One of the main problems by modern logistics systems management, especially within the global supply network, is the disruption risk and loss of supply continuity. The objective of paper is to come up with a concept of resilience modelling for the steel mill logistic systems located in Central Europe. The regularity and continuity of the raw materials supply is an important factor in maintaining the continuity of production. The model takes into account the possible disruptive events, e.g. disruption in supply process and unforeseen changes in demand.
The aim of steelworks macrologistics system to produce steel sheets is to create long-term conditions over the allocation of divisions and layout equipment/ aggregates, machines, warehouses, manufacturing strategy/, planning system and structure micrologistics system for the smoothest flow of material, maximum capacity utilization of production facilities, meet delivery dates these products of the required quality. Not suitable solution for macrologistics level creates on the micrologistics level situations with conflicting criteria of solution- dilemmas. The article deals with the analysis and solution of three selected logistics dilemmas production of steel sheet.
Production is concerned with short throughput times and high schedule reliability in order to on the one hand, fulfill customer demands and on the other hand, increase planning reliability. The continuity of the flow of materials and information are influenced by many factors. One of the most important factors is the reliability of the machines and equipment. The TPM method most commonly employs three indicators: MTTR (Mean Time To Repair), MTBF(Mean Time Between Failuers) and most typically - OEE. The first two are associated exclusively with technical issues of the examined production line. However, as the basic TPM implementation performance indicator stands OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), which is a global efficiency rate. This indicator represents the percentage of theoretically available effectiveness possessed by a device or production line. The paper discusses some examination results for main subsystems of Cold Rolling Mill.
Poka-Yoke (mistake-proofing) is one of the lean manufacturing methods. It ensures that proper conditions exist before actually executing a process step, preventing mistakes from occurring in the first place. Where this is not possible, Poka-Yoke has a detective function, eliminating defects in the process as early as possible. The application of simple Poka-Yoke methods in product and process design can eliminate both mechanical and human errors. Modern production systems are based on principles and instruments of the lean, agile and resilient approaches to manufacturing. This combined approach is known as a leagile manufacturing. For these conditions the Poka-Yoke system preventing errors is the most desirable. This paper deals with design of the complex methodology for Poka-Yoke implementation in the leagile manufacturing. The methodology is based on the following principles: 1. principle of prevention; understanding Poka-Yoke as a change and innovation; implementation of Poka-Yoke as a change and innovation management. In the paper there are described particular steps of the designed methodology: 1. identification of all potential risks; 2. giving reasons for suitability of the Poka-Yoke implementation; 3. selection of the Poka-Yoke type; 4. design verification and its realization; 5. description and documentation. In the second part of the paper two cases of implementation of the designed methodology in condition of the metallurgical production are described: Poka-Yoke preventing usage of the non-correct rollers and Poka-Yoke preventing undesirable interchangeability and loss of the production dispatch.
The paper deals with the problem of statistical process control (SPC) applied on the process of moulding tin coated cold rolled steel. The process level fluctuates around the historical mean, subgroup averages in the X-bar control chart show an extensive variation and as a result, frequent signals occur. Considering the high process capability, it would be pointless to seek assignable causes and take measures to remove this variation at the current state of the art; it is regarded an inherent part of the process. From this reason the classical X-bar control chart cannot be used. The solution consists in relaxing control limits so that only major shifts of the process mean are signalled. Several approaches based on a chosen time-dependent distribution model of the process are considered in the paper. Methods of the model identification and formulas for the construction of extended control limits are applied on two controlled quality characteristics, the planarity and length of moulded frames to show calculations for both one-sided and two-sided specifications. Moreover, calculation of capability and performance indices for the time-dependent models is discussed.
Technological processes are monitored and managed in preproduction and production stages with specific statistical tools. In final production stages, the processes are assessed most often with univariate capability indices. In this paper, we shall present possibilities of assessing processes where more quality characteristics are contemplated. The method used for these purposes involves multivariate capability indices supported by graphical methods. The emphasis is placed on due testing of the conditions that are required for the methodology to work properly. The procedures are illustrated on data from the foundry industry where casts with two quality characteristics – yield stress (Y1) and ultimate tensil stregth (Y2) are observed.
To verify the operation of heating furnaces is very suitable to measure directly on the heated material that is placed in a heating furnace. In the case of the furnace, where the material is shifted on the growth of the furnace, the situation is complicated and measuring is arduous. Therefore, it is usually necessary to think over the location of sensors in the material carefully. The disadvantage is generally spot measurements of the temperature field and it should be counted as a direct and an inverse method for unsteady conduction of heat. Article will be shown one of the methods, how to solve this task by means of artificial intelligence tools.
