Quality Time Books

One of the best books on Reliability Data analysis with an excellent set of examples and clear writing style.

Reliability and survival analysis both deal with time to failure data. Much of the methodology is essentially the same. The term reliability is generally used to apply to hardware or software whereas survival analysis is a term for biological systems such as animals or humans. This book includes the standard nonparametric and parametric methods for estimating reliability functions and parameters. It includes system reliability and repairable systems and deals with recent developments with repairable systems including Nelson's mean cumulative function. A couple of years ago I asked Wayne Nelson if and when he might revise his popular text "Applied Life Data Analysis". He said he did not plan to do it because Meeker and Escobar had just finished a work that would be as good as any revision he might want to produce. Other topics include failure time regression models including the popular Cox proportional hazards model and accelerated life test models. It also includes modern topics such as bootstrap confidence intervals (both semi-parametric and nonparametric) for reliability parameters. The book is comprehensive and up-to-date. It also includes discussion of Bayesian methods. Some case studies are also included. The only topics it misses are reliability growth and warranty and service contracts. These topics are covered in the recent book by Blischke and Murthy "Reliability Modeling, Prediciton, and Optimization" also published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Numerical examples are done using the SPlus software from MathSoft. An ftp site is available to download data sets to use with SPlus.

Reliability and survival analysis both deal with time to failure data. Much of the methodology is essentially the same. The term reliability is generally used to apply to hardware or software whereas survival analysis is a term for biological systems such as animals or humans. This book includes the standard nonparametric and parametric methods for estimating reliability functions and parameters. It includes system reliability and repairable systems and deals with recent developments with repairable systems including Nelson's mean cumulative function. A couple of years ago I asked Wayne Nelson if and when he might revise his popular text "Applied Life Data Analysis". He said he did not plan to do it because Meeker and Escobar had just finished a work that would be as good as any revision he might want to produce. Other topics include failure time regression models including the popular Cox proportional hazards model and accelerated life test models. It also includes modern topics such as bootstrap confidence intervals (both semi-parametric and nonparametric) for reliability parameters. The book is comprehensive and up-to-date. It also includes discussion of Bayesian methods. Some case studies are also included. The only topics it misses are reliability growth and warranty and service contracts. These topics are covered in the recent book by Blischke and Murthy "Reliability Modeling, Prediciton, and Optimization" also published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Numerical examples are done using the SPlus software from MathSoft. An ftp site is available to download data sets to use with SPlus.

Reliability data isn't amenable to treatment with the ubiquitous normal distribution, a fact which should catch the attention of any practicing engineer with only that bullet in his gun. Reliability data has other distinguishing features. The data are usually censored, which means the exact failure times are not known so the observations can only provide bounds on the actual failure times. Inferences and predictions usually require extrapolations, making engineering and physics-based modeling an important adjunct to statistical methods. Whereas many *statistical* problems focus on parameter estimation (e.g.: mean, standard deviation), these are not of primary interest to engineers who need specific measures of product reliability (e.g.: failure probabilities, life distribution quintiles, failure rates).

The chapter headings provide an overview of the book:

1) Reliability Concepts and Reliability Data 2) Models, Censoring, and Likelihood for Failure-Time Data 3) Nonparametric Estimation 4) Location-Scale-Based Parametric Distributions 5) Other Parametric Distributions 6) Probability Plotting 7) Parametric Likelihood Fitting Concepts: Exponential Distribution 8) Maximum Likelihood for Log-Location-Scale Distributions 9) Bootstrap Confidence Intervals 10) Planning Life Tests 11) Parametric Maximum Likelihood: Other Models 12) Prediction of Future Quantiles 13) Degradation Data, Models, and Data Analysis 14) Introduction to the Use of Bayesian Methods for Reliability Data 15) System Reliability Concepts and Methods 16) Analysis of Reparable System and Other Recurrence Data 17) Failure-Time Regression Analysis 18) Accelerated Life Tests 21) Accelerated Degradation Tests 22) Case Studies and Further Applications Appendix A - Notation and Acronyms Appendix B - Some Results from Statistical Theory

