This paper presents investigations on the removal of cyclohexane and ethanol from air in polyurethane- -packed biotrickling filters, inoculated with Candida albicans and Candida subhashii fungal species. Results on process performance together with flow cytometry analyses of the biofilm formed over packing elements are presented and discussed. The results indicate that the presence of ethanol enhances the removal efficiency of cyclohexane from air. This synergistic effect may be attributed to both co-metabolism of cyclohexane with ethanol as well as increased sorption efficiency of cyclohexane to mineral salt medium in the presence of ethanol. Maximum elimination capacities of 89 g m-3 h-1 and 36.7 g m-3 h-1 were noted for cyclohexane and ethanol, respectively, when a mixture of these compounds was treated in a biofilter inoculated with C. subhashii. Results of flow cytometry analyses after 100 days of biofiltration revealed that about 91% and 88% of cells in biofilm remained actively dividing, respectively for C. albicans and C. subhashii species, indicating their good condition and ability to utilize cyclohexane and ethanol as a carbon source.

Polymer coatings are increasingly used in varied fields and applications from simple coatings of barrier to intricated nanotechnology based composite. In the present study, polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF)/Hydroxyapatite (HA )coatings were produced by spin coating technique over 316L SS. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) were used to observe the coated 316L SS substrates surface morphology. The corrosion protection efficiency of pure polyvinylidene fluoride and polyvinylidene fluoride/HA nanocomposite coatings on 316L SS was inspected using potentiodynamic polarization along with the ions release techniques in Hank’s solution. A superior biocompatibility and an improved protection performance against corrosion were obtained for the 316L SS samples with nanocomposite coatings compared with the pure polyvinylidene fluoride coatings and pristine 316L SS counterparts. The 316L SS samples coated by PVDF/HA nanocomposite showed enhanced corrosion protection within Hank’s solution. The corrosion of 316L SS samples within Hank’s solution increased from 92.99% to 99.99% when using 3wt% HA due to increasing the PVDF inhibition efficiency. Good agreements in the electrochemical corrosion parameters were obtained from using ions release and potentiodynamic polarization tests.

This paper is focused on the theoretical study of heat conduction in the multi-brake system of the automated guided vehicle (AGV). The study aims to compare the amount of heat generated during braking from 10 m/s until a stop in a brake system based on organic and ceramic friction material. The theoretical study of heat conduction is solved in Matlab computational software using a derived Fourier partial differential equation for nonstationary heat conduction. The results of the simulation of the heat conduction are shown in the diagrams and indicate not only the temperature dependence in the period during braking from a speed of 10 m/s to a stop but also the amount of heat accumulated in the steel disc during braking. The simulation results show that braking in both brake systems generates approximately the same amount of heat. The difference occurs in the period of thermal activity, which was influenced by the length of the braking distance. This is caused by a coefficient of friction that significantly affects the final braking result. Finally, it can be stated that the brake system based on organic material must be equipped with a steel disc with a minimum thickness of 8 mm. This is because the brake system based on organic friction material has a set temperature limit of 160 degrees Celsius. The results presented in this study will help an engineer constructor to choose the right procedures and parameters of geometry for designing the mentioned braking system for the considered AGV.

Increased competition has led businesses to compete with each other in streamlining supply chain processes, especially in the manufacturing sector. Supply Chain Management (SCM) determines the success of industrial business processes because it regulates product flow regarding integration, performance, and information. However, several problems have emerged in the supply chain process, such as a lack of coordination in the production queue, difficulties in forecasting trending products, and suboptimal production capacity. To address these issues, the role of information technology is crucial for implementing a Decision Support System (DSS). This study aims to develop a DSS to improve the supply chain processes. The research method used is Extreme Programming (XP) with a qualitative approach through a questionnaire. The research process involves collecting data, defining boundaries and problems, and designing, coding, and testing the system. As a final step, evaluation is carried out by distributing surveys to obtain valid satisfaction results. This research produces a DSS that has applicability in marketing, accounting, and production processes. The application of DSS in the furniture manufacturing industry can help manage the movement of resources, optimize strategic networks, and assist decision-making in the supply chain process.

This paper aims to enhance the productivity of a chilled beef production line by comparing two techniques; standard time calculation and simulation. The best improvement method was obtained using the work-study principle, a network diagram, and bottleneck identification. Two methods for improvement are proposed based on the ECRS, the Theory of Constraint (TOC), and line balancing concepts. A simulation model is developed to mimic the actual production line. The simulation results are verified, validated, and compared. Some workstations were combined, and the allocation of the workers was arranged. The present production line efficiency was 46.21%, which increased to 67.09% and 79.71% from the suggested methods. It showed that using the standard time calculation gives a different result from the simulation. In summary, the simulation model along with the application of TOC and ECRS, provides accurate information and improves overall productivity.

