The resurgence of artificial intelligence has been fueled by the availability of the present generation of high-performance computational tools and techniques. This book is designed to provide introductory guidance to artificial intelligence, particularly from the perspective of digital systems engineering. Artificial Intelligence and Digital Systems Engineering provides a general introduction to the origin of AI and covers the wide application areas and software and hardware interfaces. It will prove to be instrumental in helping new users expand their knowledge horizon to the growing market of AI tools, as well as showing how AI is applicable to the development of games, simulation, and consumer products, particularly using artificial neural networks. This book is for the general reader, university students, and instructors of industrial, production, civil, mechanical, and manufacturing engineering. It will also be of interest to managers of technology, projects, business, plants, and operations.

Project risk management is regarded as a necessary dimension of effective project delivery. Current practices tend to focus on tangible issues such as late delivery of equipment or the implications of technology. This book introduces a framework to identify emergent behavior-centric intangible risks and the conditions that initiate them. Decision Making in Risk Management: Quantifying Intangible Risk Factors in Projects identifies the quantitative measures to assess behavior-induced risks by presenting a framework that limits the interpersonal tension of addressing behavioral risks. Included in the book is an illustrative case study from the oil and gas sector that demonstrates the use of the framework. The missing dimension of behavior-centric intangible risk factors in current risk identification is explored. The book goes on to cover management processes, providing a systematic analytical approach to mitigate subjectivity when addressing behavioral risks in projects. This book is useful to those working in the fields of Project Management, Systems Engineering, Risk Management, and Behavioral Science.

Modern industry faces many communication challenges, including social media. The second edition of this book is thoroughly updated, expanded, and reorganized to help industry communicators remain effective in addressing these challenges. At the core of this book are foundational building blocks that address the human factors responsible for driving success or failure when communicating about environmental risk. Features Provides principled guidance for building relationships and engaging in constructive dialogue with stakeholders. Offers straight talk and practical, easy-to-follow guidance on effective risk communication for various situations, stakeholders, and modes of communication. Gives lessons learned from environmental permitting and crisis situations involving risk communication in various industries, including chemical manufacturing, waste management, and the energy sector. Addresses nuanced, recent concerns regarding issues like fake news and social media bullying. Examines the dos and don'ts of communicating effectively during tough conditions like environmental emergencies. Environmental Risk Communication: Principles and Practices for Industry is intended to be both a grounding in enduring principles and a continued resource for best approaches and techniques. Coupled with tools and best practices from decades of experience, this insider's guide provides CEOs, plant managers, environmental compliance professionals, health and safety officers, and others with the direction and the confidence needed to prepare for difficult dialogue and high-pressure encounters.

The importance of good documentation can build a strong foundation for any thriving organization. This reference text provides a detailed and practical treatment of technical writing in an easy to understand manner. The text covers important topics including neuro-linguistics programming (NLP), experimental writing against technical writing, writing and unity of effect, five elements of communication process, human information processing, nonverbal communication and types of technical manuals. Aimed at professionals and graduate students working in the fields of ergonomics, aerospace engineering, aviation industry, and human factors, this book: Provides a detailed and practical treatment of technical writing. Discusses several personal anecdotes that serve as real-work examples. Explores communications techniques in a way that considers the psychology of what "works" Discusses in an easy to understand language, stories, and examples, the correct steps to create technical documents.

This book introduces readers to the core principles and methodologies of product development, and highlights the interactions between engineering design and industrial design. It shows to what extent the two cultures can be reconciled, and conversely what makes each of them unique. Although the semantic aspect is fundamental in industrial design, while the functional aspect is essential for the industrial product, the interaction between the two worlds is strategically vital. Design is also a strategic problem-solving process that drives innovation, builds business success and leads to better quality of life through innovative products, systems, services and experiences. The book connects product development with the concepts and strategies of innovation, recognizing that product design is a complex process in which invention, consumers' role, industrial technologies, economics and the social sciences converge. After presenting several examples of artifacts developed up to the conceptual phase or built as prototypes, the book provides a case study on a packaging machine, showcasing the principles that should underlie all design activities, and the methods that must be employed to successfully establish a design process. The book is primarily targeted at professionals in the industry, design engineers and industrial designers, as well as researchers and students in design schools, though it will also benefit any reader interested in product design.