This book is written for practitioners - engineers and statisticians - yet does not presume an undergraduate degree in statistics. More involved statistical ideas (Bayesian thought, censored observations, bootstrapping, et cetera) are all described to the user with the assumption that they have had little prior exposure. The book's concepts are presented in an unstuffy and intuitive manner. For example, for Meeker and Escobar likelihood is simply "the probability of the data," making a maximum likelihood estimator one which maximizes the probability that the experiment turned out the way it did. (Contrast this to the hushed tones in many "engineering statistics" texts which suggest that Likelihood is a profound concept beyond the (limited) capacity of the engineer and best left to the trained statisticians.) The wholesome, unpretentious, and practical approach taken by Meeker and Escobar is quite pleasing to this reviewer, a professional engineer whose formal statistical education began later in life.

The book should be interesting to statisticians too. It can be used as a two-semester graduate statistics course, a one-semester course for engineers and statisticians, or as the basis for workshops and short courses on selected topics for industry practitioners. Each chapter is suffused with examples using real data and ends with thought-provoking exercises. While this is a practical book, it does not neglect statistical theory (after all, the authors are well-known academic statisticians) - although it is interesting to note that for censored observations there may be no *exact* theory for statistical inference. While the book's emphasis is more on results than on theoretical proofs, I think the practicing statistician will be quite pleased with the book's balance.

Not only are its 680 pages chock-full of ideas, information, and techniques, _Statistical Methods for Reliability Data_ is a noteworthy paradigm for technical exposition: Even before each chapter's introduction, there is a brief statement of chapter objectives, followed by an overview which places the chapter in perspective, stating for example, that the material is a prerequisite for this or that future topic, or conditions under which it could be omitted, or why its is useful. This makes it easy for a practitioner to find his way around the text.

In summary: Buy this book. If competitive advantage through reliable products is central to your company's future, then Meeker and Escobar, _Statistical Methods for Reliability Data_ can help you reach your objectives.

The purpose of this book was supposed to serve very broad groups of people: students, statisticians and engineers. Unfortunately, I found this book not quite suitable in engineering practice.
From practical point of view, when dealing with reliability estimations, one has to connect mathematical theory with real-life data. It appears that to accomplish this task it is necessary to understand some basic statistical ideas, plus specifics of the subject under consideration. Sometimes common sense knowledge can come in handy. Strangely enough but many fundamental principles are in fact surprisingly simple, elegant and thus beautiful. What is missing in the book is the lack of clear explanations of fundamental statistical concepts that certainly can be presented in a complicated form but in reality they are not. On the other side, the book could serve as a solid textbook to students, statisticians and mathematicians.

It is really usefull as for reference as for review an existing Supply Chain.

This book gives an good overview of new and seasoned SCM practices, but does not go into great depth with any of them. The chapter on Supply chain process design is OK and the section on alliances and trust is well developed. Most of the other chapters are written at too high a level and just skim the surface. That would be OK when talking about some of the IT practices, but it was very frustrating when the authors talk about the SCOR model (pps. 67-68) and give you so little detail that you realize you need to be looking in other books. This book is an ideal "quick start" for those going into SC consulting as new hires for a big firm or someone new to a SC job - but realize, you will need to be reading much more than this. However you will learn phrases such as "Partnering occured as firms sought to take advantage of market opportunities through a synergistic combination of strategic core competencies." (p. 148 - I kid you not.)

The title is a bit misleading: the book is about a lot more than redesign. Specifically it looks at the many processes and technologies associated with supply chain management. The subject matters covered run the gamut from the basics of supply chain management to supplier relationships to the fast-changing B2B landscape. The premise of educators Handfield and Nichols is that the more effectively you integrate these activities the more value you create across the supply chain. . . . The bottom line is that the pluses far outweight the minuses. The authors have a knack for explaining a range of supply chain concepts and techniques clearly. Just as important, they reinforce the discussion with real-life examples. Every major topic is introduced by a case study that sets the context for the discussion to follow. One final observation: From a cost-benefit standpoint, Supply Chain Redesign represents a good value in today's market. Very few books these days present this much worthwhile supply chain information for such a relatively low price.