Improving product quality while making decisions remains a challenge. The objective of this research was to develop a model that supports the precise enhancement of product quality through comprehensive analysis of possibilities, product incompatibilities, root causes, and recommended improvement actions. The model incorporated various tools and methods such as the SMARTER method, expert team selection, brainstorming, Ishikawa diagram, 5M+E rule, FAHP, and FTOPSIS methods. The study demonstrated that integrating quality management tools and decision-making methods into a unified model enables the accurate prioritization of activities for product quality management. This integrated approach represents the novelty of this research. The model was evaluated using a mechanical seal made of 410 alloy. The research findings can be valuable to enterprises seeking to enhance product quality at any stage of production, particularly for modified or new products.

Currently, we live in a culture of being overly busy, but this does not translate into efficiency, speed of implementation of the actions taken. Enterprises are constantly looking for methods and tools to make them more efficient. The most popular method of production management is Lean Manufacturing, less known is Theory of Constraints. This work is a continuation of the research on the comparison of these methods with apply a computer simulation, which the analyzed production process in the selected enterprise, after 24 hours and week. An attempt was made to simplify the comparison of the methods based on the obtained simulation in terms of costs. In analyzed case, more advantageous solution is to use the DBR method. To produce various orders that do not require 100% production on the bottleneck position, the use of Kanban is a frequent practice as it provides greater flexibility in order execution.

Quality profiling seeks to know the quality characteristics of products and processes to improve customer satisfaction and business competitiveness. It is required to develop new techniques and tools that upgrade and complement the traditional analysis of process variables. This article proposes a new methodology to model quality control of the process and product quality characteristics by applying optimization and simulation tools. The application in the production process of carbonated beverages allowed us to identify the most influential variables on the gas content and the degrees Brix of beverage.

Electric energy systems need constant modernization and updating to solve such problems as distributed management, self-sealing, improving the quality of electricity, demand management, and integration of renewable energy systems. Currently, energy systems need advanced and intelligent technologies to perform various system-level tasks. The purpose of this research is to analyze the existing control systems of electric energy systems, as well as to consider the possibility of using multi-agent systems to control electric energy systems. To achieve the aim of the research, the following scientific approaches were implemented: method of direct research, experimental method, questioning, comparative method, analysis method, and method of observation. The primary value of the research is in the novelty of the work and the fact, that functional components in multi-agent systems act as independent agents, which can interact with each other through a message communication system. This provides a simple connection between the components, which can benefit complex systems designed for an intelligent network. The intelligent network provides an efficient energy management system, and the modernization of the existing power system using a multi-agent system provides solutions to many problems. The best implementation of a multi-agent system can be achieved through the employment of fast and protected communication protocols. The authors of the research have conducted research and presented key statistical data on electricity usage in Kazakhstan over the past few years. The practical significance of the research is determined by the applied results, and their scientific significance, which is conditioned upon the use of deep, modern mathematical results and the development of an optimal control system. This research is a part of a universal model and optimal system of emergency quick response, conducting a quick preliminary prognosis as well as ensuring more lasting planning in electricity consumption.

The objective of this research is to minimize product defects based on labor performance and prove the hypothesis on how labor performance affects the quality of a product through a scientific calculation using Overall Labor Effectiveness (OLE). The primary data is obtained by interviewing the supervisor and labor directly. For secondary data is obtained from the company, such as labor working time, machine scheduled downtime, total production, and defective products. The approach to extract the data is using OLE and the continued regression method. Furthermore, it proceeds to Six Sigma using the DMAIC approach since the results show a significant correlation. The result from Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) shows four of six potential failures caused by product defects are coming from labor. To prevent failure mode, it is recommended to have the regular machine checked by labor, check the temperature of the machine, and provide Standard Operating Procedures.