This textbook draws on the authors' experience gained by teaching courses for engineering students on e.g. vehicle mechanics, vehicle system design, and chassis design; and on their practical experience as engineering designers for vehicle and chassis components at a major automotive company. The book is primarily intended for students of automotive engineering, but also for all technicians and designers working in this field. Other enthusiastic engineers will also find it to be a useful technical guide. The present volume (The Automotive Chassis - Volume 1: Component Design) focuses on automotive chassis components, such as:* the structure, which is usually a ladder framework and supports all the remaining components of the vehicle;* the suspension for the mechanical linkage of the wheels;* the wheels and tires;* the steering system;* the brake system; and* the transmission system, used to apply engine torque to the driving wheels. This thoroughly revised and updated second edition presents recent developments, particularly in brake, steering, suspension and transmission subsystems. Special emphasis is given to modern control systems and control strategies.

This book introduces the principles and practices in automotive systems, including modern automotive systems that incorporate the latest trends in the automobile industry. The fifteen chapters present new and innovative methods to master the complexities of the vehicle of the future. Topics like vehicle classification, structure and layouts, engines, transmissions, braking, suspension and steering are illustrated with modern concepts, such as battery-electric, hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles and vehicle maintenance practices. Each chapter is supported with examples, illustrative figures, multiple-choice questions and review questions. Aimed at senior undergraduate and graduate students in automotive/automobile engineering, mechanical engineering, electronics engineering, this book covers the following: Construction and working details of all modern as well as fundamental automotive systems Complexities of operation and assembly of various parts of automotive systems in a simplified manner Handling of automotive systems and integration of various components for smooth functioning of the vehicle Modern topics such as battery-electric, hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles Illustrative examples, figures, multiple-choice questions and review questions at the end of each chapter

There were an estimated 50 million people worldwide living with dementia in 2017 and this number will almost double every 20 years, reaching 82 million in 2030. Design has significant potential to contribute to managing this global concern. This book is the first to synthesise the considerable research and projects in dementia and design. Design interactions is a new way of considering how we can improve the relationship between people, products, places and services and of course technology trends, such as the 'internet of things', offer great opportunities in providing new ways to connect people with services and products that can contribute to healthier lifestyles and mechanisms to support people with acute and chronic conditions. In light of this, the book explores the contribution and future potential of design for dementia through the lens of design interactions, such as people, contexts, material and things. Design for People Living with Dementia is a guide to this innovative and cutting-edge field in healthcare. This book is essential reading for healthcare managers working to provide products, services and care to people with dementia, as well as design researchers and students. .

Many economically developing countries and nations without robust occupational hygiene (OH) educational programs endure a shortage of qualified occupational hygienists, resulting in higher rates of workplace injury, illness, and fatality. Damage to valuable infrastructure, environment, and public health also occurs without adequate support. Improving Global Worker Health and Safety Through Collaborative Capacity Building Initiatives outlines a broad variety of capacity building projects in OH. It also introduces detailed experiences of occupational hygienists working abroad and working on special global topics including a discussion of how global trade agreements influence the practice and policy within OH. It describes the special needs of informal workers who do not have a "typical" employer and special challenges of creating university curricular guidelines for OH, building competency, and increasing capacity. This book also informs experienced professionals in international OH-capacity building initiatives and directions. Features: Presents the global impact and importance of occupational hygienists Outlines knowledge and collaboration through networking Provides case studies on real world situations and problems This text will be useful for professionals and graduate students in the fields of occupational health and safety and public health.

This book consists of peer-reviewed papers, presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM 2020). Leading-edge research into sustainable design and manufacturing aims to enable the manufacturing industry to grow by adopting more advanced technologies and at the same time improve its sustainability by reducing its environmental impact. Relevant themes and topics include sustainable design, innovation and services; sustainable manufacturing processes and technology; sustainable manufacturing systems and enterprises; and decision support for sustainability. Application areas are wide and varied. The book provides an excellent overview of the latest developments in the sustainable design and manufacturing areas.