Review published in the Supply Chain Management Review, November-December 2002, p. 59.

I bought this book this weekend and started reading it. It was in a nice display of "recommended" reading at the airport book store in Singapore. Having been in both IBM and E2open (Supply Chain software) and now Agere Systems.... no doubt in my mind - the value is clear. Implementation is complex with competing solutions and agendas. Issue is even in the same industry you have too many competing solutions. I noticed CAPS has been pushing the same themes. I liked the way you put it together and got it published.

I am currently focused on building a Supply Chain which is geographically located with the supply base. This is a huge advantage as Value Chains can not overcome the timezone - same day impact. The core advantages of key supplier relationship management are also local and can not be overcome by distance. If we can automate human behavior in these management sytstems the value chain will really gain speed.
Chief Procurement Officer
Global Procurement
Agere Systems

I bought this book this weekend and started reading it. It was in a nice display of "recommended" reading at the airport book store in Singapore. Having been in both IBM and E2open (Supply Chain software) and now Agere Systems.... no doubt in my mind - the value is clear. Implementation is complex with competing solutions and agendas. Issue is even in the same industry you have too many competing solutions. I noticed CAPS has been pushing the same themes. I liked the way you put it together and got it published.

I am currently focused on building a Supply Chain which is geographically located with the supply base. This is a huge advantage as Value Chains can not overcome the timezone - same day impact. The core advantages of key supplier relationship management are also local and can not be overcome by distance. If we can automate human behavior in these management sytstems the value chain will really gain speed.
Chief Procurement Officer
Global Procurement
Agere Systems

"It was a dark and stormy night. In her attic bedroom Margret Murry, wrapped in an old patchwood quilt sat on the foot of her bed and watched the trees tossing in the frenzied lashing of the wind. Behind the trees clouds scudded frantically across the sky. Every few moments the moon ripped through them creating wraithlike shadows that raced along the ground." That was only the very beginning of the amazing adventures book, A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'engle.
In this first chapter, A Wrinkle in Time introduces us to three kids named Charles Wallace, the youngest of the group, Margret Murry, the second oldest of the group and Charles Wallace's older sister, and last but not least, Calvin O'Keefe, a boy who is from a horrid family that beats their children! They are all on a mission to find their father, who got lost in time and space while tessering, which is a type of travel through the fifth dimension.
I think this book is a great read for fantasy lovers and people who love suspense and adventure. This book is exiting, especially when they are tessering and they go to a planet called Camzotz. It is very dull, plain and gray on Camzotz, which makes it very scary for the three kids. The three kids have to rescue their father, and they THINK their father is on Camzotz but they're not positive. So when they get there, they figure out that everyone is being mind controlled by the evil brain, IT! Will they rescue their father and defeat IT, or will they will be mind controlled by IT and never see their family again?!
This book is very suspenseful, which makes it easy for you to lose track of where the characters are and what they are doing. So you have to read slowly and steadily to understand this adventure book. You never know what type of adventure is around the corner for this book. It keeps you on the edge of your seat with adventure, love and being trustworthy to your family.
"Did a shadow fall across the moon or did the moon simply go out, extinguished as abruptly and completely as a candle? There was still the sound of leaves, a terrified, terrifying rushing. All light was gone. Meg felt that Calvin was being torn from her. When she reached out for him her fingers touched nothing, she screamed out `Charles!' and whether it was to help him or for him to help her, she did not know. The word was flung back on her throat and she choked on it." There is more to this exciting chapter, but I had to narrow it down! That is what I mean by adventures. The quote from the book was when the three kids were tessering through time and space to go to the planet Uriel in chapter 4.
A Wrinkle in Time is a great read because it is a creative and suspenseful story. It is a book that keeps you wanting to read more. If you like fantasy that will keep you hooked, A Wrinkle in Time is the book for you.

This book is essential reading.

