Fuzzy logic controllers serve the same function as the more conventional controllers, but they manage complex control problems through heuristics and mathematical models provided by fuzzy logic, rather than via mathematical models provided by differential equations. This is particularly useful for controlling systems whose mathematical models are nonlinear or for which standard mathematical models are simply not available, such as in metallurgy. The aim of this article is to design fuzzy controller for use in metallurgy and compare him with conventional PID controller.
The paper describes a use of the 80/20 rule (also well-known as Pareto rule) in heat treatment processes. The 80/20 rule principle is based on a study of Italian economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto. Pareto defined a mathematical formula which reflected unequal wealth distribution and expressed fact that 20% of all population owned 80% of wealth. This idea was further developed by many his followers and nowadays is widely recognized as a principle of measuring effectiveness. For purposes of the paper, this rule could be also simply summarized in the definition that 80% of results are made up by only 20% activities. It basically means that the main aim of the 80/20 rule is to divide causes according to their importance. The 80/20 rule represents a very useful analytical technique which helps to clearly specify how to solve a specific task. The goal of this paper is to introduce its practical application in heat treatment processes in the chosen company.
Coke is one of the basic energy sources in the blast furnace process. Its quality essentially then determines the course of the blast furnace process. It is used both in the blast furnace and in the agglomeration processes. Coke also significantly affects the price of the produced raw metal. A number of different categorical criteria can be used for its evaluation. It may be the chemical, physical, technical, mechanical and logistic properties, but also cost. Apart from the chemical composition, typical properties of coke include also strength, grain composition, moisture content, heating value and a number of other parameters. If the evaluation of coke were based only on isolated criteria, finding the best possible choice would be complicated. One option for evaluating multidimensional problems are mathematical multi-criteria decision tools. These methods allow assessment of the difficult and complex issues through dozens of completely different criteria. As part of the research, these methods have been used to experimentally assess the quality of the supplied coke. The article deals with the analysis applied to the assessment process of the quality of blast furnace coke and use of this methodology in metallurgical enterprises.
The contribution deals with the classical specification of phase calculations in the metallurgical company and compares them with modern calculation methods. Briefly describes the methodology of these calculations, its advantages and deficiencies. This contribution aims compare these calculations and the possibility of their application and use in metallurgical enterprise.
The article presents characteristics of the tasks of chosen logistics subsystem within the business activity. Its main objective is identification and analysis of selected two tasks of supply subsystem management of the X Enterprise of foundry industry.
First purchase sources of the X Enterprise are specified. The stage of the purchase of supply consists of the features and partial tasks which integrate real and information processes. The content of these processes may determine the answers to the most important questions related to the core activities of the company, primarily concerning its own production or purchase (make or buy decisions) related to determination of the scope of the permanent links of cooperation.
Afterwards the specific materials consumption for the castings’ production are evaluated. Efficient functioning of the X Enterprise depends on the effective meeting of material needs for the own production, auxiliary components for the production of casting and molding materials, which are determined.
The paper is based on the analysis of the literature of the subject and own research carried out using the interview method with employees and customers of X Enterprise. An important source of information was interior materials obtained through cooperation with the authorities and employees of the examined entity.
Industry 4.0 Concept is current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things, Big Data, cloud computing and more. Industry 4.0 creates what has been called a "Smart Factory design". The term Industry 4.0 it selves means the fourth industrial revolution. It incorporates emerging technical advancement to improve industry so as to deal with some global challenges. We want to describe, in this paper, the incoming changes, which has to be made in short time in many industry areas, especially direct impact to metallurgical productions, to be compatible with “other world” systems. The Industry 4.0 implements new approaches to human resource management, automation, data networks interconnections, data storage, data mining and much more. Metallurgical production is very complex system and implementation of many new approaches will be chalenge for many companies worldwide. The changes has already started, but implementations and human stance to new ideas will take decades.
The article presents the influence of chosen tools of the production system organised according to the Lean Manufacturing philosophy rules on production capacities of an enterprise that specialises in casts production. The characterisation of particular methods was performed as well as of the most frequently applied tools allowing the growth of effectiveness and production capacities, improvement of quality and rise in repetitiveness of casts produced.
