Seznam abstraktů 2016: POSTEROVÁ SEKCE F

Hot-blast stove is apparatus for preheating air blown into a blast furnace, an important step in raising the efficiency of iron processing. Physical model of 4 hot-blast stoves is created on a small scale. This model is used by students to understand its function and the possibility to test automation tools for its commissioning. Presented article deals with measuring of temperature using PLC on the model.

The paper describes a case study of the application of SMED methodology in a chosen enterprise dealing with production of deep drawn steel parts for automotive industry. Acronym SMED stands for "Single Minute Exchange of Die". The main goal of SMED methodology is to reduce the time needed for tool exchange and adjustment. Radical shortening of these times, for instance from several hours to a few minutes, is achieved progressively by changes in the tool exchange organization, standardization of the tool exchange procedures, staff training, special aids and technical modifications of the tool or of the press machine. The aim is to move as many internal activities as possible into external. The internal activities are those that are done during machine shutdown, the external activities are done while the machine is running. The goal of this paper is case study of SMED system application in the case of the chosen product series running on a specific machine. It means an introduction of concrete steps taken to reduce the time required for tools changeover and setting.

The article presents changes in the efficiency and labour productivity of Polish metal industry. The main purpose of this paper is to compare the efficiency of 12 sectors manufacturing metal products in Poland. The study applies the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI), which was used to analyze changes in metal industry productivity. The study indicated which factor - technological progress or changes in technical efficiency had a greater impact on the change in productivity of metal industry in Poland. Meanwhile, studies have indicate which metal sectors have the highest average index of MPI and labour productivity.

The paper presents the analysis of the machines efficiency use on the basis of an OEE coefficient for various periods of production for the company engaged in the manufacture of complex metal products. The Overall Equipment Effectiveness was assessed before and after changes improving the position of forming and after the implementation of the new shape of the forming matrix. With regard to the internal logistics companies it found that changes in addition to increase of the OEE (the result exceeds the value of the coefficient in relation to World Class) also affected on the value stream flow. It has been observed that proposed changes significantly reduced the value of the process lead time (L/T) and the ratio of the added value time (A/V) to the lead time (L/T) has more beneficial values.

The article deals with staff training and development in metallurgical and collaborating companies. Based on a survey of HR departments of those companies, conducted during 2015, the practices in staff training and development have been analyzed, focusing on the methods used, planning and the role of this area in HR management. The output of the analysis is recommendations for management regarding staff training and development. The importance of the implementation of new methods, the assessment of the benefit of staff training and the development and importance of basic educational methods like coaching or mentoring, is emphasized.

The study proved that the product quality is affected by many factors. The functioning of the quality management system plays only an indirect role in ensuring the required quality level. The research findings conducted in the chosen steel industry enterprise present an introduction of corrective and preventive actions. The research results are summarized with applying of Ishikawa diagram that allows identifying main groups of factors affecting the product quality. There was applied also Pareto - Lorenz diagram to identify product quality determinants in order to solve quality problems by corrective proposals. Paper’s conclusions demonstrate proposal of the steel product machining process improvement in order to reduce the risk level of quality problems occurrence in the manufacturing process.

Employees are one of the most important resources of the metallurgical companies. They bring to the company their education, knowledge, skills, their experience. The success of the company, the achievement of predetermined targets depend on their work. The quality of the ribbed bars produced by research rolling mill depends not only on the used materials, production technology, but above all on the employees work. These employees prepare material for rolling, set the parameters of individual rolling machines, are involved in the rolling process and prepare bars for shipment to customers. Recipients of these bars demand that they have high strength and toughness, corrosion resistance, good weld ability and high fatigue resistance. The effectiveness of employees work depends on ways of motivation, relationship with supervisor, knowledge of their responsibilities, their duties, the adequate salary, so on their job satisfaction. That is why it is important to assess this satisfaction. The aim of the paper is to assess the job satisfaction of the employees of chosen rolling mill of the Polish steelwork with use of survey which was created for this purpose. This survey is part of a larger research, consisting of employees’ job satisfaction and evaluation of their superiors. It allowed to indicate which elements associated with their work respondents assessed as satisfied and which they would like to change.

This paper is focused on problems with operative control support with usage of object localization in heterogeneous industrial environments. There is presented usage of specialized localization and identification electronic systems and logistic methods, development of own localization units with usage of standard GPS and GSM systems, including device testing in various industrial environment. The application is aimed on optimization of maintenance teams in metallurgical company. These companies are territorially large, with high share of metallic structures. These structures complicate standard localization methods. Optimization of maintenance teams is very desirable, because of economical savings regarding to maintenance it selves and treatment speed.

An important element of manufacturing process is the technical system which is aimed at maintaining the company's production capacity for a constant and a high level. The number of failures and downtime of production resources are crucial issues that directly affect the productivity of the whole production system. Technical problems related to frequent failures of machines lead to: destruction of the production plan, an increase of exploitative costs of machines, an increase of manufacturing defects number etc. The key role in maintaining the efficiency of the machinery is played by the maintenance services in manufacturing companies. Through a proper management of the machinery, i.e. the activities related to the planning and execution of maintenance tasks, a well-functioning technical system that eliminates problems associated with failure frequency may be created.
In many enterprises (also in steelworks) the maintenance department realizes assumptions of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) concept which assumes the continuous improvement of the efficiency of the machinery by the system management and cooperation of the qualified maintenance technicians with workers. In this conception, prevention allowing to maintain proper parameters of work of machines and devices is significantly underlined.
The article discussed exploitative strategies used by industrial companies, esspecially TPM, paying attention to activities related to Autonomous Maintenance. On the example of steel companies the measures taken to improve the effectiveness of the machines were presented.

