Statistically, the addition of an infinite number of inspections will cause nearly every item to be found defective for some reason. An optimal level of inspection balances the economics of replacing false positives with the human and moral consequences of failing to detect real errors.

When struggling to analyze a complex problem, shift your point of view from that of outside observer to that of the thing you are analyzing. If you were that thing, what forces would you feel? What internal stresses would you experience? How would you have to react in order to remain stable and not twist, turn, deform, be pushed over, or be caused

When a production schedule is accelerated, savings are often expected through reduced indirect costs—overhead, equipment rental, insurance, supervision, utilities, and so on. Meanwhile, direct costs (generally, labor, materials, and equipment purchases and operation) may be expected to stay constant, because the same amount of work must be done reg

Every person has a gravity force vector with a magnitude (weight) measured in pounds or newtons, and a direction toward the center of the earth.

A force, often called a “load,” exists external to and acts upon a body, and can cause it to change speed, direction, or shape. Examples of forces include water pressure on a submarine hull, snow loads on a bridge, and wind loads on the sides of a skyscraper. Stress is the “experience” of a body—its internal resistance to an external force acting o

A brilliantly conceived alternative-fuel vehicle will not succeed without the design and implementation of a refueling infrastructure over a large geographic area.

thoroughly. Thinking systemically means thinking about systems and connections—the web of relationships within a system, the relationship of the system to other systems, and the larger system that contains all the systems.

Each line indicates a constant elevation—a measured height above sea level or other reference point.

A civil engineering team at the University of Texas found that crossings with flashing lights are the most dangerous intersection type, with an accident rate approximately 3 times greater than stoplight intersections and 5 to 6 times greater than roundabouts.