The article is an attempt to use Cobb-Douglas function (C-D) to analyse the impact of the two basic factors of production (C- capital and L- labour) of its size in the Polish steel industry. The Paul Cobb and Charles Douglas written the function as: P = a Lα C 1-α (where P is the production of L-labour inputs, C - capital). In our century the function was popularized in the neoclassical model of the company. Currently, the C-D function is used to assess the scale of production in the economy, industry and company. In the paper was used the function (changed by David Durand): P = a Lα Cβ. The problem of the research was the selection of variables to the model C-D for the steel industry in Poland (on the base of data for the period 2000-2015). The author of the article decided to verify the classical approach to defining new parameters of the C-D function. The idea of the new approach is to move focus from resource aspects of the functioning of enterprises (employment and fixed capital) into categories having the character of streams of efficiency the steel industry activity after restructuring process. The use of C-D function to assess economic activity steel industry in Poland, evaluated the effectiveness of the restructuring measures (after the transformation of the economic system in Poland) and the answer to the question about level of maturity market by restructured steel industry in Poland.
The article deals with the current problems of finding a new production program for the employment of disabled people through specifically oriented operations in the field of secondary metallurgy. There is also an opportunity to use domestic raw material base and prepare for the possibility of evaluation of low carbon wire and cold drawn wire of non-ferrous metals. The Czech Republic currently imports a wide range of small products that require a high proportion of manual work, patience and manufacturing operations needing only a minumum of technological machinery as tools and products. In particular, the production of leather goods, the consumer market-oriented to support small-lot production, crafts and family business. The article shows selected findings and practical experience from many years of work with disabled people, particularly in terms of the transition period from childhood to adult participation at the interface of social care and opportunities to engage in useful production process. At the same time assessed the current pace of development of sheltered workshops and adaptation of disabled persons in the new production and assembly programs. The paper also outlines the economic effect, coupled with the growth of added value and consequences associated with increasing mental and physical condition of people with disabilities in relation to claims for health care.
This paper presents the results of preliminary low-cycle fatigue tests of 1.2344 tool steel, used to make forging tools for work in higher temperatures. Based on macro- and micro-structural studies and numerical simulation of industrial forging processes, the conditions for performing laboratory fatigue tests were determined. Samples were subjected to cyclic, uniaxial loading (under tensile-compressive conditions) at four levels of total strain amplitude (0.5; 0.8; 1.0; 2.0%), at two temperatures: 20 and 600ºC. The results of fatigue tests were approximated using the Manson-Coffin-Basquin equation in a εa-2Nf system and then used during verification of damage on a selected forging punch, which revealed high consistency between results. The comparative analysis of fatigue test results and numerical analyses, combined with microstructural studies, conducted in this work, demonstrated the possibility of using these tests, analyses and studies in the process of designing tools used in forging processes from the perspective of their durability and resistance to thermomechanical fatigue.
At present, according to the Regional Chamber of Commerce 866 companies dealing with metallurgy have its headquarters in Czech Republic. Some of them are large employers and industrial leaders. However, this increases the number and diversity of their stakeholders. The main objective of this paper is to find out how individual metallurgy companies apply the principles of corporate social responsibility, if and how they communicate with their stakeholders, and whether they are prepared (at least the biggest) for mandatory reporting according to European Union rules.
Circular Economy is a current priority of the European Commission's economic policy. In production processes, also in the metallurgical industry, this involves application of the Best Available Techniques (BAT) and support of innovative industrial processes and practices that enable Industrial Symbiosis - waste or by-products from one industry become raw material for another, which is particularly important in the case of critical raw materials. An example of a Metallurgical Industrial Ecosystem is provided by ZGH Bolesław Group, the main producer of Zinc and Lead in Europe. The Group consists of ZGH Bolesław S.A. in Bukowno, HCM S.A. in Miasteczko Śląskie and Bolesław Recycling S.A. in Bukowno. The aim of the Group is to better utilize raw materials and recycle of wastes. Within the ecosystem, the Group uses four technologies that create a closed circuit and that are mutually complement. This way, it is possible to use different batch materials. The aim of this article is to present environmental benefits of metallurgical ecosystem-based industrial cooperation (Industrial Symbiosis). Important environmental aspects were analysed together with overall process balance and the effects of the use of individual logistic and technology solutions.