All over the world, vast research is in progress on the domain of Industry 4.0 and related techniques. Industry 4.0 is expected to have a very high impact on labor markets, global value chains, education, health, environment, and many social economic aspects. Industry 4.0 Interoperability, Analytics, Security, and Case Studies provides a deeper understanding of the drivers and enablers of Industry 4.0. It includes real case studies of various applications related to different fields, such as cyber physical systems (CPS), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, machine learning, virtualization, decentralization, blockchain, fog computing, and many other related areas. Also discussed are interoperability, design, and implementation challenges. Researchers, academicians, and those working in industry around the globe will find this book of interest. FEATURES Provides an understanding of the drivers and enablers of Industry 4.0 Includes real case studies of various applications for different fields Discusses technologies such as cyber physical systems (CPS), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, machine learning, virtualization, decentralization, blockchain, fog computing, and many other related areas Covers design, implementation challenges, and interoperability Offers detailed knowledge on Industry 4.0 and its underlying technologies, research challenges, solutions, and case studies

Metaheuristic optimization is a higher-level procedure or heuristic designed to find, generate, or select a heuristic (partial search algorithm) that may provide a sufficiently good solution to an optimization problem, especially with incomplete or imperfect information or limited computation capacity. This is usually applied when two or more objectives are to be optimized simultaneously. This book is presented with two major objectives. Firstly, it features chapters by eminent researchers in the field providing the readers about the current status of the subject. Secondly, algorithm-based optimization or advanced optimization techniques, which are applied to mostly non-engineering problems, are applied to engineering problems. This book will also serve as an aid to both research and industry. Usage of these methodologies would enable the improvement in engineering and manufacturing technology and support an organization in this era of low product life cycle. Features: Covers the application of recent and new algorithms Focuses on the development aspects such as including surrogate modeling, parallelization, game theory, and hybridization Presents the advances of engineering applications for both single-objective and multi-objective optimization problems Offers recent developments from a variety of engineering fields Discusses Optimization using Evolutionary Algorithms and Metaheuristics applications in engineering

- Provides a cross-disciplinary overview of design theory through the lens of cultural studies, aesthetics and history - Offers a departure from the traditional compartmentalization of practice, history and theory - Engages student readers in contemporary design debates surrounding responsibility, cultural and social awareness and the contexts products are manufactured within.

Improvements in health care and quality of life in recent years have led to a marked aging of the world's population, especially in well-developed regions. In the near future, this problem will spread to developing countries. The growing need to promote the health and function of aging workers presents new challenges as well as new opportunities. This book examine methods for diagnosing and evaluating work ability/employability in response to the changing capacity of employment. Derived from a Conference on Aging and Work, held in Japan in September 2001, the book examines issues addressed by occupational health professionals to improve the work ability of elderly employees, and discusses measures to promote their employment. Aging and Work will be of particular interest to professionals and students in the fields of occupational health, ergonomics, mechanical engineering, work physiology and industrial psychology.

The updated and improved second edition of Direct Gear Design details a nonstandard gear design approach that makes it possible to significantly improve gear drive performance. Providing engineers with gear design solutions beyond standard limits, this book delivers engineers with practical and innovative solutions to optimize gearing technologies. The majority of modern gears are over-standardized, not allowing gear design engineers to see possible gear design solutions outside of standard limits. The book explores opportunities to improve and optimize gears beyond these limitations. The method of Direct Gear Design has been proven to maximise gear drive performance, increase transmission load capacity and efficiency, and reduce size and weight. Discussing the use of gears made from powder metal and plastic, the book surveys gear manufacture and makes use of extensive references to encourage further exploration of gear design innovation. Additionally, the book provides an overview of manufacturing technologies and traditional gear design, as well as covering topics such as asymmetric gears, tolerance selection and measurement methods of custom gears. Written accessibly, with a focus on practical examples, this fully updated edition will serve as a guidebook for all professionals exploring high-performance gearing system technologies.

Intelligibility is the ultimate goal of human communication. However, measuring it objectively remained elusive until the 1940s when physicist Harvey Fletcher pioneered a psychoacoustic methodology for doing so. Another physicist, von Bekesy, demonstrated clinically that Fletcher's theory of Critical Bands was anchored in anatomical and auditory reality. Fletcher's and Bekesy's approach to intelligibility has revolutionized contemporary understanding of the processes involved in encoding and decoding speech signals. Their insights are applied in this book to account for the intelligibility of the pronunciation of 67 non-native speakers from the following language backgrounds -10 Arabic, 10 Japanese, 10 Korean, 10 Mandarin, 11 Serbian and Croatian "the Slavic Group," 6 Somali, and 10 Spanish speakers who read the Speech Accent Archive elicitation paragraph. Their pronunciation is analyzed instrumentally and compared and contrasted with that of 10 native speakers of General American English (GAE) who read the same paragraph. The data-driven intelligibility analyses proposed in this book help answer the following questions: Can L2 speakers of English whose native language lacks a segment/segments or a suprasegment/ suprasegments manage to produce it/them intelligibly? If they cannot, what segments or suprasegments do they use to substitute for it/them? Do the compensatory strategies used interfere with intelligibility? The findings reported in this book are based on nearly 12,000 measured speech tokens produced by all the participants. This includes some 2,000 vowels, more than 500 stop consonants, over 3,000 fricatives, nearly 1,200 nasals, about 1,500 approximants, a over 1,200 syllables onsets, as many as 800 syllable codas, more than 1,600 measurement of F0/pitch, and duration measurements of no fewer than 539 disyllabic words. These measurements are in keeping with Baken and Orlikoff (2000:3) and in accordance with widely accepted Just Noticeable Difference thresholds, and relative functional load calculations provided by Catforda (1987).

