Innovation management in metallurgical enterprises

In current economic conditions effective management plays an increasingly important role in metallurgical enterprises. As changing environment stimulates evolution in companies and industries modern managed enterprises turn to innovation management in search for vital components of effective strategies. With rising threats and uncertainties metallurgical companies require effective strategies to remain an important section of industry in Poland. Authors describe methods of innovation management on the example of chosen metallurgical enterprises in Poland in the years 2008-2011

Innovation management in metallurgical enterprises

In current economic conditions effective management plays an increasingly important role in metallurgical enterprises. As changing environment stimulates evolution in companies and industries modern managed enterprises turn to innovation management in search for vital components of effective strategies. With rising threats and uncertainties metallurgical companies require effective strategies to remain an important section of industry in Poland. Authors describe methods of innovation management on the example of chosen metallurgical enterprises in Poland in the years 2008-2011

Formation and planning of virtual production networks (VPN) in metallurgical clusters

A significant problem of small and medium enterprises in the metallurgical sector is that submitted orders very often exceed the individual production capacity at the disposal of each company according to production capacity limitations (machinery, equipment and time availability), competencies, skills, etc. Therefore, the idea of the creation of virtual production networks (VPN) of small and medium enterprises within a metallurgical cluster appears to be particularly attractive. The development of such networks depends on design solutions and tools which help companies to quickly plan a VPN to jointly execute production orders. In the paper, the new method for formation and rapid planning of virtual production network within metallurgical clusters is proposed

Innovation of costing system in metallurgical companies

Innovation means creating and implementing new ideas in theory and practice. Generally speaking, companies in the Czech Republic that don’t have a foreign owner behave very conservatively as far as the used costing system is concerned. This also applies to metallurgical companies and foundries. The decision on method of costing calculations should be included in the sphere of strategic decision-making. The strategy must also define how to use method so as to obtain new orders which, as a result, should lead to an increase in production volume, and thereby to higher capacity utilization and also to higher overall sales. The article discusses the innovation of costing system in metallurgical companies

Employment and other selected personnel attributes in metallurgical and industrial enterprises of different size - research results

The presented paper deals with the issue of employment and other selected personnel attributes as employees’ affiliations, employees’ benefits, monitoring of employees’ satisfaction, monitoring of work productivity, investments into employees education and obstacles in hiring qualified human resources. The characteristics are benchmarked on the background of enterprise size based on the employees count in the year 2013. The relevant data were collected in Czech industrial enterprises, including metallurgical companies, with the help of university questionnaire research in order to induce synergy effect arising from mutual communication of academy-students-industry. The most important results are presented later in the paper, complemented with discussion based on relevant professional literature sources. The findings suggest that bigger companies check productivity and satisfaction and dismiss employees more frequently, unlike medium companies which do not reduce their workforce and solve the impact of crisis by decreased affiliations, reduced benefits and similar savings

Employment and other selected personnel attributes in metallurgical and industrial enterprises of different size - research results

The presented paper deals with the issue of employment and other selected personnel attributes as employees’ affiliations, employees’ benefits, monitoring of employees’ satisfaction, monitoring of work productivity, investments into employees education and obstacles in hiring qualified human resources. The characteristics are benchmarked on the background of enterprise size based on the employees count in the year 2013. The relevant data were collected in Czech industrial enterprises, including metallurgical companies, with the help of university questionnaire research in order to induce synergy effect arising from mutual communication of academy-students-industry. The most important results are presented later in the paper, complemented with discussion based on relevant professional literature sources. The findings suggest that bigger companies check productivity and satisfaction and dismiss employees more frequently, unlike medium companies which do not reduce their workforce and solve the impact of crisis by decreased affiliations, reduced benefits and similar savings

Benchmarkingpolish basic metal manufacturing companies

Basic metal manufacturing companies are undergoing substantial strategic changes resulting from global changes in demand. During such periods managers should closely monitor and benchmark the financial results of companies operating in their section. Proper and timely identification of the consequences of changes in these areas may be crucial as managers seek to exploit opportunities and avoid threats. The paper examines changes in financial ratios of basic metal manufacturing companies operating in Poland in the period 2006-2011

Benefits and barriers of participation in production networks in a metallurgical cluster - research results

In this paper, the research results of surveys which were conducted in a Polish metallurgical cluster and among enterprises which are potential members of such production networks are presented. These results show that there is a high level of free capacity that can be used in the formation of production networks. The idea of the creation of long term clusters of industry or service enterprises give new possibilities to increase performance and productivity and seek higher levels of innovation. Through exploitation of the synergy effect, such concepts allow better economic results and a competitive advantage over other market players to be obtained. The key concerns about the functioning of enterprises in production networks within a cluster are following: a lack of confidence in potential partners, loss of data and concerns about the division of costs and revenues

Environmental favourable foundries through maintenance activities

Maintenance today contributes to the aim of sustainable development in society, including environmental and energy saving, safety and economical aspects. The main purpose of the paper is to present the role of maintenance in the realization of sustainable developing practices in a foundry industry. Maintenance offers numerous opportunities to reduce the influence of foundry processes on the natural environment and utilize resources more efficiently. Maintenance activities can help to reduce losses and thereby improve the efficiency of the processes used in the production of resources (e.g. raw materials, energy, etc.), especially in areas such as: the choice of an appropriate strategy for the maintenance of machinery and equipment (e.g. reactive, preventive, proactive); inventory management of spare parts; lubrication management and management of technology media