A Wrinkle In Time (by Madeleine L' Engle) Reader Review
Reviewer Rebecca L. Slattery from Lebanon ME, USA.
A Wrinkle In Time, By Madeleine L' Engle is about Meg, a very cautious and frightened girl, who is about to embark on the wildest adventure of her life. The people that are going to help her on her quest to find her father are Charles Wallace, Calvin, and three out-of-this-world ladies named Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which. On their adventure they come up upon a dark force called the Black Thing, Who symbolizes evil. They also encounter IT a thing that Meg has to defeat in order to save the ones she loves. It produces evil which produces the Black Thing.
The unique setting stood out because of the weird places they visit and how descriptive the author made every place. The places they traveled were otherworldly as in they travel to other planets. The setting was also very strange and very confusing; It takes awhile to understand what was going on. I thought this book was very good full of detail but it went very slow. it took me forever to finish it because of the amount of details the author had given.
I would recommend this book to people with vivid imaginations and people that are interested in science fiction fantasy. I would also recommend this book to young children or parents who would read it to their young children. I also recommend this book to anyone that is into weird things.

A Wrinkle in Time is the best book I have ever read. I read it when I was in 4th grade and I thought it was an amazing piece of work. Ms. L'Engle really does a great job of bringing out the personality in the characters in the book. The book does have some kind of weird fantasy parts, but those parts put together a wonderful masterpiece of science fiction will just blow you away. I recommend this book to both boys and girls of all ages (that includes adults) and you should read it as soon as possible!

Today's readers will think that this book is simply stating the obvious. That shows how much influence the book has had. Prior to the book's publication, most people felt that "getting things right" was more important than speed. This book points out that speed can actually be helpful in getting things right by encouraging you to improve your management processes so you do things right the first time.

Many companies have had trouble implementing this concept in the way it is articulated. They simplify their process, but may not improve it. This may mean that new products arrive in the market that are not really ready for the customers. That can be all right if you can quickly fine-tune the products in beta tests and the customers have that expectation because you are giving them so much benefit anyway. If you do this with me-too products that don't work, the results can be disastrous in terms of damage to your company's reputation and customer relationships.

The authors do not spend enough time on helping people understand how to improve their processes, and how to create more speed without killing stress on the people involved. For many companies, this book can be dangerous. I think this book could use a new edition that would address these two areas in more detail.

On the other hand, if you have any doubts about the potential benefits from speedier action, you should read this book. It will change your mind using excellent examples.

Have a speedy read!

Simply put, an oustanding book that has all the nuts and bolts needed to allow a company to transition to a time based focus from a cost based one. Easy to read, the logic is perfect. A must buy to have on your shelf (better yet ... on your desk). I read it first when I received my MBA ... read it again this last week .... and gave copies to top management I know around the country.

In 1990 this book was revolutionary. Today, it is mostly interesting as the first book on the subject. Nobody in todays (business) world can have missed out on the concept that time is (or can be) a competitive advantage.

If you have missed this basic fact, do read this book, it explains in rather boring terms why it is so.

Personally I think they put to much emphasis on time as a competitive advantage, and tend to disregard other factors, equally important. A more relevant reading would in my opinion be D'Aveni's Hypercompetition, that takes the concept to its logical conclusion, which Hoult and Stalk misses.

Unfortunately, neither of the authors are very entertaining writers, especially as this book is usually mandatory/recommended reading in most MBA classes on strategy.

In conclusion, good, once revolutionary, but today mostly over-rated.

Fast Cycle time was written in 1993, though his ideas are very much inline with the "modern" lean ideas (concept introduces in 1990). The book explains how to improve cycle time in product development and how this will lead to a general improvement within the company.

The book consists of two parts. The first part describes the fast cycle time concepts. It introduces cross-functional teams (which the author calls multifunctional teams). Most importantly it links the speed of development to the speed of learning since product development is equal to learning (very much inline with Al Ward's "Lean Product Development" ideas). It links his ideas back to the learning organization theories and shows how these concepts are an absolute must when speeding up product development.

The second part is about the implementation of these concepts. First it talks about making a clear strategy so that the organization can focus. After that, one of the main topics of the book, is the multifunctional team chapter. This introduces the concepts and talks about the different organizational models. Also it'll go over the typical development of multifunctional teams. The next chapter covers process redesign. This chapter is very similar to lean's "value steam mapping" ideas (well, exactly the same to be precise). Though Chris Meyer uses process maps instead of value stream maps. The book ends with some guidance on implementation of these ideas.

