificial systems is reaching hitherto undreamed-of levels of complexity. Surface traffic, electricity distribution, mobile communications, etc., demonstrate that problems are arising that are beyond classical scientific or engineering knowledge. In order that our ability to control such systems should not be hindered by lack of comprehension, there is an on-going effort to understand them.This book is an example of the types of approach that European researchers are using to tackle problems derived from systems' complexity. It has grown out of activities in the Control of Complex Systems (COSY) research program the goals of which are to promote multi-disciplinary activity leading to a deeper understanding and further development of control technologies for complex systems and if possible, to develop the theory underlying such systems. The material in this book represents a selection of the results of the COSY program and is organised as a collection of essays of varying nature: surveys of essential areas, discussion of specific problems, case studies, and benchmark problems.Topics covered include:Modelling complex physical systems;Passivity-based control of non-linear systems;Aspects of fault identification and fault tolerance;Control design;Learning control;Satellite attitude control.Complex systems appear in many different fields and for this reason this book should be of interest to scientists, researchers and industrial engineers with a broad spectrum of experience.