Supervision and Safety of Complex Systems


Book Description

This book presents results of projects carried out by both scientific and industry researchers into the techniques to help in maintenance, control, supervision and security of systems, taking into account the technical environmental and human factors. This work is supported by the Scientific Group GIS 3SGS. It is a collaborative work from 13 partners (academic and industrial) who have come together to deal with security problems. The problems and techniques discussed mainly focus on stochastic and dynamic modeling, maintenance, forecasting, diagnosis, reliability, performance, organizational, human and environmental factors, uncertainty and experience feedback.




Safety Analyses of Complex Systems


Book Description

There is a need for more inclusive holistic approaches to identify and analyze safety-related system risks. Systems are becoming increasingly more complex, diverse, and vastly distributed. Conventional approaches of conducting hazard analyses and risk assessment do have limitations. This book addresses some of these limitations and a number of inclusive approaches are discussed, which can be applied against the limitations. The book emphasizes scenario-driven hazard analysis as a means to conduct more holistic analysis. It discusses safety analyses of large complex systems; which are comprised of software, firmware, hardware, the human and the environment. “System thinking” in problem solving is emphasized throughout the book. The book is comprised of three parts. The first part Risk identification covers topics including understanding risk, evaluating safety, and scenario-driven hazard analysis. The second part Risk elimination and control addresses eliminating risk and provides hazard control methods, techniques, and applications. Finally managing safety-related risks covers key concepts and observations associated with a safety management and other topics including making safety-related decisions. At the end of each chapter there are “Questions and Topics for Further Discussion”, which enables the book to be used for graduate and undergraduate education, and specialized courses or instructional development.




Complex Systems


Book Description

This book gives a wide-ranging description of the many facets of complex dynamic networks and systems within an infrastructure provided by integrated control and supervision: envisioning, design, experimental exploration, and implementation. The theoretical contributions and the case studies presented can reach control goals beyond those of stabilization and output regulation or even of adaptive control. Reporting on work of the Control of Complex Systems (COSY) research program, Complex Systems follows from and expands upon an earlier collection: Control of Complex Systems by introducing novel theoretical techniques for hard-to-control networks and systems. The major common feature of all the superficially diverse contributions encompassed by this book is that of spotting and exploiting possible areas of mutual reinforcement between control, computing and communications. These help readers to achieve not only robust stable plant system operation but also properties such as collective adaptivity, integrity and survivability at the same time retaining desired performance quality. Applications in the individual chapters are drawn from: • the general implementation of model-based diagnosis and systems engineering in medical technology, in communication, and in power and airport networks; • the creation of biologically inspired control brains and safety-critical human–machine systems, • process-industrial uses; • biped robots; • large space structures and unmanned aerial vehicles; and • precision servomechanisms and other advanced technologies. Complex Systems provides researchers from engineering, applied mathematics and computer science backgrounds with innovative theoretical and practical insights into the state-of-the-art of complex networks and systems research. It employs physical implementations and extensive computer simulations. Graduate students specializing in complex-systems research will also learn much from this collection./pp







Contemporary Complex Systems and Their Dependability


Book Description

This book presents the proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference on Dependability and Complex Systems (DepCoS-RELCOMEX), which took place in the Brunów Palace in Poland from 2nd to 6th July 2018. The conference has been organized at the Faculty of Electronics, Wrocław University of Science and Technology since 2006, and it continues the tradition of two other events: RELCOMEX (1977–89) and Microcomputer School (1985–95). The selection of papers in these proceedings illustrates the broad variety of topics that are investigated in dependability analyses of today’s complex systems. Dependability came naturally as a contemporary answer to new challenges in the reliability evaluation of these systems. Such systems cannot be considered only as structures (however complex and distributed) built on the basis of technical resources (hardware): their analysis must take into account a unique blend of interacting people (their needs and behaviours), networks (together with mobile properties, cloud-based systems) and a large number of users dispersed geographically and producing an unimaginable number of applications (working online). A growing number of research methods apply the latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and computational intelligence (CI). Today’s complex systems are really complex and are applied in numerous different fields of contemporary life.