The publication presents changes in the size of steel production in the Polish steel industry for the period 1990-2014. Poland started to transform the economic system in 1990 (the beginnings of a market economy). The notion of transformation was used as the change of organisation form of business activities of enterprises in given branches of industry which allows for development of a given system, its improvement and higher level of adaptability in the surrounding. Since 1990, the privatization of state enterprises and industrial restructuring has become a permanent part of the Polish economy. Changes in the Polish steel industry is an excerpt of the global change program in heavy industry. Global processes of change in the steel industry (to build strong capital groups, modernization of production technology, improve production efficiency, environmental protection requirements, etc.) influence the image of the Polish steel industry. The structure of the steel market in Poland form a strong capital groups: ArcelorMittal, CMC − Commercial Metals Company, ISD − Industrial Union of Donbass, Celsa. Steel production is adjusted to the existing global demand. The publication concentrates on crude steel production in Polish steel industry. On the base of statistic data prognoses of crude steel production until 2020 is realized.

The article presents a number of internal audits carried out in 2011-2015. It presents the implementation of the audits conducted in different units of the company. Also discloses the structure and type of discrepancies in individual systems. The share of these incompatibilities is presented in Pareto-Lorenza’s charts. It also presents the number of the incompatibilities with the division into centers of occurrence. The article presents the number and types of improvement activities (corrective, preventive and other improvement) in the different units of the company. The adopted method of improvement through audit enabled not only to distinguish criteria, which should be improved, but also revealed to what extent such changes should be made.

In the turbulently changing environment metallurgical enterprises are forced to search for the most effective methods of monitoring and detecting changes in the environment, to take effective adaptation activities leading to a continuous build competitive advantage.
The observed increase of competitiveness and globalization, as well as carrying out a mergers and acquisitions, have influence on the search for new methods, techniques and management tools. The knowledge development based on the economy, expressed through intense transfer and fusion of innovation, have substantially influence on the changes of the models and business processes. These phenomena and trends apply also to a large extent metallurgical enterprises.
The aim of the article is to perform a study, how to build an effective business model providing the steel company to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. The article presents the idea, that competitive advantage is contingent upon the ability to produce and deliver to the customers, products perceived as a prime source of value. Also defined the concept of the business model and the business process through which a permanent competitive advantage is built.

Metallurgical companies is among the industry leaders in the Czech Republic. Many of them are large suppliers of the state. The future Law on public procurement changes the criteria for selecting suppliers. Contracting authorities will no longer be bound only by the lowest trading price but by "evaluation of economically advantageous tender according to quality." This includes qualitative, environmental or social aspects, which the public contract may bring. One of the ways to prove the "quality criteria" is a Corporate social responsibility management system (CSR) for many companies. Metallurgical companies have the possibility of certification of CSR via the Czech standard CSN 01 0391: 2013 which corresponds to the structure and requirements of ISO. The article analyzes the current state of CSR in metallurgical companies in the Czech Republic. Two large metallurgical companies claiming to CSR are analyzed on the basis of meeting the requirements of Czech standard CSN 01 0391.

The project is focused on the manufacture of test equipment for industrial continuous heating furnace. Using this measuring device, you can specify the parameters of the heating for the optimization of the temperature regimes. For an optimal construction of this device, we must take into account the characteristics of each of the materials used and their classification temperature. Their comparison, knowledge of the working environment of the space heating furnaces and side effects in the heat, are to some extent makes it easy to select the materials for the use of the measuring device. He was therefore designed and manufactured physical model for testing insulation materials for the measuring equipment. On the basis of the measurement of the temperature course were established during the transition curve increase in temperatures in the furnace. The aim of the measure was to test various types of insulation materials and determine the dynamic characteristics of the made-up physical model with different locations.

The aim of the article is to apply system thinking as the actual source of best practice innovation solution from automotive industry to increase competitiveness of metallurgical industry. Systems thinking and system theory are currently widely used in a variety of subjects in fields such as computing, engineering, information science, manufacturing, management, sustainable development and the environment. The key assumption of system thinking are improving mutual interactions between particular parts of the system and understanding of the essential properties of the wholes – systems, which derives properties of the parts and its interactions. They are quite opposite to the former assumption, which prioritize applying innovations to particular parts and sum them up to innovative whole, without consideration the essential properties of the whole.

The success of the metallurgical industry depends on personality of its managers, their personal ability, and charisma. A manager is someone who makes important decisions concerning the company and its operations, who determines the purposes and prepares plans for the future. Production process of metallurgical products, especially of ribbed bars, is quite tough, it is usually conducted in a four-shift system, the results are impossible to be corrected. For high quality products, the appropriate production technology for the manufacture of these products should be used. Therefore the manager should properly organize the rolling process, predict possible production problems and motivate in good way his employees. Poorly organized work, lack of coordination in procurement of materials, incorrectly selection of materials, the reluctance of employees have a very big impact on the final quality of the ribbed bars and later can cause that the building reinforced with them does not meet the relevant requirements. The aim of this paper is to indicate positive and negative feature of supervisor of chosen rolling mill of the Polish steelwork according to 4E+1P principles, 12 golden rules and 8 features according to the 3rd Toyota principle, described by his staff. The research presented in this paper was a part of the bigger survey. The survey concerned employee satisfaction from work, and an additional part of this survey was exactly assessment of superiors.

