Advances in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research

A large international conference on industrial engineering and operations research was held in Hong Kong, March 21–23, 2007, under the International Multi- Conference ofEngineers andComputerScientists(IMECS)2007. TheIMECS2007 is organized by the International Association of Engineers (IAENG), a nonpro t international association for engineers and computer scientists. The IMECS conf- ences serve as platforms for the engineering community to meet with each other and to exchange ideas. The conferences have also struck a balance between theory and application development. The conference committees consist of over 200 comm- teememberswhoaremainlyresearchcenterheads,facultydeans,departmentheads, professors, and research scientists from over 30 countries. The conferences are truly international meetings with a high level of participation from many countries. The response that we have received for the multi-conference is excellent. There have been more than 1100 manuscript submissions for the IMECS 2007. All submitted papers have gone through the peer review process, and the overall acceptance rate is 58. 46%. This volume contains revised and extended research articles on industrial engineering and operations research written by prominent researchers parti- pating in the multi-conference IMECS 2007. Topics covered include quality management systems, reliability and quality control, engineering experimental - sign, computer-supported collaborative engineering, human factors and ergonomics, computer-aided manufacturing, manufacturing processes and methods, engineering management and leadership, optimization, transportation network design, stochastic modeling, queuing theory, and industrial applications. The papers are representative in these subjects, sitting at the top end ofthe highest technologies in these elds.