The book was well written and very clear. There is a balance between examples and theory. The CP (Quantum?) example wasn't worked out that well. Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It's one of the only books which has a strong focus on cross-functional teams and it's relation to cycle time and organization learning. Recommended.

Many of our clients are struggling with life at internet speeds. If you haven't read this classic on speeding up your organizations product and service life cycle, now may be a good time to do so. Praise for this book, as listed on the back of the dust jacket, come from Ford Motor Company, Quantum Corporation and others with Ed McCraken, CEO of Silicon Graphics Computer Systems stating that this is; "A must read for executive who seek speed and competitiveness."

Mr. Meyer utilizes an "ongoing case study" to make his points concerning FCT processes. This approach lends credence to his positions and gives the book a solid feel of practicality. In addition, frequent use of diagrams helps the reader visualize the organizations, processes, information flow, and cross functional activities of organizations. The layout of the book is logical and provides for continuity as Meyer builds on each preceding chapter.

The book is filled with excellent observations and pithy sayings: "The responsibility for strategic alignment rests with senior management." "Any organization leader who seeks to 'empower' people should first create a clear strategic context that enables others to use the power with which they were born." "Research demonstrates there is a negative correlation between economic growth rate and the number of Nobel prizes won." "A sustainable FCT capability can be achieved only by learning faster, not by working faster."

This book provides a compelling blend of theory and practical advice on how to move quickly. I found many things that used combined Balanced Score Card techniques focused on cycle time with the author's real world experience - which is considerable.

The book is aimed at managing the culture and mindset of the organization, not a particular project. A worthwhile read if time-based-competition applies to your business.

I work for a Tech company in Silicon Valley. It's been about 10 years since this book was written and it's amazing to me how little has changed since then. The work culture in Silicon Valley corporations mirrors that of "Ditto" corporation. People feel obligated to work long hours while sacrificing their personal lives. To me, reading this book has been an eye-opening experience. I am now aware of the havoc that the work/life balance equation can unleash on people's lives. I see shades of the characters covered in the book in my colleagues and friends. Awareness of these issues is the first step in defining your personal values at work.

Good job, Leslie!

While this book explores work-family issues, it also gives concrete suggestions about how to improve management processes and allow workers more personal time without decreasing productivity. Essentially, the thesis of the book is that workers that can work uninterrupted for a significant period each day are more productive and efficient. This thesis is supported by a study done by the author at a Fortune 500 company named "Ditto" (probably Xerox in real life).

However, a depressing aspect of the book is that once higher productivity is achieved, Ditto Corp just piles on more work! Anyone who has worked in a high-stress, tight-deadline environment will be able to identify with the situations in this book.

In terms of action orientation, I found this book better than "Time Bind" by Arlie Hochschild. It also leaves out the liberal politics. Give it as an anonymous gift to the the CEO of your company!

Time Management skills are essential for successful people the book deals with practical techniques, which have helped the leading people in business reach the pinnacles of their careers. The skills explained in the book helps you to become reliable and effective and show you how to identify and focus on the activities that give you the greatest returns by explaining goal setting, which is a vitally important skill for achieving what you want to achieve with your life. It is neatly summed up in the Pareto Principle, or the "80:20 Rule". This argues that typically 80% of unfocussed effort generates only 20% of results. The remaining 80% of results are achieved with only 20% of the effort. While the ratio is not always 80:20, this broad pattern of a small proportion of activity generating non-scalar returns recurs so frequently as to be the norm in many areas. It also talks about issues like learn to say no, learn to prioritize, combine several activities, doing subordinate's work, doing the work of others, scheduling projects, monitoring staff, and setting long-term objectives. The absence of personal time management is characterized by last minute rushes to meet deadlines, days, which seem somehow to slip unproductively by, crises, which loom unexpected from nowhere. This sort of environment leads to inordinate stress and degradation of performance. Poor time management is often a symptom of over confidence: techniques, which used to work with small projects and workloads, are simply reused with large ones. However, inefficiencies, which were insignificant in the small role, are ludicrous in the large. You cannot drive a motor bike like a bicycle, nor can you manage a supermarket-chain like a market stall. The demands, the problems, and the payoffs for increased efficiency are all larger as your responsibility grows; you must learn to apply proper techniques, or be bettered by those who do. Possibly, the reason Time Management is poorly practiced is that it so seldom forms a measured part of appraisal and performance review; what many fail to foresee, however, is how intimately it is connected to aspects, which do. Leslie Parlow's, excellent practical application of Time Management.By Vivek Dixit, Stanford.edu.