Process capability indexes can be defined as statistical measures of process capability: the ability of a process to produce output within specification limits. It is important especially in case of ribbed bars where all characteristics should be kept. Ribbed bars are used in reinforced concrete structures and provide a better grip of the reinforcement to the concrete due to their shapes and the same time bigger contact surface. Recipients of ribbed bars demand that they have high strength and toughness, corrosion resistance, good weldability and high fatigue resistance. The process capacity indexes can be used for evaluation of repeatability of different characteristics. Cp index determines the ability of the process to manufacture products with constant properties, while Cpk index includes both natural variability of characteristic and the position of the average value in relation to the tolerance limits. In the paper Cp and Cpk indexes were calculated for the mass of 1 m of the ribbed bars with a diameter of 10,16 and 25 mm made of steel BSt500S.
Metallurgical and foundry enterprises in the long term a shortage of qualified graduates of metallurgical specialties. The lack of trained human resources leads to a reduction in the competitiveness of Czech companies, therefore, pay great attention to vocational education. The authors of the article point to the fact that vocational education and training programmes it is desirable to revise and link with the current operational needs of metallurgical enterprises. In the article are being sought and proposed options for the implementation of the requirements of employers metallurgical companies into the content of educational programmes. Are designed link options of professional qualifications of the National qualification system with educational programs of initial vocational training. Among the graduates of metallurgical specialties, should ensure the required professional competencies enabling a smooth transition to performance of the specific job positions in the metallurgy.
The paper deals with comparative analysis of reducibility of metallurgical sinter typical with high and low basicity. The samples were performed at 950°C to reduction test according to ISO 4695 which characterized their reducibility potential in CO atmosphere. Summing up the results, the differences in the testing of reduction processes were studied. The tests were accompanied with characterization of other properties such as density and apparent porosity to acquire comprehensive evaluation of the samples. All the data were used for interpretation and prediction of sample behaviour in reduction processes in operation of the real blast furnace aggregate. Defining some processing parameters by mathematical model developed in Centre ENET, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, financial costs for these samples processing were predicted on the basis of calculated coke reserve for the samples processing. Economical evaluation of processing of low and high basic sinter was carried out regarding the reduction gas consumption and costs estimation for metallurgical coke.
The article presents characteristics of the tasks of chosen logistics subsystem within the business activity. Its main objective is identification and analysis of selected tasks of supply subsystem management of the X Enterprise of foundry industry.
The theoretical approach of supply subsystem in the system logistics concept is presented, then objective of activity of the chosen X Enterprise from foundry industry is briefly characterized, as well as identification and analysis of two tasks of supply subsystem management of the entity: customers’ needs are defined in the area of desired goods, as well as expected level of their production and sales.
The paper is based on the analysis of the literature of the subject and own research carried out using the interview method with employees and customers of X Enterprise. An important source of information was interior materials obtained through cooperation with the authorities and employees of the examined entity.
The paper presents the analysis of non-conformances of metal plates produced in one of Polish steelworks. Selected quality tools were used in the analysis. In the first part of the paper quantitative analysis of total and non-conforming production, taking into account the ways of procedure with non-conforming products, was made. In the second part of the paper the analysis of different types of non-conformances was done. Selected quality tools were used: Pareto’s chart, cause and effects analysis and FMEA method. The analysis covers the period of 1 calendar year.
In the paper, the quality research of the steel bars produced by chosen Polish metallurgical enterprise was presented. The chemical composition of the steel grade 1006 produced in this enterprise was determined. Using the principles of Statistical Process Control (SPC), measurement uncertainty based on validated research methods and current spectral analysis of the control samples were also determined. Thanks to the use of this method it will be possible to take preventive action to eliminate errors during the technological process.
