Electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) is revolutionizing the billing process by offering online and real time presentment of bill content and payment choices. EBPP is the easy way of viewing billing status, remittance items, and presenting balances using a universal browser from any location. In contrast to paper-based bills, electronic billing enables service providers to combine billing with advanced customer care and improved customer relationship management. Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment presents the essentials about this new way of viewing and paying bills. The author defines basic business models, such as biller direct and various consolidator model options, allocates the right tools to each of the models, and differentiates between the needs of principal industries. The text describes how to build and implement value added capabilities such as personalization, up-selling, online dispute management, and better control of the accounts payable and receivable process can significantly improve customer care and customer relationship management on behalf of service providers. About the Author: Kornel Terplan is a telecommunication expert with more than 30 years of highly successful multi-national consulting experience. He has provided consulting, training, and product development services to over 75 national and international corporations on four continents. He has served on the editorial board for over 140 articles, 22 books, and 115 papers. Dr. Terplan has designed five network management related courses and conducted over 80 seminar presentations in 15 countries.

For almost every sensationalized media report of product failure, a closer look often determines these failures occurred due to inadequate reliability theory and methodology. Current theories and practices cannot solve these problems, mainly because test specifications, especially lifetime tests, express their results as either pass or fail; these results thus provide little useful quantitative information. In a clear, concise presentation, Improving Reliability and Quality for Product Success discusses how to eradicate failures in hardware products and, consequently, achieve greater success in the marketplace. Evolved from the author's more than thirty years of experience, the book redefines quality and reliability terminology, explains failure mechanics, and analyzes why reliability accidents occur in the products of established corporations. The author presents a new prevention methodology in easily understood qualitative and scientific terms. Without excess discussions of the complex related mathematics, he creates principles that enable readers to identify problems before product release into the market. These novel concepts and methodology can reduce product troubles by establishing test specifications that produce quantified outcomes that constitute conclusive judgment data. Many books that cover reliability theory/engineering/practice are geared towards professionals with advanced mathematical skills and would not necessarily be of use to executives and CEOs, who may not be quality or reliability experts but need to understand these principles when making decisions. This book addresses this important but neglected audience, introducing novel ideas based on back-to basics quality/reliability concepts in an easily understood manner. In addition, it explains basic, fresh new methods for maximizing customer satisfaction and securing a competitive edge in performance.

The effective and interrelated functioning of system reliability technology, human factors, and quality play an important role in the appropriate, efficient, and cost-effective delivery of health care. Simply put, it can save you time, money, and more importantly, lives. Over the years a large number of journal and conference proceedings articles on these topics have been published, but there are only a small number of books written on each individual topic, and virtually none that brings the pieces together into a unified whole.

Due to global competition, safety regulations, and other factors, manufacturers are increasingly pressed to create products that are safe, highly reliable, and of high quality. Engineers and quality assurance professionals need a cross-disciplinary understanding of these topics in order to ensure high standards in the design and manufacturing processes. Reliability, Quality, and Safety for Engineers is the first publication to integrate this information in a single source. The text begins with an introduction that discusses the need for reliability, quality and safety as well as historical information, terms, and definitions. Subsequent chapters discuss relevant mathematics, evaluation models and methods, testing, management, and costing. The author treats each topic in a comprehensive manner that requires no prior knowledge of the subject in order to understand the contents. The author includes numerous examples, problems, and solutions to test the reader's comprehension. He also lists important journals, organizations, standards, and books for further study, creating a comprehensive resource for design, system, safety and manufacturing engineers as well as reliability specialists and quality assurance professionals.

