This book discusses the main techniques and newest trends to manage and optimize the production and service systems. The book begins by examining the three main levels of decision systems in production: the long term (strategic), the middle term (tactical) and short term (operational). It also considers online management as a new level (a sub level of the short term). As each level encounters specific problems, appropriate approaches to deal with these are introduced and explained. These problems include the line design, the line balancing optimization, the physical layout of the production or service system, the forecasting optimization, the inventory management, the scheduling etc. Metaheuristics for Production Systems then explores logistic optimization from two different perspectives: internal (production management), addressing issues of scheduling, layout and line designs, and external (supply chain management) focusing on transportation optimization, supply chain evaluation, and location of production. The book also looks at NP-hard problems that are common in production management. These complex configurations may mean that optimal solutions may not be reached due to variables, but the authors help provide a good solution for such problems. The effective new results and solutions offered in this book should appeal to researchers, managers, and engineers in the production and service industries.

-- Only book written addressing the role of a Lean CFO. -- Explains how a Lean Management System integrated with a Lean Business Strategy drives financial success. -- In clear concise terms explains how & why Lean makes money for companies. -- Gives readers the logical reasons why a Lean Management System must replace a Management Accounting System. -- Answers the question "why do we need a Lean Management System?"

This book examines the ways in which quality management methods, tools, and practices help improve an organization's performance and achieve sustainable competitive advantages. This volume includes quality techniques and tools such as the EFQM Model, SERVPERF model, E-S-Qual scale and the ISO 9001 certification and provide a wide variety of empirical studies in different economic sectors. In the current economic environment, characterized by economic turmoil and fierce competition, quality management has become a key strategy for organizations to overcome today's challenges. Organizations benefits from implementing quality management systems by following two approaches. First, they implement quality practices aimed at ensuring customer satisfaction by considering consumer expectations and establishing strategies accordingly. Second, organizations improve processes by establishing efficient and effective process management systems that improve productivity, lower costs, reduce unnecessary expenses, eliminate all non-value added activities, and ultimately maximize excellence and customer satisfaction. Quality management thereby provides tools, techniques, and methods for continuous process improvement in both the professional and academic worlds, which, when implemented by organizations in times of crisis, enable more effective administration of activities undertaken by managers. Containing contributions from various academics and scholars, this new book provides cutting edge research, methods and techniques providing a reference manual for academics, scholars, practitioners and policy-makers.

The Internet of Services and the Internet of Things are major building blocks of the Future Internet. The digital enterprise of the future is based not only on mobile, social, and cloud technologies, but also on semantic technologies and the future Internet of Everything. Semantic technologies now enable mass customization for the delivery of goods and services that meet individual customer needs and tastes with near mass production efficiency and reliability. This is creating a competitive advantage in the industrial economy, the service economy, and the emerging data economy, leading to smart products, smart services, and smart data, all adaptable to specific tasks, locations, situations, and contexts of smart spaces. Such technologies allow us to describe, revise, and adapt the characteristics, functions, processes, and usage patterns of customization targets on the basis of machine-understandable content representation that enables automated processing and information sharing between human and software agents.

This book explains the principal achievements of the Theseus research program, one of the central programs in the German government's Digital 2015 initiative and its High-Tech Strategy 2020. The methods, toolsets, and standards for semantic technologies developed during this program form a solid basis for the fourth industrial revolution (Industrie 4.0), the hybrid service economy, and the transformation of big data into useful smart data for the emerging data economy.

The contributing authors are leading scientists and engineers, representing world-class academic and industrial research teams, and the ideas, technologies, and representative use cases they describe in the book derive from results in multidisciplinary fields, such as the Internet of Services; the Semantic Web, and semantic technologies, knowledge management, and search; user interfaces, multimodal interaction, and visualization; machine learning and data mining; and business process support, manufacturing, automation, medical systems, and integrated service engineering.

The book will be of value to both researchers and practitioners in these domains."