Within CSR (corporate social responsibility), one of the key areas is certainly its communication towards all the involved parties (stakeholders). CSR communication can then be used as an effective marketing tool increasing, in the eyes of the business partners, the company’s prestige and contributes to its positive reputation. In spite of that, it is still possible to see on the market that a lot of companies underestimate the importance of presentation of CSR of their own company, and that they either do not pay sufficient attention to it, or that they, by contrast, exaggerate their activities within CSR. Although a legislative framework in the area of CSR reporting on the national level is not expected until 2017, companies should already be paying proper attention to presentation of their CSR now. And the internet is naturally becoming the basic platform for presentation of corporate activities in all areas, i.e. also in the area of CSR. The paper summarizes the outcomes of a primary survey conducted by University Pardubice, which evaluates the current internet presentation of CSR in the area of ferrous metallurgy and describes the importance of the given web presentation for increasing the corporate prestige in the eyes of the stakeholders, as perceived by companies. In conclusion, the paper summarizes the most frequent mistakes and presents ideas how to improve internet communication of CSR in the area of ferrous metallurgy.

Reducibility of raw materials such as iron ore and sinter is a significant parameter characterizing the quality of input materials of blast furnace feedstock. It is considered to be a tool for optimizing of production process in shaft aggregates referring to economical production of pig iron. The paper deals with evaluation of reducibility of metallurgical waste. It aims at study of reduction process of fine waste from metallurgical production typical with high ratio of Fe and compacted into cylindrical briquettes. In the introduction, the paper sumps up the economic indicators important for waste management in metallurgical industry and presents worldwide experience with techniques for fine waste materials compacting, as same as recycling of the materials originated from production process in the same company. It presents methodology for testing of reducibility of non-traditional metal materials such as iron-bearing waste compacted into briquettes. It describes the experimental procedures for results acquiring. The results of testing are discussed in relation to production parameters such as reduction kinetics of the waste, reduction of iron oxides and reduction gas consumption and they are interpreted in economical point of view.

Strategy of steel company is usually identified with a broad program of setting and achieving organizational goals. A prerequisite for the maintenance of the enterprise in the market and shaping its development, it is initially to develop a reliable assessment of the strategic position which would allow for the preparation of such a strategy, which will fulfill the most important functions. The literature has identified a number of methods and procedures of strategic analysis that allow for detailed examination, evaluation and prediction of future states in all spheres of the enterprise’s functioning and its environment. Both in the approach of activities, as well as approach of implementation of strategic analysis, main emphasis is on the task of the strategic analysis, namely the construction of the strategic plan. In the last stage of the analysis the evaluation of the strategic position of the company should be realized. For this evaluation the most useful appears to be a SWOT analysis as a concept of straightening, combining into a coherent completeness of the various methods and techniques used in strategic analysis. The aim of the paper is to determine the strategic position of the mill in one of the Polish steelworks by the SWOT analysis. The survey allowed for identification of the strongest features of the examined enterprise and the opportunities which should be taken into consideration in setting the strategic plans.

This paper presents the evaluation of selected elements of quality management system of certain metallurgical company. This company is a supplier of components for companies working in automotive industry. The analysis consists of two elements: the assessment of non-conformances in the department of foundry and the analysis of customer satisfaction. The quantitative analysis of non-conformances occurring in production process in the department of foundry is made. Pareto chart is used in this analysis, the analysis takes into account types and causes of non-conformances of castings. The assessment of satisfaction is carried out using a survey conducted among the largest customers of this company. This analysis was designed to assess the quality management system, which was implemented in the company.

Quality is the factor which decides about the efficiency of the company and its image, thereby providing its competitiveness. Quality analysis of the manufactured products provides a lot of information that have an impact on decision-making processes, the performance of the production system, the level of production costs and customer satisfaction. In the paper, the production requirements of the oval steel profile in chosen production plant was presented. Process capability and its adjustment for the production of a chosen batch of oval profiles was described. Analysis of process stability for three different dimensions of profiles was conducted. On the basis of the Pareto chart, groups of problems, which have the biggest influence on the finished product, were determined. Two the most important causes, which generate about 57% of all nonconforming product, were pointed out.

The paper is dedicated to application of project management tools affecting organizational aspects of project management, i.e. organizational standards for support of project management and project management offices in the context of project management of metallurgical companies. The authors aim to characterize tools affecting organizational aspects of project management in the form of organizational standards for support of project management and project management offices, to assess their utilization in the Czech corporate practice, and to formulate recommendations for their application by metallurgical companies. The paper is based on the literature review, which was followed by a quantitative research conducted in the form of a questionnaire survey, and a qualitative research in the form of directed interviews. The first part proposes an overall typology of corporate projects and explains the essence of organizational standards for support of project management and project management offices. The next part analyzes and evaluates the scope of utilization of the above project management tools by managers of industrial companies operating in the Czech Republic and compares it to the foreign practice. Subsequently, the authors formulate recommendations for metallurgical companies concerning application of the above project management tools primarily applicable within the entire course of the project life cycle with respect to the project typology defined in the paper.

