Real-Time Management of Resource Allocation Systems focuses on the problem of managing the resource allocation taking place within the operational context of many contemporary technological applications, including flexibly automated production systems, automated railway and/or monorail transportation systems, electronic workflow management systems, and business transaction supporting systems. A distinct trait of all these applications is that they limit the role of the human element to remote high-level supervision, while placing the burden of the real-time monitoring and coordination of the ongoing activity upon a computerized control system. Hence, any applicable control paradigm must address not only the issues of throughput maximization, work-in-process inventory reduction, and delay and cost minimization, that have been the typical concerns for past studies on resource allocation, but it must also guarantee the operational correctness and the behavioral consistency of the underlying automated system. The resulting problem is rather novel for the developers of these systems, since, in the past, many of its facets were left to the jurisdiction of the present human intelligence. It is also complex, due to the high levels of choice – otherwise known as flexibility – inherent in the operation of these environments.

This book introduces the concepts and state-of-the-art research developments of resource management in real-time systems and networks. Real-time systems and networks are of increasing importance in many applications, including automated factories, telecommunication systems, defense systems, and space systems. This book introduces the concepts and state-of-the-art research developments of resource management in real-time systems and networks. Unlike other texts in the field, it covers the entire spectrum of issues in resource management, including task scheduling in uniprocessor real-time systems; task scheduling, fault-tolerant task scheduling, and resource reclaiming in multiprocessor real-time systems; conventional task scheduling and object-based task scheduling in distributed real-time systems; message scheduling; QoS routing; dependable communication; multicast communication; and medium access protocols in real-time networks. It provides algorithmic treatments for all of the issues addressed, highlighting the intuition behind each algorithm and giving examples. The book also includes two chapters of case studies.

Illustrated with real-life manufacturing examples, Formal Methods in Manufacturing provides state-of-the-art solutions to common problems in manufacturing systems. Assuming some knowledge of discrete event systems theory, the book first delivers a detailed introduction to the most important formalisms used for the modeling, analysis, and control of manufacturing systems (including Petri nets, automata, and max-plus algebra), explaining the advantages of each formal method. It then employs the different formalisms to solve specific problems taken from today’s industrial world, such as modeling and simulation, supervisory control (including deadlock prevention) in a distributed and/or decentralized environment, performance evaluation (including scheduling and optimization), fault diagnosis and diagnosability analysis, and reconfiguration. Containing chapters written by leading experts in their respective fields, Formal Methods in Manufacturing helps researchers and application engineers handle fundamental principles and deal with typical quality goals in the design and operation of manufacturing systems.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems, OPODIS 2006, held at Bordeaux, France, in December 2006. The 28 revised full papers presented together with two invited talks address all current issues in theory, specification, design and implementation of distributed and embedded systems.

Deadlock problems in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) have received more and more attention in the last two decades. Petri nets are one of the more promising mathematical tools for tackling deadlocks in various resource allocation systems. In a system modeled with Petri nets, siphons are tied to the occurrence of deadlock states as a structural object. The book systematically introduces the novel theory of siphons, traps, and elementary siphons of Petri nets as well as the deadlock control strategies for FMS developed from it. Deadlock prevention methods are examined comparatively. The many FMS examples presented to demonstrate the concepts and results of this book range from the simple to the complex. Importantly, to inspire and motive the reader’s interest in further research, a number of interesting and open problems in this area are proposed at the end of each chapter.

The purpose of the 2012 3rd International Asia Conference on industrial engineering and management innovation (IEMI2012) is to bring together researchers, engineers and practitioners interested in the application of informatics to industrial engineering and management innovation.

The design of facilities, warehouses, and material-handling systems as well as the management of logistics operations significantly impact the success of industrial projects. Facility Logistics: Approaches and Solutions to Next Generation Challenges explores recent developments in the technology, industrial practices, and business environments of f