Presenting a broad literature review of scholarly work in the area of Business Model Innovation, this new book analyses 50 management theories in the context of BMI to yield valuable new insights. Research on BMI is still in its infancy and has so far proved to be more than just a sub-discipline of strategy or innovation research. Exploring the field of Business Innovation demonstrates the importance of the discipline as a more specialized management research field and offers new understandings of this important subject. It presents 'grand theories' that will help researchers approach BMI through a different angle and describes business models as phenomena, enabling readers to understand their patterns and mechanisms. Reviewing the most important academic work on the subject over the last 15 years, the authors aim to open up the debate and inspire researchers to look at this phenomenon from new and different angles.

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. The definitive, fully up-to-date guide to continuous improvement in the workplace"An updated version of a classic book that shares a wealth of new healthcare examples and case studies from around the world. The methods in this book will help you improve quality and safety, reduce waiting times, and improve the long-term financial position of your organization. Highly recommended!" --Mark Graban, author of Lean Hospitals and coauthor of Healthcare Kaizen "Every business faces the iron triangle of quality, cost, and delivery. Conventional thinking claims you cannot have all three. Not only does Mr. Imai turn that thinking on its head, but he shows you exactly how to do it." -- Matthew E. May, author of The Elegant Solution and The Laws of Subtraction "Masaaki Imai has done it again. The second edition of his famous book not only describes all the tools necessary for any type of business to implement a lean strategy but also includes a large number of excellent case studies." -- Art Byrne, author of The Lean Turnaround Written by Masaaki Imai, pioneer of modern business operational excellence and founder of the Kaizen Institute, Gemba Kaizen, Second Edition is an in-depth revision of this renowned, bestselling work. The book reveals how to implement cost-effective, incremental improvements in your most critical business processes. Global case studies from a wide range of industries demonstrate how gemba kaizen has been successfully used to: Maximize capacity and reduce inventory at Unga Limited, one of Kenya's largest flour-milling operations Change the IT culture at Achmea, a large European insurance firm Exceed customer expectations at Walt Disney World in the United States Improve quality at Inoue Hospital in Japan Transform retail processes at Sonae MC, Portugal's largest employer Practice daily kaizen at Tork Ledervin, a weaving plant in Brazil Stamp out muda at Sunclipse, an industrial packaging distributor in the United States Manage quality improvement by total workforce involvement at Xuji Group Corporation, an electrical manufacturer in China Implement gemba kaizen at many other companies worldwide To thrive in today's competitive global economy, organizations need to operate more effectively and profitably than ever before. Developing problem solvers, increasing productivity, improving quality, and reducing waste are essential success factors. Proven strategies for achieving these goals are included in this pioneering guide. This comprehensive resource offers detailed coverage of important gemba kaizen topics, including: Quality, cost, and delivery in the gemba The five steps of workplace organization Identifying and eliminating muda--any non-value-adding activity Visual management Supervisors' roles in the lean workplace Gemba managers' roles and accountability in sustaining high performance Just-in-time and total flow management The CEO's role in leading a kaizen culture The methods presented in Gemba Kaizen, Second Edition reveal that when management focuses on implementing kaizen (incremental, continuous improvement) in the gemba (the worksite) unique opportunities can be discovered for increasing the success and profitability of any organization.

Reverse logistics concerns the integration of used and obsolete products back into the supply chain as valuable resources. Economic, marketing, and legislative drivers increasingly are leading companies to take back and recover their products after use. The arising product flows pose novel challenges for supply chain management.

This book addresses decision making in reverse logistics. It covers a wide range of aspects, related to distribution, production and inventory management, and supply chain management. For each topic, it highlights key managerial issues in real-life examples and explains which quantitative models are available for addressing them. By treating a broad range of issues in a unified way, the book offers the reader a comprehensive view on the field of reverse logistics.