The article presents the use of OEE metric to evaluate the effectiveness of the rolling mill line used for production of medium steel sections. Achieving maximum effectiveness of machinery and equipment by shortening the production cycle, resulting from continuous and uninterrupted flow of material results from Lean management, which is the result of continuous evolution and development of the concept of production management in industrial enterprises. More and more companies comes to the conclusion that their success on the market decides the stable operation of machines and equipment used in the production process. One of the measures used to assess the level of utilization of owned machinery is OEE, the use of which allows to improve the productivity and effectiveness of the manufacturing process. The article presents the results of effectiveness evaluation of the rolling mill line used for production of medium steel sections by using OEE metric in a period of one year. Classification and quantification the causes for stopping the rolling mill line by using the Pareto-Lorenz diagram were conducted. They have been grouped causes of rolling line stops by using the Ishikawa diagram. The article concludes with proposals to improve the effectiveness of the use of analysed rolling mill line.

EU policy requires from the regions defining their smart specialisations – main activities based on the regional key competencies for obtaining competitive advantages. Smart specialisation are based on material, social and intellectual assets available in the region in industrial and scientific institutions. The paper presents the analysis of Visegrad Group regions have opted for specializations connected with metal manufacturing sector. Although the global metal manufacturing sector is not growing as fast as in previous decades, it has a crucial impact on the economy by delivering one of the most important material crucial for other sectors. Metal manufacturing sector is still area of intensive development by implementing knowledge-based innovation. Special attention in the paper have been paid on connectivity and clusters – existence of cooperative networks fostering implementation of innovation.

Turbulent environment and processes of markets opening in the global economy intensely affect the metallurgical sector and pace of change processes within this sector. Variable economic situation and scale of investment make that it is necessary to approach the option to enter new markets, even regional or local, very carefully and based on detailed analytical analysis. Analysis and evaluation of the option concerning positioning own product on well established competitive market is a significant research and practical problem. Praxeology of assumptions of such a cognitive process is described in the paper. The paper characterizes study performed for the selected company engaged with production and distribution of steel, that attempts to enter Polish market, focusing on the Silesian Province, as regards its geographical operations. For the purposes of the study, a questionnaire was prepared, consisting of descriptive multiple choice questions of narrative type. The study was performed among target recipients of the services of potential investor. Primary purpose, both epistemological and formulated in the domain of research pragmatism, is the identification of business activity sectors, by indicating basic assortment groups and target areas of market penetration, based on defined expectations of potential recipients in the selected segment of steel products market. In the presented paper, authors also included the evaluation of conditions and competition criteria as well as the synthetic assessment of some discriminants of competitive standing on regional market of steel products together with stratification of competitive potential in the selected analytical categories.

Production process of metallurgical enterprises is characterized by high costs and complexity manufacturing. Through the implementation of lean manufacturing principles can be reduced manufacturing costs and complexity of the manufacturing process. Concept of lean manufacturing in metallurgical enterprises can result to increase its effectiveness. One of the aims of lean manufacturing is the elimination of waste in the production process. The aim of this paper is to analyze the sources of waste in metallurgical company and options for their removal.

Achieving and maintaining the high market position requires tremendous flexibility of enterprises in responding to changing market conditions. Only companies that can take advantage of new functioning opportunities, in particular innovations in management and technology, gain an advantage over competitors. For this purpose the most efficient methods and management tools are used that eliminate the losses, human errors, and thus - reduce costs.This article presents some of the key evidence tending to make improvements to the Lean Manufacturing method in the production of a steel company . This method can contribute to the partial elimination of defective products ranging from 2 - 6% of the daily production. At the production stage you can, however, prevent the occurrence of defects. The application of tols Lean Management facilities helps in it does not allow an error or quickly detect it (before the appear defects). In the tols LeanManufacturing the following methods can be used: regulatory functions, control methods, warning methods, setting functions, contact methods, value-fixed methods, motion step methods, which will be further described in the article. The effective functioning of this system can also be obtained by using four principles: control and sources, remaining the reasonable proportions, simplicity and efficiency, performing this, what is obviously a priority.

The aim of this article is to demonstrate the importance of the reliability of some link of the logistics chain. For companies operating in the steel market this means shaping the new terms of cooperation based on different segments of customers. Logistic service providers are those cells that fall within the structure of efficient logistics chains. In order to meet market expectations, the metallurgical industry must have the tools to verify the different cells involved in their logistic chains.
For verification of the purpose the Author use research tools theoretical: analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison. In terms of practical methods were used: the method of observation (to collect information about the partners of the logistics chain Huta Małapanew, interviews with employees, the definition of interference within and between the selected cell), and the method of calculation and analysis (analysis of the results of measurements, determine the amount of noise acceptable). The study created a catalog of possible interference that must be taken into account when recruiting new partners of the logistics chain in the steel sector. In the article, based on research conducted in the selected cells of the logistics chain of the steel sector, it demonstrated that the build-up problems at one of the partners generates problems in others. This results in an additional increase in costs and extend the time to remove and restore the stability of the production-logistics system. The study takes into account factors contributing to the distortion.

The paper focuses on the possibilities of calculation of ABC and their use in metallurgical production, based on the Activity Based Costing calculation method. Primarily, the conditions necessary to ensure the allocation of the cost of sub-activities to cost objects are defined, which are in the final stage of the allocation the products (units of calculation). The article also shows the metallurgical operations (metallurgical facilities), where the use of ABC calculations is not only appropriate, but also beneficial. Also the basic conditions are given about information and organization support of these calculations.

