This monograph provides a field-proven approach to analyze industrial production with a cross-company scope as well as regarding all hierarchical system levels of manufacturing enterprises. The book exemplifies this approach in the context of aluminum die casting, and presents a set of measures which allow a 30 percent energy reduction along the value chain. The target audience primarily comprises researchers and experts in the field but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students.

This research-oriented book presents key contributions on architecting the digital transformation. It includes the following main sections covering 20 chapters: · Digital Transformation · Digital Business · Digital Architecture · Decision Support · Digital Applications Focusing on digital architectures for smart digital products and services, it is a valuable resource for researchers, doctoral students, postgraduates, graduates, undergraduates, academics and practitioners interested in digital transformation.

Value stream design is increasingly asserting itself as the key approach for production optimization, but there has never been a detailed and systematic presentation of the value stream method before – a gap that has now been filled by this book. The author provides an easily comprehensible code of practice for the effective analysis of production processes, product family-oriented factory structuring and the target-oriented development of an ideal future state of production. The book plausibly conveys ten design guidelines for production optimization with corresponding equations, descriptive illustrations and industrial examples well-proven in numerous industrial projects. It addresses the professional public, practitioners wishing to avoid waste and systematically improve their factories’ value streams, and students - tomorrow’s practitioners. In contrast to other publications, this book complements the value stream analysis and its unique compact visualization of the entire production process by a detailed illustration of the information flow and a comprehensive discussion of the operator balance chart. The »traditional« concept of value stream design is significantly expanded with a view to its applicability in complex productions by way of methodological innovation and further development concerning campaign formation, value stream management and technological process integration. The method is embedded in a comprehensive procedural approach for factory planning, starting with the definition of the desired lean production goals.

The book is the follow-up to its predecessor “Automation, Communication and Cybernetics in Science and Engineering 2009/2010” and includes a representative selection of all scientific publications published between 07/2011 and 06/2012 in various books, journals and conference proceedings by the researchers of the following institute cluster: IMA - Institute of Information Management in Mechanical Engineering ZLW - Center for Learning and Knowledge Management IfU - Associated Institute for Management Cybernetics Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University Innovative fields of application, such as cognitive systems, autonomous truck convoys, telemedicine, ontology engineering, knowledge and information management, learning models and technologies, organizational development and management cybernetics are presented.

Die Erhaltung und Pflege historischer Gärten und Landschaften der Schweiz ist eine anspruchsvolle Aufgabe für Theorie und Praxis, die einen Austausch aller Akteure im Bereich Gartendenkmalpflege und Kulturlandschaftspflege erfordert. Das Institut für Geschichte und Theorie der Landschaftsarchitektur GTLA in Rapperswil (CH) versteht sich in seiner Anbindung an die Fachhochschule als praxisorientierte Forschungs- und Bildungsstelle und bietet durch Tagungen und Weiterbildungsveranstaltungen eine fachspezifische Plattform. Die Veröffentlichung "Historische Gärten & Landschaften, Erhaltung & Entwicklung" fasst die Ergebnisse der ersten beiden Tagungen aus den Jahren 2004 und 2005 zusammen.

Ten years ago, groupware bundled with email and calendar applications helped track the flow of work from person to person within an organization. Workflow in today's enterprise means more monitoring and orchestrating massive systems. A new technology called Business Process Management, or BPM, helps software architects and developers design, code, run, administer, and monitor complex network-based business processes BPM replaces those sketchy flowchart diagrams that business analysts draw on whiteboards with a precise model that uses standard graphical and XML representations, and an architecture that allows it converse with other services, systems, and users. Sound complicated? It is. But it's downright frustrating when you have to search the Web for every little piece of information vital to the process. Essential Business Process Modeling gathers all the concepts, design, architecture, and standard specifications of BPM into one concise book, and offers hands-on examples that illustrate BPM's approach to process notation, execution, administration and monitoring. Author Mike Havey demonstrates standard ways to code rigorous processes that are centerpieces of a service-oriented architecture (SOA), which defines how networks interact so that one can perform a service for the other. His book also shows how BPM complements enterprise application integration (EAI), a method for moving from older applications to new ones, and Enterprise Service BUS for integrating different web services, messaging, and XML technologies into a single network. BPM, he says, is to this collection of services what a conductor is to musicians in an orchestra: it coordinates their actions in the performance of a larger composition. Essential Business Process Modeling teaches you how to develop examples of process-oriented applications using free tools that can be run on an average PC or laptop. You'll also learn about BPM design patterns and best practices, as well as some underlying theory. The best way to monitor processes within an enterprise is with BPM, and the best way to navigate BPM is with this valuable book.