The paper is devoted to the issue of co-financing of socially responsible activities of metallurgical companies operating in the Czech Republic from EU funds. The goal of the authors of the article is to formulate recommendations for the conduct of companies in this sector of the national economy in the programming period 2014-2020 based on an analysis of projects supporting socially responsible activities of metallurgical companies in the period 2007-2013 and an analysis of relevant government documents and scientific studies. To begin with, the authors identify alternative areas of corporate social responsibility (economic, social, environmental, ethical and philanthropic area) and their activities. Consequently, they present a study aimed at co-financing of CSR activities in companies associated in Steel Federation, Inc. from EU funds in the programming period 2007-2013. Attention is focused on co-financing of CSR activities from Operational Programmes Environment, Human Resources and Employment, and Enterprise and Innovation, which can be considered crucial in terms of co-financing of these activities. Selected indicators are evaluated and inspiring projects identified that can be considered examples of good practice. At the conclusion, recommendations are discussed and formulated for practice of metallurgical companies operating in the Czech Republic, focusing both on the material and procedural aspects of the co-financing of projects supporting socially responsible activities of these companies from EU sources.
The complexity of metallurgical companies' operations in the 21st century means that the assessment of the social and economic effects of metallurgical production must also refer to the rational development of degraded brownfield sites and attempts to reconstruct their environmental status before the economic period of exploitation.
Revitalization is to be understood as the repair of degraded areas through total projects (integrating activities for the local community, space and local economy) territorially focused and coordinated in cooperation with the local community in a planned and integrated way by identifying and implementing revitalization programs.
The article focuses on showing the quantity, status and ownership structure of areas degraded by the steel industry in Upper Silesia. The main problems of regeneration processes were defined and the principles under which revitalization can be effectively implemented were characterized. The directions of managing the revitalization process were also indicated and the main assumptions for the model of the regional regeneration operator were presented.
This kind of approach is particularly important in the case of significant territorial concentration of degraded brownfield areas, which are significantly threatening the environment in the form of so- "Ecological bombs".
Agglomeration of the metallurgical industry in Upper Silesia predestines this region to intensify its efforts to restore the environmentally sound areas of the region.
Issues related to reducing the use of natural resources, including metals and fossil fuels, are an important element of environmental management in the European Union. The paper presents the results of the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) and the use of natural resources for various options of septic tanks. An assessment of septic tanks made of reinforced concrete, glass-reinforced plastic and high density polyethylene was made. Based on the carried out analyses it has been shown that concrete tanks are characterized by the lowest index of fossil fuels depletion and at the same time the highest index of depletion of metals, especially iron, chromium, manganese, molybdenum and nickel. The highest consumption index of fossil fuels is characteristic for septic tanks made of glass reinforced plastic. The carried out works enable the design of septic tanks with the lowest consumption of natural resources.
The 5S method belongs to the group of Lean Manufacturing methods which after application allows to standardise production activities, enlarge employees safety, improve the quality of produced goods as well as systemise production and organisational activities that directly impact the effectiveness and capacity of the manufacture process. The article presents the practical aspect connected with the application process of the 5S method in a production enterprise that performs casting operations for the automotive industry. The analysis covered the set of activities and the way of how the particular pillars of 5S method adapted to ensure real benefits for production enterprises – aiming at continuous quality improvement as well as ergonomics and work safety at chosen production posts.
The increasingly returning subject of the financial crisis forces company owners to continuously monitor their results, not only in terms of safety at work, but also reliability of equipment. The purpose of the present article was to identify actions necessary to maintain a reliable machinery stock, which would guarantee effectiveness of production processes and high quality of metal workpieces. The analysis referred to a project of modernisation of deprecated machinery stock in an industrial establishment belonging to the foundry industry. Exchange of equipment involved in the production process and replacement and adjustment of supply and control devices was proposed.
This article is focusing on flexible cost budgeting of metallurgical production and its usage for valuation of actual variable cost. In case that this flexible budget is not available, it is not possible to identify main influences that affect total differences between planned and actual value of variable cost. These main influences are: influence of production volume, influence of product mix, influence of consumption of variable inputs and influence of price of variable inputs. This article defines procedure how to calculate flexible budget of overhead variable cost based on its average planned consumption and prices. Part of this article is also definition of calculation of main influences that cause differences between budget of variable cost and its actual value.