This book details 85 simple strategies that readers can use to achieve work/life balance. This is a great book - easy to read and the strategies are really simple. The author presents many questions to consider and gives action tasks to help the reader get going. This is a great self-coaching book that will help readers to make the best use of their time, managage stress, and fulfill their potential.

There are 85 ideas in this book to reorganize and energize your life. This is not a system book-- you can pick and choose among the items to attack an area that needs work.

For example, there are hints for beating procrastination and moving out of a comfort zone (big moves) to little things like organizing your office (do it in small bites; reorganize a drawer by taking all of the items out and ONLY putting back the ones you need in that drawer.)

This is a really nice example of a self-improvement book that can be used and re-used because you don't have to reinvent yourself wholesale--just a bit at a time. Recommended.

Extremely well written, easy to read, but unlikely to provide much new information for dedicated self improvement junkies.

Andrea Molloy is a leading New Zealand life coach. Her style of writing is easy to read and the book has separate sections for tips, exercises and helpful examples.

The material is unlikely to be new but it is very well explained and the layout is excellent. If you are new to personal growth or having difficulty managing your life this book contains simple guidelines with easy to follow steps to help you get your life in balance. If you are more experienced in personal growth or self-coaching it is a helpful refresher but you may prefer to buy a book that delves deeper into the subject.

Shigeo Shingo was the mastermind behind the Toyota Production System, constantly experimenting and thinking on how to improve. The result was an approach that significantly reduced required inventories (and their associated costs and losses), improved quality, and reduced throughput time.

"A Study of the Toyota Production System" is somewhat difficult to read, due to translation issues, but more importantly will make you stop to think, scratch your head in disbelief, and then finally agree in amazement.

I enjoyed it since it gave me insight on how TPS evolved and allowed me to better understand not how TPS works but more why.

There are a lot of books about the Toyota Production System, but this is one of the most useful for those actually attempting to implement elements of this system. Most of the books on TPS by western authers are just superficial glosses written by MBA's who don't seem to have a clue how to make anything. This book is detailed, specific, clearly written, and very well translated. Some of the material is repetative, nevertheless this is the book to get on TPS.

This book does come at very very very hefty price, but it is so much worth it. This is where I totally disagree with the previous reviwer. I have found it hard to find a book that explains the concepts of logistics and supply chain management in a clearer fashion than this book. Every chapter features a number of case studies in which the theory is discussed in-depth. In addition the figures and illustrations are clear cut and easy to understand. A must have for both student and practitioner.

This is certainly not the very book on supply chain management to begin with. Initially appealing logical structure and organisation of the material turns into little more than summarised statements on the entire variety of logistics concepts. In my opinion, the book significanly lacks the integrity and applicability of the fundamental work of the authors' Cranfield colleague Martin Christopher.

The dry and schematic nature of the text risks finding sympathy only of the mature experienced logistics professionals.

Always entertaining, educational, and sometimes frustrating, but that's NOT the fault of the Times!

I bought a BUNCH of these large print New York Times Crossword books for my Mom including this one. She was ardent about solving them and felt they helped her in maintaining her mental powers. I would have to agree on that. The large print really IS large and seemed too big to me at first but they were easier for her to savor and work on at her own pace. They also have puzzles you can subscribe to and receive through the mail. I was surprized and delighted during a visit to see that she and a friend worked on them together. They're a terrific resource for an aging parent and well worth the price for the stimulation !!