With the development of computers and software products, there is now greater use of quantitative methods in industrial enterprises when making managerial decisions. One of the most applicable solutions to computer simulation algorithms is the Monte Carlo method. The application of the Monte Carlo algorithm lies in finding a relation between the individual variables, which are the solutions to the problem and represent the characteristics of random processes reproducible on computers. The Monte Carlo algorithm is well applicable in a variety of metallurgical production processes. Metallurgical processes have different specifics with which to be reckoned with, eg. prioritizing service workers when dispensing tools from maintenance men.The aim of this article is to show the application of simulations from the Monte Carlo algorithm using the example of optimising tool dispensation from metallurgical store.

Currently, there are several ways for a metallurgical company to distribute its own products to end customers. A typical example is the construction of steel sales and service centres. One of the strategic decisions related to the creation of those centres is the selection of appropriate locations. The paper presents possibilities of using the PROMETHEE multi-criteria decision making methods in the selection of the most appropriate place for a metallurgical sales center establishment. The aim was to select one of ten possible locations according to seventeen criteria.

In the article the process of management the risks associated with usage of the wire drawing machine was presented. The methodology reducing risk for selected hazard was shown. The requirements of the Directive 2006/42/CE for the machinery and the requirements of the Directive 2009/104/CE related concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work were discussed. In the paper discusses the safety requirements which related a safety of machinery and which are addressed for the European Union Member States was presented.

Many firms operating in mature industries as steel or petrochemicals are today facing increased global competition, especially from low-cost producers. Increased competition has forced many traditional industrial firms to upgrade their offerings to more specialized and customized products. Hence, firms are shifting their focus from production to other areas, such as services, logistics, business development - increasing number of services in their portfolios. There is a potential area for growth and revenue generation (e.g. due to the added value the service component provides). This extension into new services has been referred to as “service infusion” or “servitization”. Manufacturing companies should focus more on improving customer perspectives by providing diversified value-added product–service offerings as well as developing close long-term partnership with customers. Buyer-supplier relationships are therefore critical for successfully providing services. Nonetheless, buyer–supplier relationships in servitized contexts have received little research attention until recently. The main research question is: what underlying organizational competences does a steel service center (a supplier) need in order to enhance its capacity to create value proposition for their customers? This study analyses the linkages between the types of services (product-centric and knowledge-centric services) that steel service centers deliver to their customers and key network capabilities required. To explore the causal relationships a DEMATEL technique is adopted. Using sample data from Polish steel service centers, this study finds that when moving from product-centric to knowledge-centric services, the technical information needed by a supplier should be coupled with an increasing degree of knowledge of customers. More specifically, empirical evidence suggests that steel service centers relies on core capabilities such as: customer-oriented way of working, high quality and reliable operations, communication capabilities, negotiation capabilities, ability to engender trust and conflict management skills.

The steel sector is one of the most important sectors of the processing industry in Poland. The article presents the changes in the development of the steel industry in Poland in the years 2010-2014. The main purpose of this article is to analyze and assess the development of the metallurgical industry in Poland in the years 2010-2014. Considerations were carried out at the level of general statistical changes in the development of the steel sector. In the paper, the steel production was analysed from 2010 to 2014. Export and import of steel were examined too. It also identifies future directions of changes in the steel industry in the context of the ongoing R & D in the examined sector. The result of the analysis is structured view of changes in the development of the steel sector in Poland in the years 2010-2014. The statistical data of the Central Statistical Office and industry specific studies were used in the article.

Currently prevailing systems of maintenance management - repairs after a breakdown. This system of maintenance proves deteriorating condition of production devices in metallurgical or other factories increase repair costs. However, many companies continue with this kind of management, they do not believe in economical benefit and payback of new systems, and above all they are afraid of high costs for implementing system like TPM into practice. Maintenance is a part of management system in every production system, including metallurgy.
Thus there is a need of finding a simple and understandable mechanism that helps decision making process about a change in approach to maintenance management and proves its economic benefit.
Characteristics of TIM. Newly developing and applying systems in maintenance management. Application and verification of maintenance system developed by doc. Ing. Josef Novak, PhD. were carried out in metallurgical plants. Further development of the systems.

Evidence of production process capability is one of the basic requirements for automotive industry suppliers including metallurgical companies. From this reason these suppliers must perform process capability analysis. While in the cases of normal distribution of monitored quality characteristic the methodology of process capability analysis is practically uniform, in the cases, when data are not normally distributed, individual producers use different approaches. This fact of course may cause different results of process capability analysis. This paper deals with analysis of methodical approaches used by selected automotive producers for process capability analysis in the cases of non-normal distributions of monitored quality characteristic. Process capability analysis is performed using selected strategies for data with different skewness. Analysis of different process capability indices is done and achieved results are compared with other possibilities of process capability analysis in the cases of data non-normality.

In the paper issues in the field the organization of logistics processes are presented. The data presented in the work have been proceeds in a company operating in the market for the metal industry. The analysis of the effectiveness on organizational changes in logistics and transport between operations had been made. It has been shown the necessity of training from the scope visual control of production, and formalize control activities on the next two stages of the manufacturing process

The paper presents identification of problems during the implementation of lean concept in metal industry enterprises in Poland. Although the lean methodology is recognized all over the world as one of the best and most effective ways to improve the functioning of enterprises, in Polish conditions exist serious problems with its implementation. In today's turbulent environment, many companies want to increase the productivity and reduce costs. This is possible through implementation the lean concept , which eliminates all the actions do not bring added-value from the point of view of the customer, and on the other hand, implements standardized processes and procedures involving employees work in accordance with the idea of continuous improvement. The paper presents the problem of implementing lean concepts in steel mills, foundries, as well as small and medium-sized metal industry

