USE OF THE CONCEPT OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AS A TOOL FOR OPTIMIZATION OF LOGISTIC PROCESSES

Manufacturing companies in today’s highly competitive environment are under great pressure. They are constantly forced to seek reserves in their processes. Within logistics we can use dozens of quantifiable parameters which offer us a range of indicators. Manufacturing companies, however, have recently also been trying to use soft tools for the development of the employees’ human potential, which can secondarily influence these parameters. One possibility is the application of the Kaizen philosophy. The article deals with the analysis of the research implementing this philosophy in the mechanical engineering production within a company in the Czech Republic

The application of winning key metrics in a metallurgical firm

This article is focused on creating a system of metrics and its application in a metallurgical fi rm. Its aim is to highlight the dangers associated with the creation and application of an eff ective system of metrics. Its objective is also to demonstrate the process (initial steps) in the development of this system in the real family metallurgical fi rm. In the experimental part an example of causal links among key metrics in the chosen metallurgical fi rm is presented. Risks associated with the selection of appropriate metrics are presented for discussion.Web of Science53473072

Managerial Economics

You have received a study package for the subject of the Management Economics which is included in the follow-up master's degree study programs of the Faculty of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, VŠB-TU Ostrava, containing an integrated study textbook for combined study, including the study instructions. You have received a study package for the subject of the Basics of Economics which is included in the bachelor's degree study programs of the Faculty of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, VŠB-TU Ostrava, containing an integrated study textbook for combined study, including the study instructions.OstravaE-vyuk

On the strategic planning, innovation activities and economic performance of industrial companies

Proposed paper deals with the “in-situ” situation of strategic planning, innovation activities and consequent economic performance of Czech and Slovak industrial companies based on questionnaire research results. The relations between selected parameters were aimed and statistically tested on the sample of 254 industrial companies active in Czech and Slovak republic in years 2009-2011. Four hypotheses were evaluated, with the goal of enlightening mutual relations of strategy-innovations-performance behavioural characteristics of the studied companies. In findings, there is well apparent, that written detailed strategic document has mostly bigger companies (above 250 employees and gross annual turnover over 1 bill. CZK), who plan longer in advance (mostly 5 to 10 years or 3 to 5 years) than smaller companies that have more often concise written (a plan mostly from 1 to 3 years in advance) or not written strategic document (11 to 50 employees and gross annual turnover 11 to 100 mil. CZK). The (industrial) companies with written detailed strategic document are continually active in innovations and experienced strong positive progress in volume of production (over 30 %) and earnings - profit (over 30 %) in research period. The analyses have shown that medium-sized and big industrial companies experienced growth up to 30 % of gross annual turnover meanwhile the costs fall up to 30 % during the examined period 2009-2011. Change in volume of production in the course of the period 2009-2011, there is significant correlation to change in gross annual turnover and change in earnings (profit) in the course of the research period. These finding can be interpreted as empirical confirmation of the reasonability of thorough strategic planning with respect to dynamics and innovation necessity. Strategic and innovative industrial companies apparently passed through the period of slow growth without substantial problems, which most likely suffered above all micro enterprises.Web of Science201251

Export, import, production and use of wire in the Czech Republic

The article deals with the statistics of drawn and rod wires in various areas. The first one is focused on the statistics of export and import of drawn and rod wires within the frame of the Czech Republic during the period of 1999 – 2012. The second area of the statistical factual research will deal with the production of drawn and rod wire. The last research area compares the ratio of use and the total production of wires in the Czech Republic. The research revealed interesting information such as the increasing trend of import of rod and drawn wire, or the ratio of production of rod and drawn wire.Web of Science53471671

Analysis of ecological intensity of metallurgical production

Ferrous metallurgy is inherently a highly intensive field in terms of energy and raw materials. The impacts of high energy intensity are enormous: the necessary production of larger amount of energy related to high emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases, associated with increasing negative impacts on the state of the environment and the health of inhabitants. The article suggests the possibility of using the method of structural analysis to calculate direct and complex ecological intensity and to use it as a basis to determine the ecological intensity of the individual metallurgical technologies. The processing of ecological structural model can significantly contribute to the identification of ecologically intensive final products and can improve the decision-making process in this area.Web of Science54126926

Alkaline carbonates in blast furnace process

The production of iron in blast furnaces is a complex of physical, chemical and mechanical processes. The input raw materials contain not only metallic components, but also a number of negative elements. The most important negative elements include alkaline carbonates. They can significantly affect the course of the blast furnace process and thus the overall performance of the furnace. As a result of that, it is essential to accurately monitor the alkali content in the blast furnace raw materials. The article analyzes the alkali content in input and output raw materials and their impact on the blast furnace process.Web of Science53455254

The impact of production capacity utilization on metallurgical companies financing

Web of Science52113713

The conditions for implementing a circular economy in the Czech Republic

In July 2018, measures of the European Commission regarding the Circular Economy Package (CEP) came into force. All EU Member States have two years since to implement these measures into their national legislations. The aim of the authors is, using available resources, to evaluate current conditions in the Czech Republic in the areas affected by this legislation. It is primarily the area of waste management, which has set values within the CEP that must be achieved within those two years. The article offers an analysis of the circular economy penetration into the Czech legislation. The procedure for introducing changes in legislation is presented through the Waste Management Plan (WMP) for the period 2015-2024. The aim of the article is to verify whether whether the Czech Republic is able to meet the EU and WMP's requirements in the current development of waste management. The authors are first to use the analysis of secondary data from national and transnational sources, from which they created unique and original outcomes for the given issue. After the analysis, they introduced the measures that could be used for the greater motivation of the target groups in order to meet the goals of the Czech Republic. The authors address the concrete impacts of CEP implementation within the Czech Republic and also present Czech examples of good practice.Web of Science24437536