This article presents the assessment of the creative culture and the level of innovativeness in selected manufacture enterprises. The theoretical part of the article discusses the space for creativity in the company and the microfoundations of the pyramid of needs related to creative culture. The pyramid consists of different microfoundations, which were used to create a questionnaire to assess the level of creative culture. This study assessed creative culture according to a model of the hierarchy of needs, developed by the author of this study based on Maslow’s pyramid of needs. The assessment used an innovation questionnaire and a creative culture questionnaire. This article presents a sample analysis of the results obtained from two of the companies that participated in the study. Furthermore, the article summarizes the results obtained from all participating companies and gives recommendations related to establishing creative culture based on these results. Every company should implement appropriate standards to help it develop a creative working environment. The goal of assessing creative culture in a company is to assist managers in building a workplace that fosters creativity, since such a workplace is a significant factor affecting the emergence of innovation. The analysis of the creative culture of the companies revealed their weaknesses and strengths in this respect. The developed methodology will undoubtedly influence an increase of awareness and knowledge of enterprises in the field of creating a pro-creative company culture. Such actions will contribute to the increase of company’s innovation, thus influencing its development.

The activities of the organisation concentrate mainly on meeting customers’ requirements. For this purpose, various activities are being conducted for customer satisfaction surveys. In this context, it is important to predict the quality of the product and the changes in the cost of the purchase product. The purpose of this study is to propose a method for predicting the quality level of a product and change the cost of the product considering current customers’ requirements for a combination of product feature states and pro-quality changes. The method includes the calculation of the quality level of the product using the punctationformalised method, where the level depends on a combination of values of states (parameters) attributes of the product, that is, current and modified. The method was tested as an example of a household vacuum cleaner for which 20 attributes were determined. According to the Pareto rule (20/80), the four product attributes important for customers were selected. Thereafter, for important attributes, possible combinations of the values of these attributes were determined. In addition, an algorithm for determining the possible combinations of product attribute states in the MATLAB program was developed. Additionally, the change in the current cost of the product considering the change in the quality level was estimated. The product cost changes were determined based on the actual cost of the product and the current product quality level. The method allows the determination of all combinations of values of state attributes of the product, such that it is possible to take appropriate improvement actions both in terms of quality and cost. The results from the method allow the prediction of product satisfaction for customers and they are favourable in terms of production cost. Therefore, it is possible to design the product in advance and support the producer in preparatory activities.

Industry 4.0 (I4) as a concept offers powerful opportunities for many businesses. The set of Industry 4.0 technologies is still discussed, and boundaries are not perfectly clear. However, implementation of Industry 4.0 concept becomes strategic principle, and necessary condition for succeeding on turbulent markets. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) was used before I4 emerged. However, it should be treated as its important part and even enabler. The question arises how adoption of RFID was impacted by I4 paradigm. Therefore, to answer this question a set of technology management tools was selected and applied to forecast RFID potential development in forthcoming years. Moreover, case studies were conducted for technology management tools and their applications for RFID for qualitative discussion of its relevance. It aimed to prove that existing toolset should be applied for modern technologies related to I4. Tools were proven to be necessary and successful. However, some specific challenges were observed and discussed.

The presence of the spare parts stock is a necessity to ensure the continuity of services. The supply of spare parts is a special case of the global supply chain. The main objective of our research is to propose a global spare parts management approach which allows decision makers to determine the essential points in stock management. Thus, it is important for the stock manager to evaluate the system considered from time to time based on performance indicators. Some of these indicators are presented in the form of a dashboard. The presentation of this chapter chronologically traces the progress of our research work. In the first part, we present the work related to the forecast of spare parts needs through parametric and statistical methods as well as a Bayesian modelling of demand forecasting. To measure the appreciation of the supply of spare parts inventory, the second part focuses on work related to the evaluation of the performance of the spare parts system. Thus, we concretize the link between the management of spare parts and maintenance in the third part, more precisely, in the performance evaluation of the joint -management of spare parts and maintenance, in order to visualize the influence of parameters on the system. In the last section of this chapter, we will present the metaheuristic methods and their use in the management of spare parts and maintenance and make an analysis on work done in the literature.

So far, numerous studies have been published on the selection of appropriate maintenance tactics based on some factors affecting them such as time, cost, and risk. This paper aims to develop the TRIZ contradiction matrix by explaining the dimensions and components of each of the following Reactive maintenance tactics. The related findings of previous studies were analyzed by adopting “Rousseau and Sandoski” seven-step method to identify and extract the relationships between TRIZ principles and Reactive maintenance tactics. Thereafter, 5 Reactive maintenance tactics were replaced TRIZ’s 40 principles in the TRIZ contradiction matrix. Finally, the ANP method were used to extract and prioritize the appropriate Reactive maintenance tactics. The proposed matrix in this research was used in the desalination section of one of the oil companies to select on the appropriate Reactive maintenance tactics. The results of this research is useful for managers and maintenance specialists of units in making decisions to provide appropriate Reactive maintenance tactics for the desired equipment.

