Focusses on the industry and use of mathematical methods, in particular the Monte Carlo method as a tool that can support and improve the engineering of systems. The application of the Monte Carlo method to system engineering is a new concept and the Monte Carlo method allows serious mathematical treatment of real-world industrial systems. This book which includes a large number of worked examples from real industrial problems, will prove a valuable reference source for students, researchers and engineers.

It presents a unified approach to time-dependent system behavior in which the Monte Carlo method serves as a tool to obtain solutions to real-world challenges. The author suggest that efficiency can be increased through this integrated approach which combines previously independent considerations such as product reliability, maintenance requirements and the availability of spare parts.

Features include:

* Comprehensive coverage of the basic theory behind systems engineering and the Monte Carlo method enabling the reader to understand the concepts involved

* Description of the method from the basic estimation of simple statistical processes, through the evaluation of multidimensional integrals to the solution of complex transport equations

* Extensive examples detailing practical industrial applications for each of the techniques presented

* Accompanying software (available via ftp) relating to specific examples which allows the reader to use the methods described to solve practical problems

* Discussion of a variety of analytical tools from classical probabilistic methods to the concepts of event distribution, aging and Markovian methods explaining how these fit into the general systems engineering framework.