Learning and Relearning Equipment Complexity


Book Description

With industrial systems becoming ever more mechanized and reliant on advanced technology, the complexity of equipment, especially in risky industries, is increasing on a daily basis. A thorough understanding of operations and providing safety for these complex systems has become a firm requirement for many. This book offers the knowledge required by safety professionals to provide and maintain the safety of engineering complex systems. Through a scientific and engineering approach to designing, implementing, operating, and maintaining complex systems, Learning and Relearning Equipment Complexity: Achieving Safety in Engineering Complex Systems details the need for more engineering and scientific knowledge to understand and maintain their safety. It gives clear explanations of reasons for a system’s complexity, based on control systems and non-linear dynamics. In addition, the book addresses the necessary changes in the approach and the procedures for the safety assessment of engineering complex systems. The reader will develop a thorough understanding of what complex systems are, why they are complex, and how they are utilized. This book will appeal to any safety professional tasked with complex systems. This extends to professionals in risky industries such as aviation, nuclear power, chemicals, railway and transport, and pharmaceuticals.




Design for Safety


Book Description

A one-stop reference guide to design for safety principles and applications Design for Safety (DfSa) provides design engineers and engineering managers with a range of tools and techniques for incorporating safety into the design process for complex systems. It explains how to design for maximum safe conditions and minimum risk of accidents. The book covers safety design practices, which will result in improved safety, fewer accidents, and substantial savings in life cycle costs for producers and users. Readers who apply DfSa principles can expect to have a dramatic improvement in the ability to compete in global markets. They will also find a wealth of design practices not covered in typical engineering books—allowing them to think outside the box when developing safety requirements. Design Safety is already a high demand field due to its importance to system design and will be even more vital for engineers in multiple design disciplines as more systems become increasingly complex and liabilities increase. Therefore, risk mitigation methods to design systems with safety features are becoming more important. Designing systems for safety has been a high priority for many safety-critical systems—especially in the aerospace and military industries. However, with the expansion of technological innovations into other market places, industries that had not previously considered safety design requirements are now using the technology in applications. Design for Safety: Covers trending topics and the latest technologies Provides ten paradigms for managing and designing systems for safety and uses them as guiding themes throughout the book Logically defines the parameters and concepts, sets the safety program and requirements, covers basic methodologies, investigates lessons from history, and addresses specialty topics within the topic of Design for Safety (DfSa) Supplements other books in the series on Quality and Reliability Engineering Design for Safety is an ideal book for new and experienced engineers and managers who are involved with design, testing, and maintenance of safety critical applications. It is also helpful for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in engineering. Design for Safety is the second in a series of “Design for” books. Design for Reliability was the first in the series with more planned for the future.




Complex System Modelling and Control Through Intelligent Soft Computations


Book Description

The book offers a snapshot of the theories and applications of soft computing in the area of complex systems modeling and control. It presents the most important findings discussed during the 5th International Conference on Modelling, Identification and Control, held in Cairo, from August 31-September 2, 2013. The book consists of twenty-nine selected contributions, which have been thoroughly reviewed and extended before their inclusion in the volume. The different chapters, written by active researchers in the field, report on both current theories and important applications of soft-computing. Besides providing the readers with soft-computing fundamentals, and soft-computing based inductive methodologies/algorithms, the book also discusses key industrial soft-computing applications, as well as multidisciplinary solutions developed for a variety of purposes, like windup control, waste management, security issues, biomedical applications and many others. It is a perfect reference guide for graduate students, researchers and practitioners in the area of soft computing, systems modeling and control.




Fault Detection, Supervision and Safety of Technical Processes 2003 (SAFEPROCESS 2003)


Book Description

A three-volume work bringing together papers presented at 'SAFEPROCESS 2003', including four plenary papers on statistical, physical-model-based and logical-model-based approaches to fault detection and diagnosis, as well as 178 regular papers.




Simulation Methods for Reliability and Availability of Complex Systems


Book Description

Simulation Methods for Reliability and Availability of Complex Systems discusses the use of computer simulation-based techniques and algorithms to determine reliability and availability (R and A) levels in complex systems. The book: shares theoretical or applied models and decision support systems that make use of simulation to estimate and to improve system R and A levels, forecasts emerging technologies and trends in the use of computer simulation for R and A and proposes hybrid approaches to the development of efficient methodologies designed to solve R and A-related problems in real-life systems. Dealing with practical issues, Simulation Methods for Reliability and Availability of Complex Systems is designed to support managers and system engineers in the improvement of R and A, as well as providing a thorough exploration of the techniques and algorithms available for researchers, and for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students.