Agile manufacturing is defined as the capability of surviving and prospering in a competitive environment of continuous and unpredictable change by reacting quickly and effectively to changing markets, driven by customer-designed products and services. Critical to successfully accomplishing AM are a few enabling technologies such as the standard for the exchange of products (STEP), concurrent engineering, virtual manufacturing, component-based hierarchical shop floor control system, information and communication infrastructure, etc.The scope of the book is to present the undergraduate and graduate students, senior managers and researchers in manufacturing systems design and management, industrial engineering and information technology with the conceptual and theoretical basis for the design and implementation of AMS. Also, the book focuses on broad policy directives and plans of agile manufacturing that guide the monitoring and evaluating the manufacturing strategies and their performance. A problem solving approach is taken throughout the book, emphasizing the context of agile manufacturing and the complexities to be addressed.

Traditional manufacturing systems rely upon centralized, hierarchical systems that are not responsive enough to the increasing demand for mass customization. Decentralized, or heterarchical, management systems using autonomous agents promise to nullify the limitations of previous solutions. Agent-Based Manufacturing and Control Systems: New

This work defines "Agile Manufacturing" and dispels the mistaken beliefs that surround it. It analyzes how our traditions, conventions, values and beliefs, based on outdated ideas and philosophies, block the path to achieving "Agile Manufacturing". The book then maps the way forward.

Agility has become very important for the industries today as the lifetimes of the products are continuously shrinking. This book provides an excellent opportunity for updating understanding of agile methods from the design, manufacturing and business process perspectives, whether one is an industrial practitioner, academic researcher engineer or business graduate student. This volume is a compilation of various important aspects of agility consisting of systemic considerations in manufacturing, agile software systems, agile business systems, agile operations research, flexible manufacturing systems, advanced manufacturing systems with improved materials and mechanical behavior of products, agile aspects of design, clean and green manufacturing systems, environment, agile defence systems.

Today the Scottish electronics industry employs 40,000 people directly and a further 30,000 in the supply infrastructure. There are now more than 550 electronic manufacturing and supplier companies in ' Silicon Glen'. In terms of the contribution to the economy, electronics is by far the most valuable industry. Its value in 1996 was approximately £ 10billion and accounted for more than half of Scotland's exports. The major product groupings within the industry include: • PCs, laptops and workstations • Disk drives, cable harnessing • Printers, keyboards and peripherals • Semiconductor devices and PCBs • TV, VCRs, CDs, stereos and other consumer electronics • Cellular phones and telecommunications products • A TMs and funds transfer systems • Networking and security systems • Navigation and sonar systems • Microwave products • Power supplies • Software and compilers Many of these companies are multi-national OEMs, who came to Scotland as inward investing companies. Early inward investing companies were from USA, followed by companies from Japan, and more recently from Taiwan and Korea. An important segment of the industry is involved in the manufacture of computers, including IBM, Compaq, Digital and Sun. In fact approximately 40% of the PCs sold in Europe are built in Scotland. With five of the world's top eight computer manufacturers locating a manufacturing base in Scotland there has been an attraction for foreign companies keen to provide service for these multinationals. In 1995/96 the supply base output was worth £1.

Becoming a world-class company demands agile manufacturing—a responsive method of expeditiously delivering products at a lower cost. For organizations which desire to increase profits while minimizing liability, this text is an invaluable guide. It explains how to introduce flexibility into manufacturing facilities through the modification of current computer software and systems. Rather than taking the cost-prohibitive approach of discarding the processes a company already has in play and starting from scratch, organizations can achieve their goal of becoming agile manufacturers by modifying existing systems. The author utilizes numerous case studies from companies such as Xerox, General Motors, Harley-Davidson, and Motorola to explore the current software movement, from MRP II (benefits and limitations) to alternative methods employed by companies attempting to align their software with new world class methodologies. For manufacturing managers and MIS employees struggling with inadequate systems, Software and the Agile Manufacturer offers the practical solutions they need to successfully navigate the difficult transitional period on the way to world-class status.

Enterprise Networks and Logistics for Agile Manufacturing presents a focused collection of quality chapters on state-of-the-art research efforts in the areas of enterprise networks and logistics, as well as their practical applications towards agile manufacturing. With the increasing decentralisation of manufacturing systems and outsourcing of processes, more robust and practical approaches and systems are needed to support agile manufacturing operations. Enterprise Networks and Logistics for Agile Manufacturing consists of two major sections: the first presents a broad-based review of the key areas of research in enterprise networks and logistics; the second focuses on an in-depth treatment of a particular methodology or system relevant to the book title. Examples include: • sustainable green supply chain; • value creation and supplier selection; • extended enterprise network management; • reverse logistics; and • innovative supply chain systems. The authors take into account the need to pose intellectual challenges while retaining a balanced approach in terms of scope versus depth and theory versus applications. Enterprise Networks and Logistics for Agile Manufacturing can be beneficial to academic researchers, practicing engineers and managers, and graduate students with an interest in any manufacturing sectors. It can enable them to better understand the present state and future trends of research in this important area, in order to position themselves strategically for future challenges as we enter the era of agile and distributed manufacturing.

Dear reader! In your hand you have the second book from the series “XXI Century Techno- gies. ” The first book under the title “Manufacturing Technologies for Machines of the Future” was published by “Springer” in 2003. This book is aimed at solving one of the basic problems in the development of modern machine-building – working out of technologies and manufacturing equipment which would promote the continuous development and improvement of the final product design, rapidly “adaptable” to the requirements of the market as for the quantity, quality, and variety of products manufactured with the lowest cost and minimum time and labor of the product process. In this book the problems of theory and practice of development in the reconfigurable manufacturing systems and transformable factories for various machine-building branches with a focus on automotive industry are discussed. The problems concerning the development of a new class of production systems which in comparison to the flexible manufact- ing systems are composed of a far less quantity of machine-tools (reduced cost of production) are discussed. In comparison to the conventional automated lines (dedicated systems) they make it possible to rapidly transform the equipment for new products manufacturing. The book has some advantages concerning the art of scientific ideas and the presentation of developments.

Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit Adapting agile practices to your development organization Uncovering and eradicating waste throughout the software development lifecycle Practical techniques for every development manager, project manager, and technical leader Lean software development: applying agile principles to your organization In Lean Software Development, Mary and Tom Poppendieck identify seven fundamental "lean" principles, adapt them for the world of software development, and show how they can serve as the foundation for agile development approaches that work. Along the way, they introduce 22 "thinking tools" that can help you customize the right agile practices for any environment. Better, cheaper, faster software development. You can have all three–if you adopt the same lean principles that have already revolutionized manufacturing, logistics and product development. Iterating towards excellence: software development as an exercise in discovery Managing uncertainty: "decide as late as possible" by building change into the system. Compressing the value stream: rapid development, feedback, and improvement Empowering teams and individuals without compromising coordination Software with integrity: promoting coherence, usability, fitness, maintainability, and adaptability How to "see the whole"–even when your developers are scattered across multiple locations and contractors Simply put, Lean Software Development helps you refocus development on value, flow, and people–so you can achieve breakthrough quality, savings, speed, and business alignment.