Contamination problems have become a major factor in determining the manufacturability, quality, and reliability of electronic assemblies. Understanding the mechanics and chemistry of contamination has become necessary for improving quality and reliability and reducing costs of electronic assemblies. Designed as a practical guide, Contamination of Electronic Assemblies presents a generalized overview of contamination problems and serves as a problem-solving reference point. It takes a step-by-step approach to identifying contaminants and their effects on electronic products at each level of manufacture. The text is divided into four sections: Laminate Manufacturing, Substrate Fabrication, Printed Wiring Board Assembly, and Conformal Coatings. These sections discuss all aspects of contamination of electronic assemblies, from the manufacture of glass fibers used in the laminates to the complete assembly of the finished product. The authors present detection and control methods that can help you reduce defects during the manufacturing process. With tables, figures, and fishbone diagrams serving as a quick reference, Contamination of Electronic Assemblies will help you familiarize yourself with the origination, detection, measurement, control, and prevention of contamination in electronic assemblies.

Based on an extensive research project done by the author in the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, and Austria from December 1999 to June 2001, Enterprise Architecture and New Generation Information Systems focuses on four main themes: Next Generation Information Technology The Likely Technologies of this Decade Enterprise Computing The Internet as the 21st Century's Answer to Merchandising While the majority of books presently available on information systems are written from the viewpoint of system analysis, programming, or common applications, this text: Brings to the reader's attention the importance of organization and infrastructure Presents a wealth of case studies to explain the need for reengineering and restructuring Details the latest advances which influence the implementation of advanced technology Written in a simple, comprehensive manner without specific prerequisites and data processing jargon, with concepts and case studies properly explained, this book addresses itself to practitioners in computer technology, telecommunications and software development, who are interested in acquiring skills through knowledge of the most advanced applications, tools, and methods, both present and coming. Enterprise Architecture and New Generation Information Systems will prove appealing to every person charged with planning, developing, applying, and delivering advanced information systems, architectural solutions, and programming products.

Although Reliability Engineering can trace its roots back to World War II, its application to medical devices is relatively recent, and its treatment in the published literature has been quite limited. With the medical device industry among the fastest growing segments of the US economy, it is vital that the engineering, biomedical, manufacturing, and design communities have up-to-date information on current developments, tools, and techniques. Medical Device Reliability and Associated Areas fills this need with broad yet detailed coverage of the field. It addresses a variety of topics related - directly and indirectly - to reliability, including human error in health care systems and software quality assurance. With emphasis on concepts rather than mathematical rigor, a multitude of examples, exercises, tables, and references, this is one resource that everyone connected to the medical device industry must have.

In an approach that combines coverage of safety and human error into a single volume, Safety and Human Error in Engineering Systems eliminates the need to consult many different and diverse sources for those who need information about both topics. The book begins with an introduction to aspects of safety and human error and a discussion of mathematical concepts that builds understanding of the material presented in subsequent chapters. The author describes the methods that can be used to perform safety and human error analysis in engineering systems and includes examples, along with their solutions, as well as problems to test reader comprehension. He presents a total of ten methods considered useful for performing safety and human error analysis in engineering systems. The book also covers safety and human error transportation systems, medical systems, and mining equipment as well as robots and software. Nowadays, engineering systems are an important element of the world economy as each year billions of dollars are spent to develop, manufacture, and operate various types of engineering systems around the globe. A rise in accidental deaths has put the spotlight on the role human error plays in the safety and failure of these systems. Written by an expert in various aspects of healthcare, engineering management, design, reliability, safety, and quality, this book provides tools and techniques for improving engineering systems with respect to human error and safety.