Industry 4.0 promises to make manufacturing processes more efficient using modern technologies like cyber-physical systems, internet of things, cloud computing and big data analytics. Lean Management (LM) is one of the most widely applied business strategies in recent decades. Thus, implementing Industry 4.0 mostly means integrating technologies in companies that already operate according to LM. However, due to the novelty of the topic, research on how LM and Industry 4.0 can be integrated is still under development. This paper explores the synergic relationship between these two domains by identifying six examples of real cases that address LM-Industry 4.0 integration in the extant literature. The goal is to make explicit the best practices that are being implemented by six distinct industrial sectors

The industrial revolution taking place since the 18th century has brought the global economies to the stage of mass production, mass industrialization and spreading ideas connected with its efficiency. The most famous of its kind is Fordism and its modern variations called PostFordism or Neo-Fordism. We can still see traditional way of producing things in some parts of the world, and the leading economies are using Ford’s ideas or the modifications of the Ford’s concepts. But there is a question about the place of these models in the modern economy, especially because mass-production causes mass-waste and modern societies has woken up to the reality of the global pollution, climate change or just the simple fact that the amount of the raw materials is limited. The social mood is slowly changing so there should be a change to the way we produce and consume things as well. There is a question: can we proceed within existing models or should we think outside the box so we can invent more suitable way of looking at efficiency and effectiveness. The objective of this paper is to contribute to the discussion about the future of how are we going to produce things. It is based on the literature review considering Fordism and its variations, Product Life Cycle facing issues like pollution, massive waste and changes in modern economy, as well as on the case study of implementing waste reduction activities in the product’ design phase in the industrial plant based in one of the EU countries – Poland.

As the corporate culture and re/setting of employer – employee relations is crucial due to changes in workplace due to impact of COVID-19, this article aims to identify types of organizational culture, and to find impact on the implementation of HR activities and employer branding, including classification of organizations by their defined strategies. A model of organizational culture, including its systematic relationships, is proposed and tested using a sample of 402 organizations across sectors operating in the Czech Republic as a characteristic economy in Central Eastern European region. This model includes different dimensions of internal brand management and manifestations of organizational culture. Data are analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistics. Identification of a suitable type of organizational culture leads towards successful employer branding and work engagement; brand identification and communication directly raise positive perception of organizational culture. Three major areas of use of organizational culture and branding have been identified: re-setting of personnel processes depending on the change of organization’s size, on the decline in labor productivity and on organizational mergers, changes in scope of business and in market position. The results suggest that orientation on employee engagement is a better predictor of (positive) organizational culture than increase in productivity. Furthermore, the results explain supportive roles of organizational culture towards customers and employees. The results extend theory by empirical analysis of organizational culture and internal brand management from the employers’ perspective.

Commercialization processes are modeled and analyzed from the point of view of the implementation of activities under particular stages. These issues are the subject of many studies and analyzes, which is why the extensive literature is available on this subject. Technology valuation at various stages of the commercialization process is a separate issue. Such valuation is prepared in most cases by consulting companies for determining the price in the buying and selling processes. These valuations use known methods also used in other cases, e.g., real estate valuation. The work carried out presents the author’s concept of the commercialization process model, taking into account the costs and value of the technology at various stages of the product life cycle. The model uses a stochastic approach to determine future revenues and costs, which allows estimating the value of the technology by or in determining the probability of assessment validity. The proposed stochastic approach greatly increases the chances of using the presented solutions in practical activities related to technology valuation for the purposes of purchase and sale transactions.

The market of consumer goods requires nowadays quick response to customer needs. As a consequence, this is transferred to the time restrictions that the semi-finished product manufacturer must meet. Therefore the cost of manufacturing cannot determine how production processes are designed, and the main evaluation function of manufacturing processes is the response time to customers’ orders. One of the ideas for implementing this idea is the QRM (Quick Response Manufacturing) production organization system. The purpose of the research undertaken by the authors was to develop an innovative solution in the field of production structure, allowing for the implementation of the QRM concept in a Contract Manufacturer, which realizes its tasks according to engineering-to-order (ETO) system in conditions defined as High Mix, Low Volume, High Complexity. The object of the research was to select appropriate methods for grouping products assuming that certain operations will be carried out in traditional but well-organized technological and/or linear cells. The research was carried out in one of the largest producers of sheet metal components in Europe. Pre-completed groupings for data obtained from the company had indicated that – among the classical methods – the best results had been given by the following methods: King’s Algorithm (otherwise called: Binary Ordering, Rank Order Clustering), k-means, and Kohonen’s neural networks. The results of the tests and preliminary simulations based on the data from the company proved that the implementation of the QRM concept does not have to be associated with the absolute formation of multi-purpose cells. It turned out that the effect of reducing the response time to customer needs can be obtained by using hybrid structures that combine solutions characteristic of cellular systems with traditional systems such as a technological, linear, or mixed structure. However, this requires the application of technological solutions with the highest level of organization.