The need for decisions is related to the managing, form the essence. By controlling we understand a deliberate, purposeful influence of a process, a phenomenon, a situation in order to achieve the desired result or objective.
We decide if there is a deviation from the desired state and the goal is threatened, or when it is possible to achieve the goal in several ways. For decision-makers there is the problem when to choose, from the several ways of further process flow, the best one.
The article deals with the solution of disposal and use of fine-grained metal waste in metallurgical company using the utility function.
The problematic of accidents at work in metallurgical enterprises plays a significant role due to the generated costs related with accidents at work. In the article the correlation between employment in the metallurgical enterprises and the number of accidents at work was presented. The data included the time period from 2004 to 2016, i.e. since Poland accession to the European Union. The scope of this problematic by the changes in the legislation of the law was justified the harmonization of national legislation of European Union law.
Analysis of the world economy and its further development trends indicates the constantly increasing share of the foundry casting as a processing technique and the manufacturing of metal products. The foundry casting is one of the most important sectors of the Polish industry. One of the main determinants of industry development is the condition of the industries that use its production. Castings go to many industries, but mostly to the automotive industry, which is the consumer of over 50% of the world's cast production. For years, transport, shipbuilding industry, energy industry, agriculture, construction, mining, metallurgy, machine industry have also been significant customers of castings. The article presents the changes in the development of the foundry industry in Poland in the years 2011-2015.The main purpose of this article is to analyze and assess the development of the foundry industry in Poland in the years 2011-2015. Considerations were carried out at the level of general statistical changes in the development of the foundry casting. The assessment of the casting market in Poland was made taking into account: the state and ownership structure of Polish foundries, production volumes and exports of Polish casting as well as employment and productivity in foundries. Future directions of changes in the foundry casting in Poland in the context of the ongoing R & D in the industry examined have been identified/indicated. The result of the analysis is an organized picture of changes in the structure of foundry production and consequently in the development of foundry industry in the years analyzed. The statistical data of the Central Statistical Office and industry specific studies were used in the article.
According to research, metal processing industry has the highest risk of accidents at work, due to the necessity for personal protective equipment use and strict execution of safety rules and procedures. The paper presents the individual characteristics of health and safety management in the company producing steel flat bars. Special attention has been paid to the safety aspect of the use of automated logistical equipment (gantries, automatics) that increase the risk of work-related accidents. The results of research on the difficulties resulting from the specifics of production (metallurgical industry) has been presented.
The organization and supervision of logistics processes which are related to the implementation and delivery of welded pillars, has been presented in this work. The article contains the characteristics of logistics processes that affect the creation of plans to executions’ schedule. The paper presents an analysis of the assumptions and requirements for the transport of bulky products, which are carried out on the construction site of noise barriers in a timely manner and according to the accepted delivery schedule. The process of logistics, which has been presented in the work was built as an orderly chain of all operations related to the material and information flow between the various stages of the contract, along with the required technical documentation. Logistic service is a result of analyzed processes, which is directly related to the delivery of products in quality and quantity and the time consistent with the expectation of the customer.
The article analyzes the processes of flow of material goods and information in the transportation system of a steel company in terms of their impact on the entire supply chain, including the processes of internal transportation. The aim of this publication was to develop a model for assessing organization and internal transportation costs with regard to the supply of materials and raw materials between different sources (inlets) and outlets in the steelmaking process. The model was verified based on a case study conducted in the Huta Małapanew steel plant, in Ozimek. The simulation concerned the possibilities for improving transportation in terms of organization and in terms of reducing the overall costs.
