Reliability theory and applications become major concerns of engineers and managers engaged in making high quality products and designing highly reliable systems. This book aims to survey new research topics in reliability theory and useful applied techniques in reliability engineering.

Our research group in Nagoya, Japan has continued to study reliability theory and applications for more than twenty years, and has presented and published many good papers at international conferences and in journals. This book focuses mainly on how to apply the results of reliability theory to practical models. Theoretical results of coherent, inspection, and damage systems are summarized methodically, using the techniques of stochastic processes. There exist optimization problems in computer and management sciences and engineering. It is shown that such problems as computer, information and network systems are solved by using the techniques of reliability. Furthermore, some useful techniques applied to the analysis of stochastic models in management science and plants are shown.

The reader will learn new topics and techniques, and how to apply reliability models to actual ones. The book will serve as an essential guide to a subject of study for graduate students and researchers and as a useful guide for reliability engineers engaged not only in maintenance work but also in management and computer works.