In today's sophisticated world, reliability stands as the ultimate arbiter of quality. An understanding of reliability and the ultimate compromise of failure is essential for determining the value of most modern products and absolutely critical to others, large or small. Whether lives are dependent on the performance of a heat shield or a chip in a lab, random failure is never an acceptable outcome. Written for practicing engineers, Practical Reliability Engineering and Analysis for System Design and Life-Cycle Sustainment departs from the mainstream approach for time to failure-based reliability engineering and analysis. The book employs a far more analytical approach than those textbooks that rely on exponential probability distribution to characterize failure. Instead, the author, who has been a reliability engineer since 1970, focuses on those probability distributions that more accurately describe the true behavior of failure. He emphasizes failure that results from wear, while considering systems, the individual components within those systems, and the environmental forces exerted on them. Dependable Products Are No Accident: A Clear Path to the Creation of Consistently Reliable Products Taking a step-by-step approach that is augmented with current tables to configure wear, load, distribution, and other essential factors, this book explores design elements required for reliability and dependable systems integration and sustainment. It then discusses failure mechanisms, modes, and effects-as well as operator awareness and participation-and also delves into reliability failure modeling based on time-to-failure data considering a variety of approaches. From there, the text demonstrates and then considers the advantages and disadvantages for the stress-strength analysis approach, including various phases of test simulation. Taking the practical approach still further, the author covers reli

The demands of the global economy require manufacturers to produce highly reliable and easily maintainable engineering products. Recent studies indicate that for many large and sophisticated products or systems, maintenance, and support account for as much as 60 to 75 percent of their life cycle costs. Therefore, the role of maintainability, maintenance, and reliability has become increasingly significant. Satisfying the pressing need for a volume that addresses these subjects with an interdiscilinary approach, Maintainability, Maintenance, and Reliability for Engineers distills knowledge specific to each discipline into one comprehensive resource. After reviewing the history of all three fields and their interrelationships, the book covers mathematical concepts such as Boolean algebra laws, probability properties, mathematical definitions, and probability distributions. It includes reliability evaluation methods such as fault tree analysis, network reduction method, delta-method, Markov method, supplementary variables method, and reliabitity management, both mechanical and human. Highlihting maintainibility tools and functions, the author discusses topics in maintainibility management and costing including tasks during product life cycle, program plan, organization functions, design reviews, life cycle costing, investment cost elements, and life cycle cost estimation models. The author also includes coverage of maintenance engineering, focusing on safety, quality, corrective, and preventive maintenance. The book concludes with coverage of maintenance management costing and human errror in engineering maintenance and contains 60 illustrations, 16 tables, and more than 200 equations. There is a definite need to considermaintainibility, maintenance, and reliability during product/system design and other phases. To achieve this goal effectively, it is absoulutely imperative to have a certain degree of understanding of each of these disciplines. Although m

In today's high-technology world, with flourishing e-business and intense competition at a global level, the search for the competitive advantage has become a crucial task of corporate executives. Quality, formerly considered a secondary expense, is now universally recognized as a necessary tool. Although many statistical methods are available for determining quality, there has been no guide to easy learning and implementation until now. Filling that gap, Statistical Design of Experiments with Engineering Applications, provides a ready made, quick and easy-to-learn approach for applying design of experiments techniques to problems. The book uses quality as the main theme to explain various design of experiments concepts. The authors examine the entire product lifecycle and the tools and techniques necessary to measure quality at each stage. They explain topics such as optimization, Taguchi's method, variance reduction, and graphical applications based on statistical techniques. Wherever applicable the book supplies practical rules of thumb, step-wise procedures that allow you to grasp concepts quickly and apply them appropriately, and examples that demonstrate how to apply techniques. Emphasizing the importance of quality to products and services, the authors include concepts from the field of Quality Engineering. Written with an emphasis on application and not on bogging you down with the theoretical underpinnings, the book enables you to solve 80% of design problems without worrying about the derivation of mathematical formulas.

This edited book serves to unify the current state of knowledge for 3D printing / Additive Manufacturing and its impact on manufacturing operations. Bringing together leading experts from across the operations and supply chain disciplines the contributions offer a concise, accessible, and focused text for researchers and practitioners alike. Showing how 3DP can be implemented in a multitude of business models, the book explores how to manage 3DP both in the production environment and wider supply chain.