Dynamic changes in the environment, including increased competition and the need for cooperation, are the main drivers of change in business management. They are the expression of new strategies and business models. Increasing interest in business models derives from treating them as an important instrument for creating values based on a variety of sources. These can be resources, processes, competences and many kinds of innovations. Business model concepts are often a unique architecture and a combination of resources capable of creating value and consequently achieving competitive advantage and generating revenue. The research problem is the structure of business models and their ability to create value. The article presents the results of comparative analysis of business models of two steel companies. The dynamics of changes in business models in the aspect of innovation implementation was assessed. The antecedents of external and internal creation and application of business models were characterized in the surveyed enterprises. In the analysis and evaluation of business models, qualitative methods were used to study changes in their structure. Then, quantitative methods, based on balanced scorecard (BSC), were used to examine the results of the companies. One of the entities was the Trading and servicing company of metallurgical products, the second was the Hot rolled steel products rolling mill. Comparative studies were conducted between 2007 and 2016.
Risk management is now often discussed topic, which also appears in the new version of ISO 9001 standard. The risks are no longer seek only in the context of security and finances, as it was before, but there are numerous other areas. One of these areas where there may exist some risks, is the quality of the products. Ensuring the required quality of products is very important. Organizations that have implemented a quality management system according to ISO are obliged to incorporate risk management techniques into their processes. There are many guestions, like which risk management techniques, are most effective, or how to evaluate the risks. The aim of this article is partially answer this questions and introduce techniques for risk management in product quality planning for the specific process. This article presents a comparison of different approaches to minimize defects in products in metallurgy. Attention is paid to methods FMEA, HAZOP, HACCP and Quality Risk Management. These methods are applied on the forging process.
In this paper, the segmentation of the EU countries in terms of the production of crude steel conditioned by economic parameters was conducted. The study period concerned the years 2005-2014. 5 groups were distinguished, in which similar correlations between parameters occurred. Particular countries were affected differently by the economic crisis effects. The conducted segmentation of the countries for 2009-2011 allowed for a statement that major changes in the metallurgical production occurred in this period. The situation in the construction and industry was of particular importance; however, the strength of impact was varied. Generally, in countries affected by crisis in construction industry, crude steel production fell. As a result of the segmentation for 2005-2014, one group included both highly developed and developing Eastern European countries. The most important factor was not the level of economic development, but its change. As a consequence, one group included countries with a stable economic situation, and another one countries affected by the economic crisis. There were also intermediate groups. For the segmentation for 2009-2011, regularities were even more visible.
The globalization process which manifested primarily by the growing share of developing countries in the world's manufacturing industry, forces Western European economies to take steps to improve the competitiveness of local metallurgical production. The ongoing process of relocating companies across Europe is threatening to deepen the decline of industrialization. Fears of Europe's marginalization in world production have prompted German experts to develop a new Industry 4.0 program that will help regain the status of a leader in the industrialization of highly developed countries. As part of the proposed concept, which is to underpin the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a close integration of physical facilities with the information network is planned. The emergence of sophisticated corporate networks, combined smart resources communicating over the Internet. This means that today's businesses face the next challenge of building and collaborating on cyber-physical systems.
The paper attempts to identify key problems related to the functioning of enterprises within the metal logistics network (steel production, distribution, metalworking, etc.), especially in the face of the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.
All companies have to face a variety of everyday problems, regardless of the sector or particular focus of the organization. It also applies to enterprises in the metallurgical industry. Companies try to turn to the approaches of lean production in the hope of finding an easy and efficient solution of the issues occurring in manufacturing processes or other business areas. The effort to achieve reduction of wastes and cost savings often runs into a number of associated problems. The effectiveness of lean production methods used in practice depends on a wide range of factors, including the proper identification of the real problems, their description, detection of the current state, identification of potential and root causes, determination of the desired state and definition of ways to achieve it. Last but not least it depends on the choice of the right people, who will participate in the implementation of all these steps. Structured problem solving and application of lean production methods and tools should represent one of the basic skills of successful organization and its management. Mismanagement of these activities is often a source of unnecessary costs throughout the organization and can lead to fatal consequences, such as loss of a customer or customers. The article presents the potential of application of structured problem solving in enterprises engaged in steel production.