The best way to deal with losses and threats of any kind is to prevent them from ever happening. This requires comprehensive, clear, and focused security plans. Business Security Procedures to Protect Assets and Employees includes policies, procedures, and forms developed by a security expert that can be used for any kind of business or organization. Important topics covered include security basics, training and managing a security department, conducting investigations, protecting information, emergency and disaster response procedures, executive protection, and workplace violence. Using the information in Business Security Procedures to Protect Assets and Employees, you can create and continually update your own security plan to prevent and deal with losses from internal and external sources. Protect your assets, your employees, and your customers. There is no need to start from scratch; with Business Security Procedures to Protect Assets and Employees its already been done for you.

Tailoring information systems development to operations management and business strategy is an important way to bolster the effectiveness and efficiency of any institution s managerial success. Innovations in Information Systems for Business Functionality and Operations Management offers a vital compendium of the latest research in IS/IT applications to business and operations management. With experts from around the world giving contributions in the form of case studies, methodologies, best practices, frameworks, and research, this critical collection of cutting-edge and state-of-the-art technological references will serve practitioners and academics alike.

This book provides a conceptual framework for systemic flexibility and business agility, drawing on a basis of research/case applications in various types of flexibility and agility in business. The selected papers address a variety of issues concerning the theme of systemic flexibility and business agility and are organized into following five parts: (i) Systemic and Strategic Flexibility; (ii) Information and Business Agility; (iii) Flexibility, Innovation and Business Excellence; (iv) Flexibility in Value and Supply Chains; and(v) Financial Flexibility and Mergers & Acquisitions. Flexibility and agility in business are emerging as key dimensions of business excellence that encompass the requirements of both choice and speed. The two concepts, flexibility and agility, have been used in multiple ways and often interchangeably, both in literature and in practice. The growing need for flexibility/agility in business can be seen from reactive as well as proactive perspectives. A business enterprise is expected to possess reactive flexibility/ agility (as adaptability and responsiveness) in order to cope with the changing and uncertain business environment. It may also endeavor to intentionally generate flexibility/agility as a strategic change in a variety of ways, such as leadership change, reengineering, innovation in products and processes, use of information and communication technology, and learning orientation.

From the Preface: This festschrift is devoted to recognize the career of a man who not only witnessed the growth of operations research from its inception, but also contributed significantly to this growth. Dr. Salah E. Elmaghraby received his doctorate degree from Cornell University in 1958, and since then, his scholarly contributions have enriched the fields of production planning and scheduling and project scheduling. This collection of papers is contributed in his honor by his students, colleagues, and acquaintances. It offers a tribute to the inspiration received from his work, and from his guidance and advice over the years, and recognizes the legacy of his many contributions. Dr. Elmaghraby is a pioneer in the area of project scheduling (in particular, project planning and control through network models, for which he coined the term 'activity networks'.) In his initial work in this area, he developed an algebra based on signal flow graphs and semi-Markov processes for analyzing generalized activity networks involving activities with probabilistic durations. This work led to the development of what was later known as the Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT), and GERT simulation models. He has made fundamental contributions in determining criticality indices for activities, in developing methodologies for project compression and time/cost analysis, and in the use of stochastic and chance-constrained programming and Petri Nets for the analysis of activity networks. This volume brings together fourteen contributions, which can be viewed under the following three main themes: operations research and its application in production planning; project scheduling, and production scheduling, inspired by, and in many cases based on, Dr. Elmaghraby's work in these areas. The first five chapters are devoted to the first theme, followed by four chapters each devoted to the other two, respectively. An additional chapter is devoted to the vulnerability of multimodal freight systems.

Featuring case studies from the industrial and tourism sectors, this book provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the effect of total quality management on business and innovation strategies. The principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) have been widely researched and analyzed as an essential tool for businesses to compete in a globalized economy. This book presents the latest research on the applications of TQM across different functions such as customer service, human resources management and cost control. It demonstrates how the utilization of TQM tools, such as the SERVQUAL model, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), High Involvement Practices (HIWP) and the EFQM excellence model, impacts a firm s performance, enhances productivity and innovation and reduces cost, thereby allowing them to compete more effectively in the global market. Building on the extensive literature on the relationship between TQM and business performance, the authors argue that quality acts as a powerful competitive tool that companies should embrace in their corporate strategy. By promoting activities that result in greater efficiency, improved control and management of the organization (internal quality), firms can achieve significant improvement in customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, social impact and business results (external quality) and exceed expectations in these areas."