Processors of materials supplied by business of the metallurgical industry often seek to stabilize supplier-customer relationships with those suppliers who are able to supply metallurgical materials in a constant technical quality. This creates scope for finding an appropriate replenishment system for buyers of metallurgical materials. However, if the demand in a given chain is highly variable and unpredictable in essence, we cannot successfully implement modern methods used to control material flow in the chain, such as Quick Response, CPFR and other methods. It is necessary to look for alternative solutions, which is advantageous for both sides though – it suits customers, especially in terms of their requirements for readiness of inventory for their own production processes, and it also suits suppliers - especially in terms of the specifics of their own production processes. Consignment stocking appears to be a suitable solution in chains with products in the metallurgical industry. Its application taking into account the needs of both suppliers and buyers can be instrumental in building partnerships. The paper presents the results of qualitative research, implemented in 2015 in a company purchasing metallurgical materials, which applies consignment stocking in cooperation with the supplier. It presents a method to apply consignment stocking, its advantages and disadvantages while evaluating it with respect to its role in building partnerships in chains with metallurgical materials.

The entire world around us is filled with a certain numerical regularity; this can relate to the height of mountains, winning lottery numbers, numbers in tax declarations, the number of stars – this phenomenon is called Benford's Law. Benford's Law claims that the first significant (valid) place in naturally occurring numbers is more often occupied by low digits than high digits. So far, this topic has been paid little attention in Czech literature. In this paper, we decided to check whether the law also applies in the field of metallurgy. Incidence of digits in the first significant place was assessed using the set of statistical data of selected companies whose​​ business is the production of basic metals, metallurgical metal processing and foundry activities.

The aim of this article is to present the situation of the steel industry in European Union countries, and to show the impact of economic conditions on this sector. The study covered the period from 2005 to 2014. The EU steel industry underwent restructuring and was under strong influence of fluctuations caused by the economic crisis in 2009. The findings of the study indicate that steel production was strongly linked to the economic situation, measured by the value the GDP, exports, imports and the value of household consumption. The only exception were industrial production and construction which did not indicate such a strong link. The largest steel producer in the European Union was Germany. The industry showed a high concentration because 75% of the total EU production was generated by 7 countries.

The new edition of ISO 9001 standard, which defines the requirements for quality management systems, emphasizes the necessity of the risks thinking. Organizations that have implemented a quality management system according to this standard, which include practically all metallurgical companies, will have incorporate risk management techniques to their processes. Metallurgical companies that are suppliers to the automotive industry, already apply some approaches to risk management mandatorily (e.g. FMEA), but these do not cover all existing risks. In doing so, a thorough analysis of the processes and the use of appropriate risk management tools can minimize existing risks and maximize effectiveness of processes.
The paper deals with the risk management and its application in the quality management processes. In detail it focuses on product quality planning process. On the basis of analysis of the expected results of individual sub-processes of the product quality planning, they are identified potential risks, which are further analysed. Methodology of affinity diagram is used for potential risks identification.

One of the most important branches of Polish and worldwide industry is metallurgical industry. The economic slowdown observed in the world in recent years had a negative impact on the metallurgical industry in Poland and throughout Europe. Steel industry recorded a decrease due to the limitation of individual consumption and reduced demand for manufacturing industry. Therefore, it is important through the use of available resources and tools, strive to improve processes, also logistic and thereby to influence on the shape of the whole industry.
An important element supporting the functioning of metallurgical enterprises is efficient supply chain management. The basis of functionality is synchronization of supply system with physical distribution of materials. Individual solution for enterprises is the use of appropriate methods to increase the effectiveness of this synchronization. The article presents solutions for the use of methods of inventory and order control in logistics chain of metallurgical enterprises. The steel market analysis in Poland through several years has also been made. This shows trends, as a reason the use of appropriate management methods.

Modern metallurgical enterprises operate in conditions of strong competition. They must quickly respond to market opportunities. For this reason they need well-designed strategies to gain competitive advantage. Nowadays strategy is changed and up-dated very frequently. This leads to strong pressure for quickly strategy implementation and realization. Therefore metallurgical companies are looking for new solutions which help to introduce, constant monitor and control of regularly updated corporate strategy.
This paper proposes a comprehensive method of monitoring strategy realization through a well-designed set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). This solution is dedicated to metallurgical enterprises and pays particular attention to an overall assessment of the company, its strategy and future plans that help build competitive advantage. A concept of the main assumptions of the Performance Management (PM), the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and a combination of strategic management with the implementation of operational management is presented.
The proposed solution tries to solve important problems related to the management of metallurgical enterprises. A significant importance is to quickly realize main strategic goals. The well-designed strategy reduces the risk associated with metallurgical activity. The proposed KPI’s system helps to monitor and control strategy realization in metallurgical companies what allows time of strategy implementation in companies to be considerably shortened and its effectiveness to be increased. The KPI’s system includes measures which can control the main areas of strategic goals in metallurgical enterprises.

Dynamic changes noted on the world markets, which effect is globalizing economy has not eliminated the importance of local (regional) markets. The companies operating on these markets can build their competitive advantage by building relationships that support collaboration. Building relationships is even more important for companies operating in cross-border areas. In this case, the natural consequence of the localization of the cross-border area is a desire for creating a cross-border relations. An interesting example of this type of activity is the cooperation of companies operating in the metal industry located in the province of Lubuskie in Poland and Brandenburg in Germany. Undertaking the cross-border cooperation can also cause negative effects such as: concentration of investments in Brandenburg and the outflow of workforce and customers from Lubuskie market. The aim of the study is to analyze the potential of the metal industry in the cross-border regions of the Lubuskie province and Brandenburg in the context of the possibility of building the cooperative relations. The immediate effect of this research is to develop the map of the cooperative relations created on the basis of grid goals and to identify the major ties and areas of cooperation between these companies.