Optimal control of reheating furnaces at metallurgical companies encounter to difficulties resulting from unevenness of the material through the furnaces because of their integration into broader technological lines. In terms of finding the optimal heating strategy appears to be the cheapest approach to using the appropriate models of heating. Description of these models make up the core of the presented article.
Natural resources management is one of the environmental policy priorities in steel industry. In the paper, attention was given to the potential of eco-effectiveness and circular economy concept for supporting decision-making related to the management of natural resources (including fossil fuels, minerals and metals) in steel production. In this paper was explored the potential of eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness for supporting production management. It was presented the importance and the role of circular economy and life cycle approach for systematizing the problems of natural resource depletion in steel industry. Circular economy and cradle-to-cradle approach are fundamental elements for establishing more sustainable steel.
European Union authorities effort to make the industrial companies to decrease the amount of CO2 emissions produced. The main instrument of the EU environmental policy is emissions allowances trading. The main goal of this paper is to analyse the impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) on the environmental efficiency in the national steel sectors. We define that efficiency as a share of CO2 emissions released on the amount of steel products manufactured. The analysis is performed on the data of Visegrad Four countries. The results of the panel data analysis and the regression analysis for single countries separately proved the statistical significance of the emissions allowances allocated to each sector for free on the environmental efficiency.
In order to increase efficiency in production with respect to emissions production, the European trading system with emissions of CO2 has been established at the beginning of this millennium. The impact of this system on participating companies, even after one decade of its functioning, has been questioned many times in published studies. This paper devotes to the analysis of efficiency of steel sectors in the countries of the Visegrad Group, i.e. the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. In particular, the fact how efficiently steel producers in the countries are transforming their inputs into ouputs is researched. Moreover, relationships (dependency) between inputs and outputs are identified and discussed. The analysis is made at national level, not at the level of steel producers/companies. The PROMETHEE method is used. To perform the analysis, the data on inputs (number of allowances allocated for free and structure of companies’ size) and outputs (amount of production and CO2 emissions) from years from 2012 to 2014 are used.
The global issue in all sectors is to increase the efficiency. In heavy industry as in steel sector, there is also a question about the environment – the production of emissions. The European trading system with emissions of CO2 had been established in order to increase the efficiency in production with respect to emissions production. The unfair allocation of emissions allowances or generally the impact of the system has been discussed in many studies. This paper evaluates the efficiency of national steel sectors in 22 European countries. The calculations and analysis are made at national level. The Data Envelopment Analysis method is used. To perform the analysis, the data on inputs (number of allowances allocated for free, number of GDP per capita and structure of companies’ size) and outputs (amount of production and CO2 emissions) for year 2014 are used.
In recent years basic metal manufacturing companies faced major changes in their environment. The impact of those changes is evident in individual companies but can also be observed in accumulated data for the entire branch. In this paper I examine changes in selected financial ratios of basic metal manufacturing companies operating in Poland, in the period 2006-2014. I search for trends and possible new industry standards in key areas of profitability and balance sheet structure. Years of industry-wide weak profitability indicate that managers will have to assume restructuring efforts to convince investors.
The steel sector plays a very important role for many countries, because of its broad industrial use. However, not all countries have the same factor endowment for steel production and trade. Firstly, the paper is focused on the analysis of changes in the position of the main steel producers and exporters of steel and steel products in the world in the period 1998−2014. Secondly, it explores if these countries achieved a revealed comparative advantage in the steel sector or if their significant market share was caused by some unfair trade practices. The research methods included the analysis of statistical data about steel production and trade and in order to find out trade specialisation, the RCA index was used. The analysis confirms that China recorded the most significant changes in its market share. However, China as well as other main steel producers and exporters in the world recorded a revealed comparative disadvantage in the steel sector. On the other hand, they were the most often participants of the WTO’s trade disputes in the steel sector. The results of the analysis are discussed and graphically presented.
