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Overview All organisations are, in one sense or another, involved in operations; an activity implying transformation or transfer. The major portion of the body of knowledge concerning operations relates to production in manufacturing industry but, increasingly, similar problems are to be found confronting managers in service industry. It is only in the last decade or so that new technology, involving, in particular, the computer, has encouraged an integrated view to be taken of the total business. This has led to greater recognition being given to the strategic potential of the operations function. In order to provide greater insight into operations a number of classifications have been proposed. One of these, which places operations into categories termed factory, job shop, mass service and professional service, is examined. The elements of operations management are introduced under the headings of product, plant, process, procedures and people.

One way in which the manufacturing and construction industries are moving is to adopt the philosophy of concurrent engineering (CE), better utilising the expertise of other companies in the supply chain. This paper draws on the results of several previous studies to discuss from a conceptual rather than an empiric point of view some ergonomics issues involved in CE from the perspective of supply chains. It outlines some generic attributes, and discusses some concepts of federated control systems within supply chains. The implications of these for information flows and the management of distributed knowledge within supply chains are then discussed. A key issue that arises from this is the need for trust in individuals external to the company if the CE philosophy is to work effectively. The paper then discusses the implications of this for the design of roles within the CE workgroup, concluding that the principles of socio‐technical design for roles are appropriate for the design of these roles, ensuring that they have the right attributes for trustworthiness. This provides a link between these principles and business needs that is not often present in discussions of role design. Examples are drawn mainly from manufacturing and the implications for construction supply chains highlighted, as appropriate.

This study aims to describe how large corporations, facing digitalization and sustainability, can use established models and theories to find appropriate organizations design for these “new” challenges.

The information processing perspective presented by Jay Galbraith (Galbraith, 1974) can be an appropriate platform to analyze organizational requirements, also in new complex and uncertain situation. The authors use the Miles and Snow (1978) typology to explain how traditional design can be appropriate in the new world of sustainability and digitalization.

With the new types of business models, the design should have a holistic view. The design should be split into three levels: the corporation as a whole, the large business units and the operating units. Each of these units can follow traditional organizational forms with an internal market-based coordination combined with digital platform systems.

Both large and small corporations now face big challenges related to adapting their business models, managerial processes and organizational structures for digitalization and sustainability. Digitalization and sustainability combine the various pieces of the corporation into a tightly coupled network with a real time coordination of activities making it difficult to obtain local adjustments without disturbing the whole. At the same time, there is a strong need for both being locally agile with a focus on effectiveness and at the same time being very efficient. The literature calls for new organizational forms to handle this situation. The authors show that “old” designs properly coordinated can be an appropriate design as well.

Purpose – This chapter reviews planning and design approaches for cycle traffic in order to direct future thinking towards the critical aspects of network design that will have a beneficial impact on the utility and nature of the environment for cycling.

Approach – This chapter provides a critique of the approach of adopting a so-called hierarchy of solutions frequently adopted in western countries with low levels of cycling use.

Findings – The guiding principle for designing routes for cycle traffic is that the bicycle is a vehicle capable of speed and, as a consequence, links and junctions need to be designed according to appropriate geometric design standards. In addition, owing to the nature of the cycle and rider combination, the oft repeated Dutch characteristics for good design for cycle traffic of coherence, directness, attractiveness, safety and comfort remain firm.

Practical implications – The practical implications of the outcomes from the chapter are a method of approach for planning infrastructure for cycle traffic which starts with an analysis of demand and works through to the creation of suitable networks for cycle traffic which are grounded in, and extended from, suitably regulated existing highway networks.

Social implications – An extensive transport system suitable in nature for cycle traffic will attract a wide base of users and consequently allow for the benefits of cycling to be captured.

Value of chapter – The value of the chapter rests in its emphasis on the need to treat cycling as a distinct transport mode and, consequentially, planning and engineering needs to be undertaken in a way conducive to providing the basic necessary infrastructure for such a distinct mode.

The purpose of this paper is to address a model for the selection of an appropriate design method of a CIFMS utilizing the ANP within a MIGP model.

The selection process is multi‐goal and has both integer and non‐integer variables which require the use of a MIGP model for optimization.

The results show that the selection of an appropriate design method can greatly decrease the deviation factors from any given company's goals.

The implementation of a CIFMS offers companies many benefits, which enable them to produce high quality products with shorter lead‐time. A CIFMS is not a general software program that can be readily applicable to any given manufacturing company, it is a uniquely designed system specifically tailored to a given company guided by a method. Therefore the most crucial process in developing and implementing an efficient CIFMS is selecting a design method which brings forth a MCDM problem with varied degrees of interdependencies among the decision components.

This paper aims to provide a methodological road for the next generation of e‐learning environments.

This paper considers a survey of recent publications (1995‐2002), which aim to provide practical and theoretical indications and advice, which are coupled with practical experimentations.

The paper provides road‐mapping elements, indicating the impact on services and systems to be expected by this design approach.

The survey is based on a selection of sources and it is not exhaustive. The methodology experiments that are used for argumentation are based on the authors’ platform.

The paper presents a useful source of knowledge for researchers and advanced students.

This paper identifies a road for advanced e‐learning systems, and can help researchers and those in industry who desire to introduce and understand the design methodological context of advanced e‐learning systems.

This paper explains why the data with which thermal designers have to work is uncertain and incomplete. It then describes how accepting this uncertainty unlocks the shackles of accurate temperature prediction and gives the designer the freedom to tackle the different aspects of thermal design at an appropriate and simple level. The latter part of the paper concentrates on the thermal design of circuit boards, first for steady state and then for transient operation.

With the national emphasis on the use of evidence-based practices in educational settings, intervention research within the field of special education is being scrutinized. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has defined evidence-based practices primarily by research that is based on quantitative, experimental designs (i.e., RCT). Although the use of appropriate experimental designs has an important place in educational research, defining evidence-based practices based on research design alone is limiting. One critical aspect of research that has not received much attention is the importance of rigorous and precise measurement and systematic replication of research findings. The purpose of this chapter is to review issues surrounding measurement and its effect on validity in intervention research in the field of behavioral disorders. Specifically, we discuss how more rigorous measurement can positively influence the internal, external, construct, and social validity of research findings. A review of current trends in behavioral disorders intervention research is discussed as well as implications for future research.