In engineering and quality control, various situations, including process validation and design verification, require equivalence and noninferiority tests. Equivalence and Noninferiority Tests for Quality, Manufacturing and Test Engineers presents methods for using validation and verification test data to demonstrate equivalence and noninferiority in engineering and applied science. The book covers numerous tests drawn from the author's more than 30 years of work in a range of industrial settings. It provides computational formulas for the tests, methods to determine or justify sample sizes, and formulas to calculate power and operating characteristic curves. The methods are accessible using standard statistical software and do not require complicated programming. The book also includes computer code and screen shots for SAS, R, and JMP. This book provides you with a guide to performing validation and verification tests that demonstrate the adequacy of your process, system, or product. It will help you choose the best test for your application.

Co-production occurs when citizens actively participate in the design and delivery of public services. The concept and its practice are of increasing interest among policymakers, public service managers and academics alike, with co-production often being described as a revolutionary solution to public service reform. Public Service Management and Asylum: Co-production, Inclusion and Citizenship offers a comprehensive exploration of co-production from the public administration and service management perspectives. In doing so, it discusses the importance of both streams of literature in providing a holistic understanding of the concept, and based on this integration, it offers a model which differentiates co-production on five levels. The first three refer to the role of the public service user in the design and delivery of services (co-construction, participative co-production and co-design) and the other two focus on inter-organisational relationships (co-management and co-governance). This model is applied to the case of asylum seekers in receipt of social welfare benefits in Scotland to explore the implications for social inclusion and citizenship. It argues that as public service users, asylum seekers will always play an active role in the process of service production and while co-production does not provide asylum seekers with legal citizenship status, if offers an opportunity for asylum seekers to act like citizens and supports their inclusion into society. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, public services managers, and students in the fields of public management, public administration, organizational studies.

Although the area of International Manufacturing Network (IMN) and International Operations Network (ION) has received considerable attention in the literature, most of studies appear multifaceted and interdisciplinary, and thereby require thorough investigation from both academic and practical perspectives, in order to deepen our related understanding. The book seeks advanced contributions that will combine theoretical insights and empirical experience by offering a detailed examination of IMN and, further, ION from various perspectives. This book can be used as a reference material for scholar-practitioners, business executives, and university researchers who need to deepen their understanding on the importance and influence of IMN and ION as well as their development. The book is important because there are few reference/resource materials available related to IMN and ION.

For courses in operations and supply chain management. Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management is an integrated, comprehensive introduction to both operations and supply chain management (SCM). The text remains engaging and brief while integrating all of the major concepts of both subjects in one cohesive source. The 5th Edition contains updated content and thorough coverage of analytical tools and techniques that students will apply to their careers in operations and SCM. It explores these topics in an interesting and relatable manner, providing students with real-world examples and easy-to-understand material.

Modern projects are all about one group of people delivering benefits to others, so it's no surprise that the human element is fundamental to project management. The Gower Handbook of People in Project Management is a complete guide to the human dimensions involved in projects. The book is a unique and rich compilation of over 60 chapters about project management roles and the people who sponsor, manage, deliver, work in or are otherwise important to project success. It looks at the people-issues that are specific to different sectors of organization (public, private and third sector); the organization of people in projects, both real and virtual; the relationship between people, their roles and the project environment; and the human behaviours and skills associated with working collaboratively. Thus this comprehensive and innovative handbook discusses all the important topics associated with employing, developing and managing people for successful projects. The contributors have been drawn from around the world and include experts ranging from practising managers to academics and advanced researchers. The Handbook is divided into six parts, which begin with management and project organization and progress through to more advanced and emerging practices. It benefits hugely from Lindsay Scott's expert knowledge and experience in this field and from Dennis Lock's contributions and meticulous editing to ensure that the text and illustrations are always lucid and informative.