The purpose of the paper is presentation of wider tendency that occur in economy (and particularly in metal manufacturing sector): creation of ecosystems of cooperating entities. Progressive specialization of manufacturing entitles causes the formation of networks of actors in place of large organizations producing a diverse range of products. While in the early stages of the metal manufacturing we can observe a tendency to concentration of ownership, production of final products made of metal takes place in a networks of many smaller entities. The producers in clusters and networks establish different organizational forms of cooperation. In the paper the results of research conducted in Polish clusters in the end of 2015 have been presented. Against this background the forms of cooperation in metal manufacturing clusters have been presented. According to existing cluster policy in Poland it is important to distinguish the organizational form of cluster coordinator and cluster itself.
Logistic distribution systems’ dependability is a highly significant matter in today’s understanding of system’s ability to satisfy customer requirements, which usually are excessive and much individualized. A solution to such demands more and more often is the customization of offered goods, due to adapting postponement strategy.
Steel products market is characterized by a constant, large fluctuations of demands, as well as by a high degree of requirements’ differentiation in terms of products variants. The situation in which a steel products distributor has to face the problem of meeting consumers’ specific requirements is getting more and more common. Commonly used service centers are main example of the idea of mass customization, based on postponing the differentiation in the supply chain.
Nevertheless strategy of postponed differentiation is increasingly popular also among trading companies, which are operating without specialized, typical for service centers, technical infrastructure. Lack of adequate production equipment does not prevent the possibility of implementing the strategy of delayed production. Due to condition of owned infrastructure and the presence of qualified personnel specialized in the performance of differentiation operations, enterprises may use different variants of strategy of delayed differentiation and mass customization. The article presents the results of studies designed to compare the benefits of using different variants of postponed production strategy.
Process capability analysis is a part of the statistical process control, which is designed to monitor and regulate the process. The aim of statistical control is to maintain the manufacturing process at a level so that produced products have the required quality and meet the customer requirements.
The contribution is focused on detection the capability of flange forging process for the automotive industry. In the automotive industry there are strict requirements on product quality, therefore it is necessary that all manufactured forgings meet the quality requirements. Part of forging process capability determination is also the analysis of factors influencing the process capability. Based on the findings are proposed measures to improve the capability of the process.
In metallurgy we can meet with different projects, for example research projects, investment projects, educational projects, strategic - development projects and the like. Project management is the focus of many other industries and by branch, who share their resources and experiences.
Project management is followed up by other disciplines, such as the Risk Analysis, Human Resource Management, Cost Management, Portfolio Management of Projects, Program Management of Projects and many others.
The effort to successfully complete projects led to the development of various project management techniques, tools and the resources dealing with general project management. The metallurgy is most often used norms and standards for project management such as PMBOK, PRINCE2, IPMA ICB, ISO 21500 and their Handbooks.
The paper compares advantages and disadvantages of standards and norms for projects in metallurgy. The first part describes the characteristics of these standards and their processes, components and relationships. The second part deals with comparing these standards, explaining their advantages and disadvantages for projects in metallurgy.
The paper presents outputs of survey among mostly metallurgical plant and cooperating companies located mostly in Moravian-Silesian region. The data were collected in the period from January till February 2016. The topic of the survey was employee performance appraisal process. Aim of the paper is to present main trends in the HR area and to recommend companies necessary changes in the employee performance appraisal reflecting approaches and tools of successful companies around the world.
According to the statement of P. Drucker "Production is not the use of machines and tools for processing materials, but the use of logic to process work." The process of production logistics is a chain of communication links between the processes of purchasing, production and storage which ensures proper planning and rapid response to threats execution plans. The production capacity is affected by factors such as product structure, level of the employees’ qualifications, number and quality of the machines and the organization of production. It is important to assess the risks associated with planned production, construction, manufacturing - about 75% of the errors result from irregularities in the preparation stage of production, because their detection in the initial phase is small, and about 80% of the errors are detected in the phase of manufacture, inspection, and also during operation, which stems from the basic assumptions of the method FMEA (failure modes and effects analysis).
FMEA is used by organizations to prevent and overcome the effects of defects that occur in the construction and manufacturing processes. Applying this method consists in study all possible faults before approving construction solution. The final aim is an assessment of the risks associated with planned production, construction and manufacturing. FMEA method allows in practice to realize the qualitative approach of "zero defects" as well as "continuous improvement."
The aim of the article was the analysis of the errors, their causes and effects in the production process in selected company of metallurgical industry, which acts in the production of small architectural elements. Application of FMEA allowed to determine the importance of faults and errors by point estimating, taking into consideration such criteria as: R - risk, I - importance of defects and D - detectability. The recommended corrective actions were indicated as a result of the conducted analysis.