Theory of Technical Systems

Theory of Technical Systems PDF

Author: Vladimir Hubka

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 3642521215

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book presents a comprehensive and unifying theory to promote the under standing of technical systems. Such a theory is useful as a foundation for a ratio nal approach to the engineering design process, as a background to engineering education, and other applications. The term "technical system" is used to represent all types of man-made artifacts, including technical products and processes. The technical system is therefore the subject (in the grammatical sense of the word) of the collection of activities which are performed by engineers within the processes of engineering design, including generating, retrieving, processing and transmitting of information about products. It is also the subject of various tasks in the production process, including work preparation and production planning, and in many economic considerations, company-internal and societal. In this way, the Theory of Technical Systems is a contribution to science, as in terpreted in the wider, Germanic sense of a "co-ordinated and codified body of knowledge". It brings together the various viewpoints of engineers, scientists, economists, ergonomists, managers, users, sociologists, etc., and shows where and how they influence the forms of engineering products. It also explains the influ ences that a product exerts on its environment. This Theory of Technical Systems should thus interest design engineers, and en gineers involved in production, management, sales, etc. In an interdisciplinary ap plication of value analysis, the Theory of Technical Systems should provide answers to many questions raised in this field.

Quality and Reliability of Technical Systems

Quality and Reliability of Technical Systems PDF

Author: Alessandro Birolini

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-14

Total Pages: 538

ISBN-13: 3662029707

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

High reliability, maintainability, and safety are expected from complex equipment and systems. To build these characteristics into an item, failure rate and failure mode analyses have to be performed early in the design phase, starting at the com ponent level, and have to be supported by a set of design guidelines for reliability and maintainability as well as by extensive design reviews. Before production, qualification tests of prototypes must ensure that quality and reliability targets have been reached. In the production phase, processes and procedures have to be selec ted and monitored to assure the required quality level. For many systems, availabi lity requirements must also be satisfied. In these cases, stochastic processes can be used to investigate and optimize availability, including logistical support. This book presents the state of the art of the methods and procedures necessary for a cost and time effective quality and reliability assurance during the design and production of equipment and systems. It takes into consideration that: 1. Quality and reliability assurance of complex equipment and systems requires that all engineers involved in a project undertake a set of specific activities from the definition to the operating phase, which are performed concurrently to achieve the best performance, quality, and reliability for given cost and time schedule targets.

The Governance of Socio-Technical Systems

The Governance of Socio-Technical Systems PDF

Author: Susana Borrás

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2014-11-28

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1784710199

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Why are so few electric cars in our streets today? Why is it difficult to introduce electronic patient records in our hospitals? To answer these questions we need to understand how state and non-state actors interact with the purpose of transforming so

Agent-Based Modelling of Socio-Technical Systems

Agent-Based Modelling of Socio-Technical Systems PDF

Author: Koen H. van Dam

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-10-08

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 9400749333

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Decision makers in large scale interconnected network systems require simulation models for decision support. The behaviour of these systems is determined by many actors, situated in a dynamic, multi-actor, multi-objective and multi-level environment. How can such systems be modelled and how can the socio-technical complexity be captured? Agent-based modelling is a proven approach to handle this challenge. This book provides a practical introduction to agent-based modelling of socio-technical systems, based on a methodology that has been developed at TU Delft and which has been deployed in a large number of case studies. The book consists of two parts: the first presents the background, theory and methodology as well as practical guidelines and procedures for building models. In the second part this theory is applied to a number of case studies, where for each model the development steps are presented extensively, preparing the reader for creating own models.

Social Science, Technical Systems, and Cooperative Work

Social Science, Technical Systems, and Cooperative Work PDF

Author: Geoffrey Bowker

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2014-05-12

Total Pages: 495

ISBN-13: 1317778766

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book is the first to directly address the question of how to bridge what has been termed the "great divide" between the approaches of systems developers and those of social scientists to computer supported cooperative work--a question that has been vigorously debated in the systems development literature. Traditionally, developers have been trained in formal methods and oriented to engineering and formal theoretical problems; many social scientists in the CSCW field come from humanistic traditions in which results are reported in a narrative mode. In spite of their differences in style, the two groups have been cooperating more and more in the last decade, as the "people problems" associated with computing become increasingly evident to everyone. The authors have been encouraged to examine, rigorously and in depth, the theoretical basis of CSCW. With contributions from field leaders in the United Kingdom, France, Scandinavia, Mexico, and the United States, this volume offers an exciting overview of the cutting edge of research and theory. It constitutes a solid foundation for the rapidly coalescing field of social informatics. Divided into three parts, this volume covers social theory, design theory, and the sociotechnical system with respect to CSCW. The first set of chapters looks at ways of rethinking basic social categories with the development of distributed collaborative computing technology--concepts of the group, technology, information, user, and text. The next section concentrates more on the lessons that can be learned at the design stage given that one wants to build a CSCW system incorporating these insights--what kind of work does one need to do and how is understanding of design affected? The final part looks at the integration of social and technical in the operation of working sociotechnical systems. Collectively the contributors make the argument that the social and technical are irremediably linked in practice and so the "great divide" not only should be a thing of the past, it should never have existed in the first place.

Design Science

Design Science PDF

Author: Vladimir Hubka

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 144713091X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

It is the aim of this study to present a framework for the design of technical systems. This can be achieved through a general Design Science, a knowledge system in which products are seen as objects to be developed within engineering design processes. The authors have developed this design science from a division of the knowledge system along two axes. One deals with knowledge about technical systems and design processes while the other presents descriptive statements. Relationships among the various sections of the knowledge system are made clear. Well-known insights into engineering design, the process, its management and its products are placed into new contexts. Particular attention is given to various areas of applicability. Widespread use throughout is made of easily assimilated diagrams and models.

Social Responses to Large Technical Systems

Social Responses to Large Technical Systems PDF

Author: Todd R. La Porte

Publisher: Springer

Published: 1991-03-31

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 0792311922

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This volume stems from the efforts of scholars who seek to understand the social dynamics of large technical systems. The purpose is to develop concepts and empirical knowledge concerning the dynamics of such systems, with particular emphasis on the processes ofcontrol and/or management in a variety of national settings, and to improve the basis of public policy so that future developments might be less distressing in consequence and more shaped to the desires of their "host" societies. One vehicle for this enterprise is a series of international conferences on the Evolution andDynamics ofLarge Technical Systems (LTSs). This series was instituted to encourage the coalescence of the multidisciplinary group of scholars who are actively engaging in the empirical study of these phenomena. Their disciplines span history, sociology, political science, and economics studies. They come Australia, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and West Germany. And they possess strong backgrounds in the empirical study of specific technical areas and a taste for conceptual and theoretical integration.

The Development Of Large Technical Systems

The Development Of Large Technical Systems PDF

Author: Renate Mayntz

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-07-11

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1000315878

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book is an outcome of the conference on the development of large technical systems held in Berlin in 1986. It focuses on the comparative analysis of the development of large technical systems, particularly electrical power, railroad, air traffic, telephone, and other forms of telecommunication.

The Governance of Large Technical Systems

The Governance of Large Technical Systems PDF

Author: Olivier Coutard

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-01-04

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1134644949

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This work examines the governance of large technical systems (LTS) at firm, imdustry and state levels and the interactions between the systems and society. In particular, international contributors explore the implications of major technological , economic and social changes during the last twenty years for traditional forms of LTS governance. Their research is centred around the following themes: * traditional forms of governance * new regulatory challenges * the governability of complex technologies * conceptual issues related to the governance of inter-organizational networks