It is more and more difficult for companies and firms to survive in the highly competitive environment at the present. This is why they try to find ways to achieve competitive advantages, which is associated with investments in innovative technologies or information technologies. This paper describes the investment project for robotization of the metal-bearing material sample preparation department. It describes the individual phases of the investment project and associated cash flows and the investment efficiency evaluation methods. The objective is to evaluate the investment project using appropriate investment evaluation methods for efficient decision-making and project management, which is extremely important for the company. Investment decisions are among the most critical decisions made by the company's management. Inefficient and improperly focused investment may cause serious financial problems or even dissolution of the company.
Control chart is the basic tool of the statistical process control (SPC). It aims to an early detection of errors in the process and thereby ensures compliance with the required level of stability. The statistical process control is an integral part of the production management necessary for achieving a high product quality. Just the quality of the product decides the customer satisfaction and thus the success of the whole company. Classical Shewhart control charts can be used only if there are met certain basic assumptions. These assumptions include, for example, normality, independence and constant mean and variance. In practice, such as the metallurgical industry, those assumptions about the data are not necessarily always met. In the case that these conditions are not met, there may be used other non-parametric and robust control charts. This paper presents some of these non-traditional control charts. This article aims to define the difference between robust and non-parametric methods. Another aim of this article is to present the possibility of evaluating the robustness, and the evaluation of effectiveness based of individual control charts. Individual evaluation methods are complemented by practical examples from the metallurgical process. Conclusion of the article includes comparisons of the used control charts, both in terms of robustness and effectiveness. During preparation of this article accessible pieces of knowledge on the issue were compared, including the use of SPC in the metallurgical industry. This article is the basis for further examination of the problem, including a more detailed processing of the software support.
The article describes the specific of the evaluation of the investment project in metallurgical industry. Metallurgy is characterized by long-term payback of investment, a large amount of total investment, well-predicable operating costs, long lifetime of equipment, and a large amount of overheads, especially of required energy (energy costs are major part of the total costs and it is changing in time). These factors lead to the fact that you should not use static methods of investment evaluation, but it is necessary to apply the dynamic methods (it is given long lifetime and long-term payback when the time factor plays an important role). The dynamic methods (e.g. net present value, internal rate of return, the discounted payback period etc.) are based on predictable discounted cash flows. Their application is connected with two problems. At first, cash flows (for whole lifetime of investment) are very hard to predict, especially in later periods. Simplifying solutions to the most likely future scenario is inappropriate. It is necessary to set up several scenarios, better use simulation approaches (e.g. Monte Carlo). The second problem is connected with estimation of cost of capital (for discounting). Several approaches are possible (e.g. CAPM model with using Beta coefficient of industry, own calculation of weighted average cost of capital etc.). The poster discusses all of them aspects of evaluation of the investment project and make recommendations for it.
Regulation of the technological processes is good only if regulator (controlling system) is customized to the properties of regulated system by suitable setup of its parameters. Properties of the system (technological process) can vary during operation. Therefore it is necessary to change also setup of regulator parameters in the corresponding way. The aim of this paper is description of adaptive fuzzy regulation and instruments of adaptive regulation and possibilities of its use in metallurgical processes. Advantages of the proposed adaptive regulator are changeable parameters of the system and/or changeable desired quantity of regulation circuit. Proposed adaptive regulator is derived from the commonly known structure of the fuzzy PID regulator which consists of PI regulator and PD regulator. Setting up of the regulator parameters of this structure takes place by the utilization of evolutional methods. Objective function for this optimization is the criterion of regulation quality (quadratic regulation area).
The article describes and analyzes specific methods and tools of lean manufacturing and their applicability in metallurgical industry. These methods are described: Kaizen, Value Stream Management, Lean Workplace, Lean Layout, Standardization, Management of Bottlenecks, TPM, 5S and Visualisation, Poka Yoke, Kanban etc. For every method is discuss suitability of its application in specific process in metallurgical industry. Lean manufacturing (and its methods and tools) was originally established in the automotive industry, i.e. in mechanical engineering. It is understood that the usefulness of some methods and tools has increased in processes or parts of processes, including those involving the human factor (f.e. Poka Yoke, 5S, Visualisation etc.). On the other hand, some methods are valid regardless of the level of involvement of human factor and type of industry (f.e. Value Stream Management, Lean Layout, Management of Bottlenecks etc.), however, it is necessary to adapt them the sectoral specifics.
