• Energy Research

The highest levels of management work towards profit maximization, trying to achieve the lowest possible costs and the highest possible revenues. Managers in the automotive industry have the same goal. Nowadays, the automotive industry in Slovakia is based on direct foreign investments. The industry is a key sector and is considered to be the driving force behind the development of the whole economy. ABC Analysis is one of the tools that enable companies to control their costs. It provides detailed information that enables the monitoring of how resources have been utilized within a company. It enables the management to evaluate whether costs correspond with the purpose of their spending. For this research ABC analysis was applied to the conditions within the automotive industry with the aim of utilizing the effect of cost savings. On the basis of the research and statistical calculations a proposal is put forward that enables companies to reduce their costs bound in the inventories. The new system of inventories management will enable company managements to utilize the saved money in another way and to achieve further optimization of the processes.

At present, AGV systems are an important part of numerous companies and their internal logistics systems. They are used to efficiently secure different types of transport processes in order to minimize operating costs. However, their reliable operation requires adequate setting and maintenance. Computer simulation is probably the most suitable option from a wide range of engineering methods with which to meet these requirements. This paper describes the development of a simulation model in the Tecnomatix Plant Simulation program to identify critical points of failure within a specific delivery process on the basis of a Milk Run system. Based on the results obtained, an appropriate solution was determined with which to make the whole process function more efficiently and reliably.

The paper is focused on an example of a solution for the sustainability of transport and mobility with the application of discrete computer simulation. The obtained results from the realized simulation were complemented with the selected multi-criteria decision-making method, namely the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. The paper describes the use of the simulation model for obtaining characteristics of alternative solutions that were designed for the needs of transport sustainability. The aim is to address the problem of traffic congestion in urban agglomerations. The simulation model serves as a means to provide information for the needs of their analysis by multi-criteria evaluation by the AHP. The methodology is based on a combination of computer simulation and multi-criteria decision-making and presents a useful tool that can be used in the field of transport sustainability. The paper notes methods to implement analysis of alternative solutions in transport. However, this procedure can also be used to solve other problems in the field of logistics systems. The paper compares five possible solutions for the organization of transport at intersections. Multi-criteria decision-making was realized based on 12 criteria. The result was the solution that reduced the length of congestion in almost all directions, with a maximum shortening of 69 m and a shortening of the average delay by 26 s compared to the current state.

This paper deals with waste management. The aim is to find out whether the number of municipal mixed waste bins can be reduced due to the impact of waste separation and to determine the optimum municipal waste collection cycle within a predesignated area with an existing urban road network. The number of mixed waste bins depends on two factors—household waste volume and household waste composition. Both of these factors have a significant impact on the number of mixed waste bins required, with household waste composition being of particular importance when it comes to calculating the potential reduction in the number of mixed waste bins required due to waste separation. The calculations for the weight and volume of mixed household waste per person and the composition (types) thereof are presented accordingly. The results reveal which types of waste are the most useful in minimising the number of mixed waste bins by up to 30–50%. To determine the optimum waste collection cycle within the predesignated area with a real urban road network, the Nearest Neighbour Search method was applied. In the discussion, the focus is on whether other methods, including the Two-Phase Heuristic approach and the Bellman-Ford Algorithm, could be applied to solve the problem, whereby parameters such as application time and the capacity of the waste collection vehicle are compared.

Biomass is one of the sustainable sources for the production of heat and electricity. This paper is devoted to the processing of wood waste. It is an analysis of wood chips processing from the process of balancing the brushwood after toll harvesting, including the transport of processed wood mass to the heating company. MS Project software was used to optimize this production process.

The paper focuses on the optimization of production logistics within the selected company, which is going to relocate the machining centre to the Czech Republic. The aim of this paper is to design a suitable conveyor to optimize the machining centre's entire production process.Based on the company's input requirements, the necessary calculations were carried out, which led to the construction of the conveyor model. Proposing the model was preceded by selecting a suitable conveyor which will be used in production.

The workforce of an enterprise consists of employees of various ages with different personality types. Members of each generation differ not only in their behaviour, but also in their attitudes and opinions. A manager should identify generational differences. Subsequently, the management style, leadership and employee motivation should be adapted forasmuch as well-motivated employees are able to affect the efficiency of enterprise processes in right way. The objective of the paper is to identify differences in perception of the preferred level of corporate culture in terms of various generations. Preferred level of corporate culture in six areas is evaluated using a questionnaire consisting of 24 questions. Sixty-four European transport enterprises are engaged in the survey. Following the outcomes, we find that all generations of respondents working in the European transport enterprises prefer clan corporate culture in the course of five years. This culture puts emphasis on employees, customers and traditions. Loyalty and teamwork are considered to be the essential tools for business success. Following the statistical verification using the ANOVA test, we can state that the hypothesis regarding the existence of generational differences in the perception of corporate culture was not confirmed.