This is the first book to present field studies on the application of subject-oriented business process management (S-BPM). Each case presents a specific story and focuses on an essential modeling or implementation issue, and most end with implications or suggestions for further studies. Significant variables and success factors are identified that were discovered during the respective study and lead to suggesting S-BPM novelties. For each case, the authors explain step-by-step how the story develops, and provide readers guidance by detailing the respective rationale. The studies covered are clustered according to three main S-BPM themes: Part I "Business Operation Support" documents approaches to the practical development of S-BPM solutions in various application domains and organizational settings, while Part II "Consultancy and Education Support" highlights cases that can help to train readers in S-BPM modeling and knowledge acquisition for S-BPM lifecycle iterations. It also refers to architecting S-BPM solutions for application cases based on hands-on experience. Part III "Technical Execution Support" focuses on concepts for utilizing specific theories and technologies to execute S-BPM models. It also addresses how to create reference models for certain settings in the field. Lastly, the appendix covers all relevant aspects needed to grasp S-BPM modeling and apply it based on fundamental examples. Its format reconciles semantic precision with syntactic rigor.>Addressing the needs of developers, educators and practitioners, this book will help companies to learn from the experiences of first-time users and to develop systems that fit their business processes, explaining the latest key methodological and technological S-BPM developments in the fields of training, research and application.

In an age when most business plans extend only to the next quarterly reporting period, the authors of this book propose an audaciously longer view of future planning. Reaching beyond the modern five or ten-year strategic plan, the authors take a cue from Kongo Gumi, a Japanese construction company launched in 578 AD that managed to thrive as a family-owned business for nearly 1500 years. With the 2010 publication of an international standard on social responsibility (ISO 26000), and increased attention to sustainability and sustainability reporting, many organizations today are heeding the call to operate with this standard in mind. However, once the guidelines are understood and the gaps measured, these same organizations often struggle during implementation. Leveraging many decades of combined experience in Quality Management and Product Development, the authors of this seminal book provide a proven solution to help you turn information into action. Defining exactly what social responsibility means, A Six Sigma Approach to Sustainability introduces SOFAIR, a six-step methodology for achieving sustainability through social responsibility performance improvement. This rigorous methodology uses Six Sigma, and other process improvement methods, as a basis for maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of your organization's social responsibility performance improvement effort. The book explains and demonstrates the meaning of CISR (R) - continual improvement for social responsibility - and illustrates the six-step SOFAIR methodology with many examples. The authors explain how your existing organizational continual improvement efforts can be adapted to also focus on sustainability. Four case studies are provided that demonstrate the application of the methodology in manufacturing, healthcare, business processes, and everyday personal life. Finally, the authors provide 10 things you can do today as social responsibility action. Kongo Gumi represents the author's goal of sustainability, and prompts the question, "What will your organization look like, not in 5-10 years, but in fifteen centuries?" This book provides a way for you to take action to create a more sustainable environment where your customers, suppliers, employees, and communities are available for your organization for decades, and even centuries, to come. About the Book's Cover: The six hands of many colors encircling the globe represent the diversity of stakeholders engaged in the six-step SOFAIR Process, and the global impact of CISR (R). CISR (R) is a registered trademark and can be used with permission for non-commercial use. Contact: www.SherpaBCorp.com

The definitive guide to the latest tools & techniques for achieving performance excellence in manufacturing, distribution, and planning Now completely revised and expanded, World Class Production and Inventory Management presents the latest information on the unique tools and techniques needed to manage the planning and production of a manufacturing enterprise. Including a completely new chapter on Efficient Consumer Response (ECR), updated case studies, and additional information on manufacturing integration, this comprehensive reference includes:

• Step-by-step implementation techniques in each key area of production and inventory management
• Fresh perspectives on manufacturing integration and multiple demand stream management
• Best-in-class examples from companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Boeing, and Martin Marietta
• Proven guidelines for avoiding the most common problems and for achieving continually higher levels of performance
• Self-assessment questions helpful in measuring the performance of your company in each operating area

