Some Key Problems Concerning the Specification, Development and Use of Task Identification and Analyses


Book Description

This paper concerns the problems involved in the development and use of task identification and analyses (TI and A) as a required part of the technologies of task (job) oriented training (TOT) and job performance aids (JPA). Such analyses are also required for optimum TOT/JPA tradeoffs. It stresses the fact that training which has the flavor of TOT and job guides which have the appearance of fully proceduralized JPA (FPJPA) can be produced without TI and A. However, the content of such training and job aids will be uncontrolled and likely incomplete. The usability of various formats of TI and A products as well as the special analyses required for troubleshooting (TS) aids are also discussed.













Lees' Loss Prevention in the Process Industries


Book Description

Over the last three decades the process industries have grown very rapidly, with corresponding increases in the quantities of hazardous materials in process, storage or transport. Plants have become larger and are often situated in or close to densely populated areas. Increased hazard of loss of life or property is continually highlighted with incidents such as Flixborough, Bhopal, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, the Phillips 66 incident, and Piper Alpha to name but a few. The field of Loss Prevention is, and continues to, be of supreme importance to countless companies, municipalities and governments around the world, because of the trend for processing plants to become larger and often be situated in or close to densely populated areas, thus increasing the hazard of loss of life or property. This book is a detailed guidebook to defending against these, and many other, hazards. It could without exaggeration be referred to as the "bible" for the process industries. This is THE standard reference work for chemical and process engineering safety professionals. For years, it has been the most complete collection of information on the theory, practice, design elements, equipment, regulations and laws covering the field of process safety. An entire library of alternative books (and cross-referencing systems) would be needed to replace or improve upon it, but everything of importance to safety professionals, engineers and managers can be found in this all-encompassing reference instead. Frank Lees' world renowned work has been fully revised and expanded by a team of leading chemical and process engineers working under the guidance of one of the world’s chief experts in this field. Sam Mannan is professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University, and heads the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center at Texas A&M. He received his MS and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and joined the chemical engineering department at Texas A&M University as a professor in 1997. He has over 20 years of experience as an engineer, working both in industry and academia. New detail is added to chapters on fire safety, engineering, explosion hazards, analysis and suppression, and new appendices feature more recent disasters. The many thousands of references have been updated along with standards and codes of practice issued by authorities in the US, UK/Europe and internationally. In addition to all this, more regulatory relevance and case studies have been included in this edition. Written in a clear and concise style, Loss Prevention in the Process Industries covers traditional areas of personal safety as well as the more technological aspects and thus provides balanced and in-depth coverage of the whole field of safety and loss prevention. * A must-have standard reference for chemical and process engineering safety professionals * The most complete collection of information on the theory, practice, design elements, equipment and laws that pertain to process safety * Only single work to provide everything; principles, practice, codes, standards, data and references needed by those practicing in the field




System Engineering Analysis, Design, and Development


Book Description

Praise for the first edition: "This excellent text will be useful to every system engineer (SE) regardless of the domain. It covers ALL relevant SE material and does so in a very clear, methodical fashion. The breadth and depth of the author's presentation of SE principles and practices is outstanding." —Philip Allen This textbook presents a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to System Engineering analysis, design, and development via an integrated set of concepts, principles, practices, and methodologies. The methods presented in this text apply to any type of human system -- small, medium, and large organizational systems and system development projects delivering engineered systems or services across multiple business sectors such as medical, transportation, financial, educational, governmental, aerospace and defense, utilities, political, and charity, among others. Provides a common focal point for “bridging the gap” between and unifying System Users, System Acquirers, multi-discipline System Engineering, and Project, Functional, and Executive Management education, knowledge, and decision-making for developing systems, products, or services Each chapter provides definitions of key terms, guiding principles, examples, author’s notes, real-world examples, and exercises, which highlight and reinforce key SE&D concepts and practices Addresses concepts employed in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Model-Driven Design (MDD), Unified Modeling Language (UMLTM) / Systems Modeling Language (SysMLTM), and Agile/Spiral/V-Model Development such as user needs, stories, and use cases analysis; specification development; system architecture development; User-Centric System Design (UCSD); interface definition & control; system integration & test; and Verification & Validation (V&V) Highlights/introduces a new 21st Century Systems Engineering & Development (SE&D) paradigm that is easy to understand and implement. Provides practices that are critical staging points for technical decision making such as Technical Strategy Development; Life Cycle requirements; Phases, Modes, & States; SE Process; Requirements Derivation; System Architecture Development, User-Centric System Design (UCSD); Engineering Standards, Coordinate Systems, and Conventions; et al. Thoroughly illustrated, with end-of-chapter exercises and numerous case studies and examples, Systems Engineering Analysis, Design, and Development, Second Edition is a primary textbook for multi-discipline, engineering, system analysis, and project management undergraduate/graduate level students and a valuable reference for professionals.







Human-Centered Design of E-Health Technologies: Concepts, Methods and Applications


Book Description

"This book unites researchers and industry practitioners from different disciplines to share their domain-specific knowledge and contribute to a holistic introduction into the area of human-centered design for e-health applications"--Provided by publisher.




Software Maintenance - A Management Perspective


Book Description

Computer systems play an important role in our society. Software drives those systems. Massive investments of time and resources are made in developing and implementing these systems. Maintenance is inevitable. It is hard and costly. Considerable resources are required to keep the systems active and dependable. We cannot maintain software unless maintainability characters are built into the products and processes. There is an urgent need to reinforce software development practices based on quality and reliability principles. Though maintenance is a mini development lifecycle, it has its own problems. Maintenance issues need corresponding tools and techniques to address them. Software professionals are key players in maintenance. While development is an art and science, maintenance is a craft. We need to develop maintenance personnel to master this craft. Technology impact is very high in systems world today. We can no longer conduct business in the way we did before. That calls for reengineering systems and software. Even reengineered software needs maintenance, soon after its implementation. We have to take business knowledge, procedures, and data into the newly reengineered world. Software maintenance people can play an important role in this migration process. Software technology is moving into global and distributed networking environments. Client/server systems and object-orientation are on their way. Massively parallel processing systems and networking resources are changing database services into corporate data warehouses. Software engineering environments, rapid application development tools are changing the way we used to develop and maintain software. Software maintenance is moving from code maintenance to design maintenance, even onto specification maintenance. Modifications today are made at specification level, regenating the software components, testing and integrating them with the system. Eventually software maintenance has to manage the evolution and evolutionary characteristics of software systems. Software professionals have to maintain not only the software, but the momentum of change in systems and software. In this study, we observe various issues, tools and techniques, and the emerging trends in software technology with particular reference to maintenance. We are not searching for specific solutions. We are identifying issues and finding ways to manage them, live with them, and control their negative impact.