Mining industry is a very specific economic field. The products used in it should be of high quality and safety. These products should provide a safe and peaceful work for miners who, in the rough conditions, usually extract the raw materials needed by every economy in the world. Nowadays, the aim is to reduce the cost of underground mining, so sometimes there is a very dangerous phenomenon such as the attempt to save on a mining casing. This is a very critical and misleading approach to the issues of savings in mining. This industry is characterized by very severe working conditions and a high degree of life threatening, so we should not save on the safety of miners. It is important that the products and equipment used in the mining industry are always of high quality. This is a key element for ensuring security. Therefore, the correct production of these products and equipment is so important. That is why work has been done to improve the anchor production process from the S235JR steel.
The open innovation paradigm suggests that companies should open up and cooperate with external partners. One of the manifestations of such action in the field of cooperation between science and business is co-ownership of patents. It is the result of the intellectual potential of research units linked to real needs definable by the industry. The positive results of research and development works and "monopoly" obtained through patent rights, definitively constitute a major factor in the competitiveness of enterprises. Also in the steel industry. The presence of the cross-organizational cooperation becomes a necessity to generate knowledge of a certain quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of cooperation networks for the steel industry in Poland in the field of patent rights. The network links were selected on the basis of a database for patent applications from the years 1995-2014. In order to construct a graphical structure of relationship has been applied Social Network Analysis (SNA). The second goal of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of the proposed research procedure for the purpose of identification of network participants, particularly the key players. In addition, monitoring of cooperation networks can be a useful tool in assessing intellectual property management policy in projects financed from public funds.
Variability in the modern world is the only thing that is constant. This is due to the globalization of the economy, introduction of new technologies and materials. The aim of the enterprises becomes to achieve satisfaction not only by the client, but by all parties concerned, shareholders, employees and suppliers. Total Quality Management is used in this purpose. The authors have attempted to analyze the type of used quality management methods and tools for quality assurance in Polish metallurgical enterprises.
The main purpose of this paper is to determine the concentration level of the metallurgical industry in Europe. The first part presents the overall situation in this sector in the 2007-2014 period. In the second part, the concentration of the metallurgical industry in Europe has been estimated using the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient based on Eurostat data. It has been noted that four countries with the most significant share in the metallurgical industry: Germany, Italy, France and Spain account for about 50% of European production and employment, which indicates a high concentration of the sector. It has been determined that since 2007 the level of concentration in terms of production and the number of persons employed has increased, which most likely is a reaction of the sector to the economic crisis of 2008.
The work concerns the possibility of the use of modern non-contact measurement techniques in a die forges, in particular the possibility of using an optical scanners and measuring arms with integrated linear scanners. The first group consists of various measurements of forgings, for examply: its control during and after the forging and mechanical treatment, the use of control techniques scans on virtual exams with partial databases. The second group of measuring objects is forging instrumentation, where measurements include the widely understood quality control of new dies, punches and die inserts, the analysis of forging tools wear and measurement for regenerated tools in pad welding technology. The paper presents the other possibilities of using scanning techniques, inter alia.: for geometric analysis of small and precise forging tools. Also examined the possibility of using 3D reverse scanning techniques to direct quality control and changes of surface layer geometry of the forging tools, (without the necessity of their disassembly), based on the measurement of geometry changes for cyclically collected forgings.
In the article there is an analysis of OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and EPEI (or EPEx – Every Product Every Interval) indicators of medium size rolling mill plant in one of the raw materials steel mills. Analysis of OEE and EPEI covered period of 12 months. OEE indicator, alongside MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure), MTTR (Mean Time To Repair) and MTTF (Mean Time To Failure) is one of the parameters of TPM method (Total Productive Maintenance). OEE is an assessment of the overall efficiency of the production system equipment. OEE consists of three elements: availability rate, performance rate and quality rate. EPEI indicator is used to assess flexibility of production structure. It indicates production frequency of various final products. Optimized value of EPEI indicator helps to meet clients’ demands and keep the minimal maintenance of resources at the same time.