This book features original research articles on the topic of mathematical modelling and fractional differential equations. The contributions, written by leading researchers in the field, consist of chapters on classical and modern dynamical systems modelled by fractional differential equations in physics, engineering, signal processing, fluid mechanics, and bioengineering, manufacturing, systems engineering, and project management. The book offers theory and practical applications for the solutions of real-life problems and will be of interest to graduate level students, educators, researchers, and scientists interested in mathematical modelling and its diverse applications. Features Presents several recent developments in the theory and applications of fractional calculus Includes chapters on different analytical and numerical methods dedicated to several mathematical equations Develops methods for the mathematical models which are governed by fractional differential equations Provides methods for models in physics, engineering, signal processing, fluid mechanics, and bioengineering Discusses real-world problems, theory, and applications

III European Conference on Computational Mechanics: Solids, Structures and Coupled Problem in Engineering

Computational Mechanics in Solid, Structures and Coupled Problems in Engineering is today a mature science with applications to major industrial projects. This book contains the edited version of the Abstracts of Plenary and Keynote Lectures and Papers, and a companion CD-ROM with the full-length papers, presented at the III European Conference on Computational Mechanics: Solids, Structures and Coupled Problems in Engineering (ECCM-2006), held in the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal 5th - 8th June 2006. The book reflects the state-of-art of Computation Mechanics in Solids, Structures and Coupled Problems in Engineering and it includes contributions by the world most active researchers in this field.

Simulation of computer architectures has made rapid progress recently. The primary application areas are hardware/software performance estimation and optimization as well as functional and timing verification. Recent, innovative technologies such as retargetable simulator generation, dynamic binary translation, or sampling simulation have enabled widespread use of processor and system-on-chip (SoC) simulation tools in the semiconductor and embedded system industries. Simultaneously, processor and SoC simulation is still a very active research area, e.g. what amounts to higher simulation speed, flexibility, and accuracy/speed trade-offs. This book presents and discusses the principle technologies and state-of-the-art in high-level hardware architecture simulation, both at the processor and the system-on-chip level.

Electrodissolution Processes: Fundamentals and Applications discusses the basic principles involved in high-rate anodic dissolution processes and their application in advanced machining, micromachining, and finishing operations. The fundamentals section of the book discusses the anodic dissolution behavior of different classes of metals and the influence of mass transport, current distribution, and surface film properties on the metal removal rate and surface finishing. The applications section of the book presents essential elements of electrochemical and assisted techniques for precision machining, micromachining, and polishing of advanced materials, including hard-to-machine conducting ceramic materials. Features A first-of-its-kind book that provides updated scientific and engineering information related to high-rate anodic dissolution processes Highlights the importance of the understanding of basic principles required for designing and optimizing ECM/EMM/EP processes Gives equal emphasis to the fundamentals and applications of electrodissolution processes Discusses the high-rate anodic dissolution of two broad classes of materials, namely, engineering and refractory materials Presents case studies to demonstrate the capabilities of different electrochemical and assisted machining, micromachining, and finishing operations Presents a dedicated chapter on electrochemical planarization of copper interconnects Madhav Datta is the Chairman of Amrita Center for Industrial Research and Innovation and a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Amrita University, Coimbatore, India.