Building from the previous two successful editions, The Procurement Models Handbook is an essential resource for everyone working in the procurement profession, including those selling directly to it. The authors provide the reader with a useful guide to the business models most frequently applied in the procurement and supply chain arena. Procurement and supply chain management are two of the highest contributors to corporate success in the modern world. This third edition is a new revised international version with additional tools that reflect the value of procurement in our globally-connected world. The authors have included over 50 well-established strategic and operational models that have a proven track record of delivering value over years of practice. Each model is presented pictorially, with explanatory commentary on its practical application to support. These models are designed to save unnecessary cost and deliver significant benefits for their user and have been carefully selected by the authors based on their originality and usefulness for practical application in the context of procurement and the supply chain. The Procurement Models Handbook is an invaluable and enduring source of reference for practitioners and business managers, as well as an essential learning support for business and procurement students.

This book captures a range of important developments that have occurred in Information Systems over the last forty years, with a particular focus on India and the developing world. Over this time, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Information Systems (IS) have come to play a critical role in supporting, complementing and automating managerial decisions, shaping and transforming industries, and contributing to deep societal and economic change. This volume examines a range of topics for those interested in the adoption and use of these technologies across varied situations. It combines empirical studies on the application and impact of IS with commentaries, debates and insights on the transformative role that IT and the IT industry have played, and continue to play, within India as well as globally. The book draws attention to issues and challenges that organizations grapple with in tech-enabled environments, and provides insights on the role of automation and computational techniques. It explores the global impact of the technology revolution on economic growth and development, electronic globalization, and the wider opportunities and challenges of a hi-tech world. The chapters cover various themes such as e-government in India, internet-based distribution systems, internet banking, and use of collaborative IT tools and functions to support virtual teams in the software industry and the business process outsourcing industry. Other chapters focus on methodological advances, such as systems thinking which finds applications in organizational decision-making, and the use of fuzzy logic. This volume will interest professionals and scholars of information technology and information systems, computer studies, IT systems, economics, and business and management studies.

Engineering systems are an important element of world economy. Each year billions of dollars are spent to develop, manufacture, operate, and maintain various types of engineering systems about the globe. The reliability and usability of these systems have become important because of their increasing complexity, sophistication, and non-specialist users. Global competition and other factors are forcing manufacturers to produce highly reliable and usable engineering systems. Along with examples and solutions, this book integrates engineering systems reliability and usability into a single volume for those individuals that directly or indirectly are concerned with these areas.

Uniquely organized, Asset Management Insights follows the life cycle of industrial assets and infrastructures. Indeed, one of the fundamental points of the definition of asset management is its management perspective covering the entire life cycle of assets rather than specific segments such as maintenance. It reviews the thematic components of asset management both from a conceptual point of view (originality, approaches, methods, tools) and from the point of view of its practical application (conditions to be met, recurrent difficulties, and organizational constraints). Most other titles on asset management tend to describe the practice and related ISO standards in a rather clinical manner. In contrast, this work focuses on concrete situations experienced by those who have implemented the concepts, discusses how, and when and WHY they failed, and how they adapted their practices in order to succeed. FEATURES: Packed with stories from professionals and companies that highlight aspects of different functions, tools and elements of asset management from a variety of different industries, including infrastructure (water, energy, transportation), public service (post offices, hospitals), manufacturers, public, and private companies. Guides readers to explore the essential actions to be undertaken, and the major pitfalls to avoid. Organized in parts and chapters that address individual topics of asset management according to the sequence of life cycle segments of any asset belonging to an infrastructure or industry. This allows the reader to follow asset related questions throughout their lives or to choose to study specific life segments (chapters).

The book describes how to manage and successfully deliver large, complex, and expensive systems that can be composed of millions of line of software code, being developed by numerous groups throughout the globe, that interface with many hardware items being developed by geographically dispersed companies, where the system also includes people, policies, constraints, regulations, and a myriad of other factors. It focuses on how to seamlessly integrate systems, satisfy the customer's requirements, and deliver within the budget and on time. The guide is essentially a "shopping list" of all the activities that could be conducted with tailoring guidelines to meet the needs of each project.