In today's fiercely competitive market, companies have to try to find ways how to succeed and how to keep their position among successful businesses. More and more ways, methods, procedures and tools for improving the functioning of technological and organizational processes have been searched and tried. The use of computer simulations when designing manufacturing systems or their management in practice is one of the ways how to examine the behavior of industrial processes or systems in various conditions without increased risk. With their help, it is possible to find optimal parameters that can bring the desired benefits once they have been applied in practice. It is not only their possible prediction but also the possibility of their use in various areas of industrial practice which can be considered an advantage. This article deals with an example of the use of simulation in a company which is engaged in processing of metallurgical materials. The simulation model of material flow was developed to determine the bottlenecks and the best solution for material flow with respect to contractors from the previous operation. Verifying the results of their own computer simulation with results achieved in practice, we can confirm the appropriateness of the use of computer simulations in the optimization of manufacturing processes and systems in practice.

The article describes the current way of maintenance costs reporting in the metallurgical enterprise in individual years with the purpose to forecast these costs for the following year. It analyses fixed, overhead and total costs of the company with the focus on maintenance. The aim of the article is to
evaluate existing cost management and to propose recommendations which could lead to reduce maintenance costs in the company.

This paper presents some possibilities of statistical process control that can be used in case the basic requirements for the application of standard Shewhart control charts are not fulfilled. These basic assumptions that must be met include e.g. a requirement on the normality of the data, the requirement for constant mean and variance, and last but not least the requirement for mutual independence of data. In practice, such as the metallurgical industry, those assumptions about the data are not necessarily always met. The stress in the article is put on the importance of the statistical process control as a part of the production management necessary for achieving a high product quality. Just the quality of the product decides on customer satisfaction and thus the success of the whole organization. The aim of this article is to describe some non-parametric control charts and concretely introduce one of the non-parametric control charts, namely Shewhart sign control chart, including a practical example from a metallurgical process. During preparation of this article accessible pieces of knowledge on the issue were compared. During this comparison of parametric and nonparametric methods it was found that nonparametric methods have many advantages and for cases where some of the basic assumptions are not met they are appropriate. This article is the basis for further investigation of the problem, including a more detailed treatment of the particular non-parametric control charts.

The study based on surveys conducted presents selected issues concerning the organization of the distribution in the activities of the metal industry companies. The results are: the distribution of logistics tasks, the number of customers we work with companies of transport used in the delivery of supplies used in distribution channels, customer relationships, a market research, planning, delivery and distribution costs, the occurrence of difficulties in ensuring the flexibility of supply and prospects increase the flexibility of supply.

The aim of the paper is to present potential of Life Cycle Assessment utilisation in the area of outbound transport of metallurgical products. The potential is identified by means of a case study from a metallurgical company producing hot rolled heavy steel plates. Environmental impacts, specifically greenhouse gases emissions (carbon footprint) and at three endpoint indicators (human health, ecosystems, and resources) were researched. Two Life Cycle Impact Assessment methods were used for that purpose: IPCC 2007 GWP 100a and ReCiPe.

The paper deals with the first of a series of preconditions for successful implementation of the BSC concept. Setting strategic aims and their quality are the main criteria of concept BSC and it has a significant impact on its successful implementation.
These strategic aims are derived from the results of financial analysis, which are usually predicted by them. Therefore it is absolutely necessary to have proper reporting and controlling appropriately selected indicators of business performance.
The aim of paper is a draft of appropriate reports and their connection with the determination of the strategic aims BSC in an unspecified metallurgical enterprise.

In the paper is described a regresion model for operational control support on steelworks, based on analytical diagnsotic. The regresion model is as base for knowledge plannign system. The usage of model lies on determination of melting number, which are able to cast on continuous steel casting device with minimum risk of nonstandard producto occurrence. The result is combination number of steel melts. The user can chose a proper combination based on production order.

The paper presents the results of research carried out in one of the domestic enterprises of the metallurgical industry. It is an enterprise mainly engaged in the production of steel pipes with seams welded induction. Due to the lower costs of production welded pipes in comparison to seamless pipes, expanding intensively in various countries rolling mills welded pipes with thinner walls, which one could not produce the methods used in the manufacture of seamless pipes. Therefore, significant saving in steel compared with seamless pipes. In most of the major manufacturers of pipes is observed systematic seek to increase the production of welded pipes and reduce the production of seamless pipes for such assortments as drill pipe, boiler pipes and pipes thick-walled construction. The aim of the research was carried out to detect incompatibilities in the production of welded pipes, which significantly affect the quality of the final product and finding sources of these incompatibilities. In the course of these studies used quality management tool as the diagrams Pareto-Lorenz and Ishikawa and the method of FMEA. These tools made it possible to detect significant incompatibilities and errors arising from the planning stage and during the manufacturing process of welded pipes in the analyzed company These tools made it possible to detect significant incompatibilities and errors arising from the planning stage and during the manufacturing process of welded pipes in the analyzed company. While using the Ishikawa diagram and FMEA method sought to eliminate the possibility of any faults and incompatibilities. The results obtained will allow to improve and streamline the production process of production of welded pipes.