The main objective of the research work was to identify the dimensions of complexity and study the relationship between these defined dimensions in the industrial automation sector. To achieve these objectives in the study, there was assumed the following major hypothesis: With the increasing role of dynamic cross-section of the complexity there is growing importance of relationship dimension for competitive advantage. In the study there were diagnosed four dimensions of complexity. Existence of the relationship between these four identified dimensions of complexity occurred by the use of the Fisher’s exact test, which is a variant of the test of independence ��2. Furthermore, there were calculated V-Cramer factors to estimate the intensity of the above-mentioned relationship between analyzed dimensions. The research discovered that the three out of four dimensions such as the number of elements, variety of elements and uncertainty depend on the last dimension of complexity which is the relationship between elements. In the turbulent environment there is a growing importance of the relationship dimension. It forms competitive advantage and is a key condition of success in creating a new type of modern enterprise strategy that occurs within complexity management in the industrial automation sector.

Distribution centres are the important elements of modern supply chains. A distribution centre stores and ships products. In this paper, we investigate the model of the dimensioning of shelf space on the rack with vertical and horizontal product categorisation in a distribution centre, where the objective is to maximise the total product movement/profit from all shelves of the rack which is being managed by a packer who needs to complete orders selecting the products from the shelves and picking them to the container. We apply two newly developed heuristics to this problem and compare the results to the optimal solution found by the CPLEX solver. There are 8 steering parameters that allow for reducing the search space implemented in heuristics. Among them are parameters that decrease the number of products on the shelves, the category with a range for assigning most space for the most profitable products within the category; two versions of steering parameters for the number of generated product allocations, the step parameters for the intensity of solution diversification, and the movement/profit below which the solutions are not generated. The computational results are presented and indicate that higher-quality solutions can be obtained using the new heuristics. In 10 from 15 tests, both heuristics can find optimal solutions without exploring the whole solution space. For the rest test sets, the solutions received by heuristics are not less than 92.58%.

Artificial neural network (ANN), a Computational tool that is frequently applied in the modeling and simulation of manufacturing processes. The emerging forming technique of sheet metal which is typically called single point incremental forming (SPIF) comes into the map and the research interest towards its technological parameters. The surface quality of the end product is a major issue in SPIF, which is more critical with the hard metals. The part of the brass metal is demanded in many industrial uses because of its high load-carrying capacity and its wear resistance property. Considering the industrial interest and demand of the brass metal products, the present study is done with the SPIF experiment on calamine brass Cu67Zn33 followed by an ANN analysis for predicting the absolute surface roughness. The modeling result shows a close agreement with the measured data. The minimum and maximum errors are found in experiment 3 and experiment 7 respectively. The error of predicted roughness is found in the range of –30.87 to 20.23 and the overall coefficient of performance of ANN modeling is 0.947 which is quite acceptable.

This study aims to identify the impact of transformational leadership in improving the performance of employees and its impact on raising the efficiency of organizations by considering that transformational leadership is one of the successful leadership methods to achieve the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations and improve their performance. In this paper, a systematic literature review of existing international papers is used. the meta-analysis method was used to analyze the articles published in scientific journals with high evaluation indexed in Scopus. Through the analysis process, application (WordStat 8) was used to investigate articles and summarize the descriptive statistics, correlation, and cloud keywords. The results reveal the effectiveness of transformational leadership on job performance. whenever managerial leaderships possess the attributes and characteristics of a transformational leader, including positive influence, inspirational motivation, and individual consideration, the more their subordinates will have creative skills and abilities. Also, the results indicate that the leader who possesses the characteristics of a transformational leader contributes significantly to the development of the capabilities of his subordinates, which is positively reflected in the upgrading of the organization's efficiency. In this paper, we present identifiable patterns in the relationship between transformational leadership, improving employee performance, and the raising efficiency of organizations. Then we suggest emerging core topics that deserve more academic attention. This paper's added value is that it undertakes a thorough and complete assessment of the relationship between transformational leadership, boosting employee performance, and increasing organizational efficiency. It also includes a written review of the work as well as an updated reference index covering the years 2011 to 2020, making it valuable for academics and professionals alike.