This book offers detailed case studies on how various industries have learned how to best allocate their resources--technical, human and financial--for enhancing productivity. It will cover efforts to improve resource utilization from around the world. Case studies will cover topics ranging from distributed virtual manufacturing enterprises to integrating green technology in a cost-effective manner to materials and energy savings.This book offers detailed case studies on how various industries have learned how to best allocate their resources--technical, human and financial--for enhancing productivity. It will cover efforts to improve resource utilization from around the world. Case studies will cover topics ranging from distributed virtual manufacturing enterprises to integrating green technology in a cost-effective manner to materials and energy savings. The book will explore how energy- efficient smart materials and structures hold tremendous potential for realizing cost savings and improving energy use in the modern industrial workplace. And it will show how industrial engineers have developed a variety of analytical and computer-based tools and technologies for planning, forecasting, and scheduling resources--including time, labor, and more recently, energy.