Steel industry companies operate in difficult and changing environment of significant competitive pressure. Trying to strengthen their market position, continuous search for competitive advantages must be carried out. This is done in both strategic and operation fields, however steel industry companies do not undertake courageous strategic decisions concerning investment projects. So far, cost optimization was the predominating strategy, enabling maintenance of the competitive position on the market, nevertheless this strategy has to drain someday. Steel industry faced new development challenges. Innovations are among the methods, enabling increase of the efficiency of resources management. Can we, however, observe the supply of the protected innovations ? At which stages of the added value creation process can they be observed ? Article provides analysis of the availability of innovations in that field, especially European patents.

The CSR conception covers the following five areas: the economic area, the social area, the environmental area, the ethical area and the philanthropic area. The benefits of CSR activities from the point of view of the company and its relevant primary and secondary stakeholders represent an intensively discussed topic. Crucial for acceptance of CSR is proving relations between individual CSR activities and the success of the corporate operations. Activities in the social area include application of responsible employee policy and consideration of the impacts of their products on health, working conditions, production and product safety, as well as protection of human rights and cultural heritage. The environmental area activities mainly include the environmental activities and instigation of initiatives promoting responsible approach to the environment, ensuring environment-friendly and sustainable production and consumption. Activities in the ethical area include especially application of ethical behavior and fighting corruption. Philanthropic activities include usually corporate volunteering and giving.
The contribution deals with identification and evaluation of relevant CSR activities realized by metallurgical companies. The main objective is to determine efficient CSR activities for strengthening socio-economic profile (or corporate social performance) of the company and closely test and discuss their utilization in corporate practice.

Implementing knowledge management opens avenues for company growth, along with gaining and retaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Metallurgical sector has some specifics that need to be identified and addressed when preparing and launching knowledge management implementation projects. In this article, a model for calculating the investment into knowledge management initiative is presented taking into account the investments into research and development, effects of innovations and investments into knowledge management. Moreover, results of research regarding the particularities of metallurgical companies are presented and their effects on the implementation of knowledge management are assessed.

The paper is dedicated to the problems of optimization of the inventory of steel coils in a processing company supplying the B2C market. It aims to describe and analyse the possibilities and barriers of inventory optimization with respect to the linkages with coil suppliers within the supply chain in metallurgy. The conducted targeted scientific literature review focussed on inventory optimization models resulted in selection and application of a modification of the standard Q – model, altered for the particular conditions of the solved problem, which is described and evaluated in the article.

The paper deals with the analysis of the development of metallurgical industry in the Moravian-Silesian Region and the prediction of its development in the coming years, including the analysis and prediction of related problems such as unemployment, the environment, etc. The article proposes some options (scenarios) the possible development of the metallurgical industry, including the ways of achieving for these objectives together with the tools and resources that could be used.

Long-term problem of industrial businesses current operating and newcomers to the labor market of the Czech Republic and Slovakia is a shortage of skilled labor, which is incomprehensible and inconsistent in terms of number of schools actively providing training graduates into the labor market and the number of graduates who are due to their applicability in specific employers at labor offices and social network state. The authors specifically refer to the causes and problems of this principle further into the future incapacitated state, while at the same time point out and emphasize the positive examples of good practice in the metallurgical industry. Targeted training, real implementation of dual education students of secondary vocational schools in connection to specific companies, is the right and only way to ensure proper and effective educational system of any one country, thereby ensuring a usable product - graduates in the expertise for which they were trained. In relation to metallurgical cycle from the perspective of the psychosocial aspects of the work environment and the specific workplace, including in terms of manpower to physically and mentally very demanding, it is desirable and an integral co-operation of vocational secondary schools with industry.

The paper presents a methodology for evaluation of sustainability in metallurgical companies. The methodology is based on Analytic Network Process (ANP), which is used to solve the complex decision-making problems, whose structures can be mapped as non-linear networks. The methodology is verified on the generalized model of a metallurgical supply chain.

The article presents an example of replacing the product performed so far made of forged steel, cast iron (ADi). To allow for the conversion was carried out to measure, abrasion tested and selected mechanical properties of several species of ADI and steel 38GSA. Studies conducted have confirmed the applicability of the selected species of ADI to manufacture the item (rack, which is part of the agricultural machine). The methodology used during an operation called conversion material and technology, served as a model to develop a system of information and decision-making, supporting such operations. Presented system, based on formalism: logic of plausible reasoning. An example of its operation is illustrated by expert on the choice of technology for producing metal products.

The main purpose of this paper is to compare the productivity of the metal production sector with other manufacturing industries in Poland. Estimation of the productivity was carried out using the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI), which is based on a deterministic approach. Moreover a decomposition of calculated Malmquist indices has made it possible to identify which factors (technological progress or changes in technical efficiency) determined the change productivity in metal production sector in Poland.

Thermovision technique has been more often used in a technical practice as a technological processes control and optimization tool. Thermovision outputs are thermograms that in a form of quasi-coloured imaging record temperature field of an observed surface. Thermograms find their usage not only in metallurgy, but also in electrotechnology, engineering, construction industry and other sectors. Thermograms are often retained and presented in a form of an electronical image, or are printed. The character of such a document is informational only, and real temperature values are hardly reproducible. Artificial intelligence components and image computer analysis can be exploited for thermogram temperature field information reconstruction, or other mathematical analyses can be carried out based on such acquired data optionally that can provide required information about the quality of a technological process.