The aim of the book is to present the emerging environmental issues in organization and management of complex supply chains. The book includes set of solutions which show different stakeholders' viewpoints on sustainability. The scope of book takes into consideration how the emerging environmental regulation might be transformed into business practices. Therefore, the authors present the innovative approach to eco-friendly organization and coordination of logistics processes and supply chain configuration. A broad scope of practical solutions from different countries and industries is provided

This book offers a comprehensive guide to implementing a company-wide management system (CWMS), utilising up-to-date methodologies of lean-six sigma in order to achieve high levels of business excellence. It builds the foundation for quality and continuous improvement, which can be implemented in any organization. The book begins with an introduction to and an overview of CWMSs, and reviews the existing literature on various management systems. It then discusses the integration and implementation of lean-six sigma in supply chain management. The integration approach presented highlights the link between the existing management systems and shows how continuous improvement methodologies are incorporated. The book then examines the components of CWMS, comparing them to other systems. It also explores Kano-based six sigma and concludes with further recommendations for reading. This book covers five management systems integrated into one novel approach that can be followed by organizations wishing to achieve quality and business excellence. Covering lean-six sigma - an essential element of management systems - it is a valuable resource for practitioners and academics alike.

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.

Lean Production transformed the way that companies think about production and manufacturing. This book provides a new challenge. It arises from the work of the Lean Aerospace Initiative at MIT and provides a new agenda and bold vision for the aerospace industry to take it out of crisis. It also redefines and develops the concept of Lean as a framework for enterprise transformation and this will be relevant and critical for all industries and enterprises.

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.