The concept of digitalization captures the widespread adoption of digital technologies in our lives, in the structure and functioning of organizations and in the transformation of our economy and society. Digital technologies for data processing and communication underly high-impact innovations including the Internet of Things, wireless multimedia, artificial intelligence, big data, enterprise platforms, social networks and blockchain. These digital innovations not only bring new opportunities for prosperity and wellbeing but also affect our behaviors, activities, and daily lives. They enable and shape new forms of production and new working practices in sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, logistics and supply chains, energy, and public and business services. Digital innovations are not purely technological but form part of comprehensive systemic innovations of a sociotechnical and networked nature, requiring the alignment of technology, processes, organizations, and humans. Examples are platform-based work, customer driven value creating networks, and urban public service systems. Building on widespread networking, algorithmic decisions and sharing of personal data, these innovations raise intensive societal and ethical debates regarding key issues such as data sovereignty and privacy intrusion, business models based on data surveillance and negative externalization, quality of work and jobs, and market dominance versus regulation. In this context, this book focuses on the implications of digitalization for the domain of work. The book studies the changing nature of work as well as new forms of digitally enabled organizations, work practices and cooperation. The book sheds light on the technological, economic, and political forces shaping the new world of work and on the prospects for human-centric and responsible innovations. To this end, the book brings together a number of studies in five major topics: 1. The evolution of digital technology impacting ways of working; 2. The role of artificial intelligence in new ways of working; 3. Transformation of work, jobs and employment; 4. Digitalization and need for skills and competencies; and 5. New forms of decentralized working and cooperation.

This handy book provides a single, up-to-date source of information for increasing the life of tool steels through optimized design and manufacturing. Supplying a solid understanding of the metallurgy involved, the text explains how material compositions, manufacturing processes, heat treatments, surface hardening techniques, and coatings affect tool steel properties, grades, and performance. It also explores real-life case studies and failure analyses, offering examples of die-life parameters and hints for modifying tool steels and heat treatments during cutting or forming processes. While the book offers deep coverage of properties, microstructure, and manufacturing, its focus is on describing the performance of each application of this special class of ferrous materials. Provides a single, up-to-date source of information for increasing the life of tool steels through optimized design and manufacturing. Explains how material compositions, manufacturing processes, heat treatments, surface hardening techniques, and coatings affect tool steel properties, grades, and performance. Supplies a solid understanding of the metallurgy involved in tool steel manufacturing, machining, hot and cold working, and molding. Offers examples of die-life parameters and hints for modifying tool steels and heat treatments during cutting or forming processes. Includes real-life case studies and failure analyses from the Villares Metals plant in Brazil.

The moment of truth-that instant when consumers experience and judge service quality-is often a deciding factor in business success. Designing Service Excellence: People and Technology provides practical information on the design, management, and organization of many different types of service industries, such as hotels, restaurants, banks and financial institutions, retail, and the public sector. The authors investigate the consumers' experience and judgment on service quality, which ultimately determines the success or failure of the service. They then consider people, usability, and technology in the automation of high-quality service. This research-driven book identifies service-in a variety of forms-as an area of business and management where rapid change is taking place. The authors examine how service has become a balance between people and technology and explore this relationship as one of the key drivers of change. They discuss how social, cultural, and technological developments influence the ways in which customers contact, negotiate, and purchase services from their chosen service providers. These same developments are also driving communications between customers relating to the services they buy and are willing to recommend to others (or otherwise). Intermingled, these features of our current-day lives have changed the nature of service provision and service use. When your organization has its moment of truth, how will it measure up? Organizations whose business has service at its core and whose activities focus mainly on service design, management, and delivery are likely to find increasingly that, for survival, service is a matter of life or death. This book provides a deep understanding of the relationship between people and technology along with an ergonomic approach to the design and management of service delivery that helps you deliver the value and benefits that customers not only want, but increasingly come to expect.

The robotic mechanism and its controller make a complete system. As the robotic mechanism is reconfigured, the control system has to be adapted accordingly. The need for the reconfiguration usually arises from the changing functional requirements. This book will focus on the adaptive control of robotic manipulators to address the changed conditions. The aim of the book is to summarise and introduce the state-of-the-art technologies in the field of adaptive control of robotic manipulators in order to improve the methodologies on the adaptive control of robotic manipulators. Advances made in the past decades are described in the book, including adaptive control theories and design, and application of adaptive control to robotic manipulators.

The key to success and reaching peak performance is integrating three processes to optimize business through the use of human performance improvement tools, lean thinking, operational excellence, along with a strong organizational culture as the underpinning. These components form the basis of the Peak Performance Model. The tools presented in this book, along with the case studies, demonstrate how the model is applied and integrated into company practices. Companies and organizations want to improve their performance, but many have not integrated the right tools and processes. Through the application of the Peak Performance Model, every company can achieve and sustain Peak Performance.