1 Kennzeichen der Konstruktion.- 1.1 Problemstellung und Herausforderungen.- 1.2 Ziele und Aufgaben der Konstruktion.- 1.3 Potentiale moderner Informationstechnik in der Konstruktion.- 2 Angebotserstellung.- 2.1 Kennzeichnung der Angebotserstellung.- 2.2 Systematische Angebotserstellung.- 2.2.1 Erfassen und Einordnen des Kundenproblems.- 2.2.2 Angebotskonstruktion.- 2.2.3 Lieferterminplanung.- 2.2.4 Kalkulation.- 2.2.5 Dokumentation der Planungsergebnisse.- 2.3 Organisation in der Angebotserstellung.- 2.4 Hilfsmittel in der Angebotserstellung.- 3 Konstruktionsprozesse.- 3.1 Methodisches Konstruieren.- 3.1.1 Anforderungsfestlegung.- 3.1.2 Funktionsfindung.- 3.1.3 Prinziperarbeitung.- 3.1.4 Gestaltung.- 3.1.5 Detaillierung.- 3.2 Charakteristika der Konstruktionsprozesse.- 3.2.1 Auftragsarten.- 3.2.2 Konstruktionsarten.- 3.3 Informationen in der Konstruktion.- 3.3.1 Wichtige Informationsquellen zum Konstruieren.- 3.3.1.1 Kataloge.- 3.3.1.2 Normen.- 3.3.1.3 Konstruktionsrichtlinien.- 3.3.2 Dokumentation der Konstruktionsergebnisse.- 3.3.2.1 Zeichnungen.- 3.3.2.2 Stucklisten.- 3.4 Methoden und konventionelle Hilfsmittel.- 3.4.1 Hilfsmittel und Methoden zur Ideenfindung.- 3.4.1.1 Intuitive Ideenfindungsmethoden.- 3.4.1.2 Systematische Suchmethoden.- 3.4.2 Analyse- und Bewertungsmethoden.- 3.4.2.1 Wertanalyse.- 3.4.2.2 Nutzwertanalyse.- 3.4.2.3 Konstruktionsbegleitende Kalkulationen.- 3.4.2.4 Relativkostenkataloge.- 3.5 EDV-Einsatz bei Konstruktionsprozessen.- 3.5.1 CAD-Technik.- 3.5.1.1 Rechnerinterne Darstellungen.- 3.5.1.2 Systemfunktionalitaten.- 3.5.1.3 CAD-Arbeitsplatz.- 3.5.2 Computer Aided Engineering.- 3.5.3 Systemintegration im Konstruktionsbereich.- 3.5.3.1 Produktmodell.- 3.5.3.2 Schnittstellen.- 3.5.3.3 Datenmanagement.- 3.5.3.4 Engineering Data Management Systeme.- 3.5.4 Konstruktionssysteme - Neue Entwicklungen.- 3.5.4.1 Funktionsorientiertes Konstruieren.- 3.5.4.2 Wissensbasiertes Konstruieren.- 3.5.4.3 Objektorientiertes Konstruieren.- 3.6 Organisation des Konstruktionsbereichs.- 3.6.1 Aufbauorganisation der Konstruktion.- 3.6.2 EDV-Organisation.- 4 Rationalisierungskonzepte.- 4.1 Ermittlung von Rationalisierungsmassnahmen.- 4.2 Rationalisierungsmassnahmen.- 4.2.1 Konventionelle Rationalisierungsmassnahmen.- 4.2.1.1 Ansatze zur Verringerung des Zeichnungsaufwands.- 4.2.1.2 Hilfsmittel und Methoden zur Wiederverwendung.- 4.2.2 Auswahl und Einfuhrung von EDV-Systemen.- 4.2.2.1 Projektdefinition.- 4.2.2.2 Prozessreorganisation.- 4.2.2.3 Systemkonzept.- 4.2.2.4 Systemauswahl.- 4.2.2.5 Systemeinfuhrung.- 4.2.3 Wirtschaftlichkeitsaspekte des CAD/CAM-Einsatzes.- 5 Integration der Konstruktionsprozesse in die Unternehmensablaufe.- 5.1 Methodisches Vorgehen zur Integration von Konstrukions- und Arbeitsplanungsprozessen.- 5.1.1 Planungsmodell der integrierten Konstruktion und Arbeitsplanung.- 5.1.2 Beschreibung der Elementzusammenhange uber Matrizen.- 5.1.3 Planungsmethoden.- 5.1.4 Durchfuhrungsmethoden.- 5.2 Simultaneous Engineering.- 5.2.1 Zielsetzung des Simultaneous Engineering.- 5.2.2 Organisatorische Umsetzung.- 5.2.3 Praxisbeispiel.- 5.3 Telekooperation.- 5.4 Product Life Cycle Design.- 5.4.1 Problemstellung und Motivation.- 5.4.2 Grundgedanken des Lifecycle Design.- 5.4.3 Ergebnisse und Potentiale des Lifecycle Design.- 6 Zusammenfassung.- Literatur.- Sachwortverzeichnis.

Providing a comprehensive overview of various methods and applications in decision engineering, this book presents chapters written by a range experts in the field. It presents conceptual aspects of decision support applications in various areas including finance, vendor selection, construction, process management, water management and energy, agribusiness , production scheduling and control, and waste management. In addition to this, a special focus is given to methods of multi-criteria decision analysis. Decision making in organizations is a recurrent theme and is essential for business continuity. Managers from various fields including public, private, industrial, trading or service sectors are required to make decisions. Consequently managers need the support of these structured methods in order to engage in effective decision making. This book provides a valuable resource for graduate students, professors and researchers of decision analysis, multi-criteria decision analysis and group decision analysis. It is also intended for production engineers, civil engineers and engineering consultants.

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.

The underlying principles invented and developed by Dr. Genichi Taguchi (1924 - 2012), for the design of experiments or simulation calculations in multi-parameter systems, are today known as Taguchi Method. Due to the great success, it was extended to many other areas. The book explains the basics of this method in as much detail as necessary and as simply and graphically as possible. The author shows how broad the current application spectrum is and for which different tasks it can be used. The application examples range from optimizing a fermentation process in biotechnology to minimizing costs in mechanical production and maintaining and improving competitiveness in industrial production. The processes described are ideally suited to finding reliable and precise solutions for a wide variety of problems relatively quickly. A real competitive advantage not only in research but also for companies that want to remain competitive in international business competition. Contents Part 1: Analysis of Variables Part 2: Pattern Recognition and Diagnosis Part 3: Prognosis Target groups Students, scientists, engineers or those responsible for development and products learn to use the Taguchi Method with this book - even without any previous mathematical-statistical knowledge. The author Herbert Ruefer studied physics and obtained his doctorate at the Technical University Karlsruhe, Germany. After a research stay at IBM, San Jose, California, he taught at the San Marcos National University in Lima, Peru. He then took on research, development, and training tasks in the chemical industry in Germany. During this time, the first personal contacts with Dr. Genichi Taguchi and Dr. Yuin Wu took place. After his active professional life, he dedicated himself to special optical methods for astronomical observations. He also lectures at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2017.

Standards wars of open source software products are far from being adequately understood. Through the examination of the Mozilla Firefox case, this book provides an in-depth analysis of the drivers, mechanisms and strategies involved in winning a standards-battle in open source software.

Environmental Design is becoming an increasingly significant agenda for many manufacturing companies and yet there is no standard to their approaches, strategies or their levels of execution. Applying Design for Environment (DfE) methodologies to develop a more sustainable supply chain has formed procedures and techniques which allow designers to integrate these methods with environmental supply chain management. Design for Environment as a Tool for the Development of a Sustainable Supply Chain aims to define relevant target specifications for a product throughout its life cycle; from conception and design to the end of its operating life. Be considering this new approach to the supply chain, environmental responsiveness can work in tandem with sounds business management. The usual focus on suppliers, manufacturers and customers is expanded in Design for Environment as a Tool for the Development of a Sustainable Supply Chain to include stakeholders such as government bodies and recycling companies. The influence of these additional groups is analyzed alongside concepts such as: Product life cycle development aimed at environmental impact minimization; Supplier selection and management based on environmental criteria; and Marketing and communication choices which increase the value of environmentally sensitive products. By including several case studies alongside theoretical topics, Design for Environment as a Tool for the Development of a Sustainable Supply Chains acts as a foundation for professionals across the supply chain, from industrial designers to marketing and sales departments, who are involved in environmental issues.

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is an essential means to cope with the challenges of global competition. This is the first English-language book on PLM that introduces the reader to the basic terms and fundamentals of PLM. The text provides a solid foundation for starting a PLM development project. It gives ideas and examples of how PLM can be utilized. In addition, it offers insight into how PLM can assist in creating opportunities and in making real eBusiness possible.

This book is published under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. The editors present essential methods and tools to support a holistic approach to the challenge of system upgrades and innovation in the context of high-value products and services. The approach presented here is based on three main pillars: an adaptation mechanism based on a broad understanding of system dependencies; efficient use of system knowledge through involvement of actors throughout the process; and technological solutions to enable efficient actor communication and information handling. The book provides readers with a better understanding of the factors that influence decisions, and put forward solutions to facilitate the rapid adaptation to changes in the business environment and customer needs through intelligent upgrade interventions. Further, it examines a number of sample cases from various contexts including car manufacturing, utilities, shipping and the furniture industry. The book offers a valuable resource for both academics and practitioners interested in the upgrading of capital-intensive products and services. "The work performed in the project "Use-It-Wisely (UiW)" significantly contributes towards a collaborative way of working. Moreover, it offers comprehensive system modelling to identify business opportunities and develop technical solutions within industrial value networks. The developed UiW-framework fills a void and offers a great opportunity. The naval construction sector of small passenger vessels, for instance, is one industry that can benefit." Nikitas Nikitakos, Professor at University of the Aegean, Department of Shipping, Trade, and Transport, Greece. "Long-life assets are crucial for both the future competiveness and sustainability of society. Make wrong choices now and you are locked into a wrong system for a long time. Make the right choices now and society can prosper. This book gives important information about how manufacturers can make right choices." Arnold Tukker, Scientific director, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, and senior scientist, TNO.