The Quality of the Decision-Making Process in Road Transport

The issue of quality is a very important aspect of the operation of transport companies. In relation to the area of their activity it primarily focuses on the quality of services provided, which can be verified e.g. on the basis of timeliness of deliveries or accepted complaints. This allows for examining the quality after providing the service in order to take future pro-quality actions. However, is it possible to affect the quality of services provided before their provision? The transport process itself is preceded with a range of actions taken within the framework of detailed planning and organization, which can significantly influence the quality of services. The decisions made at the management level are conditioned by many factors determining the course of future events, however, this is not always enough to make the process run uninterruptedly. Therefore, it is important to structure basic actions at the initial stage so as to allow the smooth conduct of the decision-making process for the specific task in order to subsequently focus on the detailed analysis of the actions planned. In the paper, the author attempts to characterize the fundamental factors affecting the decisions taken during the planning and organization of the transport process. The objective of the conducted research is to verify initial decisions and their significance for the improvement in the quality of transport services provided. There was conducted the algorithmization of actions and interpretation of their importance for the quality of decisions taken at the preparatory stage and during transport.

Musculoskeletal Disorders Related to the Professional Work of Academic Teachers and the Quality of their Work

The organization of space and working conditions is very important in terms of its effectiveness. Each professional work determines activities that support occupational safety and health at the workplace. Lack of proper working conditions but also the time of exposure to dangerous, burdensome or harmful factors has an impact on the effectiveness of the work performed. Lack of balance between work and leisure in turn results in a decrease in work efficiency. The scientific and didactic work of academic teachers is related to the occurrence of diversified occupational hazards with particular emphasis on those that are the cause of musculoskeletal disorders. In this elaboration, the research, analysis and evaluation of the work effectiveness of academic teachers have been carried out. A questionnaire and a direct interview have been used as a research method. In addition, the pain intensity in individual parts of the body has been assessed in the last 12 months depending on the age of research and teaching staff using the NMQ questionnaire (Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire). For the purposes of the study, the survey was supplemented with the VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) scale to assess the severity of pain. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the frequency and severity of musculoskeletal pain in academic teachers with regard to the effectiveness of their work

Preliminary Study of Time Banking Participation

Thailand will be entering full-scale aging society in 2021, when 20 % of population will be over sixty years old. This will cause significant societal changes, and it is very important that the country is prepared to deal with problems that may arise from aging society. Unfortunately substantial number of senior citizens are financially unprepared for retirement due to low financial literacy. An effective social welfare system is needed, which will require a large amount of financial support. An interesting approach to delivering social welfare is co-production which is a practice that involves public services and communities in the mutual deliveries of welfares. Time banking is an engagement practice which each member agrees to give and take credits for service. Time credits can be earned by providing services to those in need. Such system is a kind of co-production which can help build community relationship and complement social welfare system. Time banking can be applied to all generations, and it is especially suitable for aging society. This paper explores the interests in joining time banking among people living in Bangkok and vicinity. It investigates the respondents’ lifestyles, interests in joining time bank, and possible matching of interests. The results reveal existing gaps and may be used in further study for establishing time banking system.

Calculation of the Thermal Dynamic Performance of the Residential Buildings’ Walls

Calculation of the thermal dynamic properties of the multi-layer wall isolation of residential buildings is presented in this paper. Taking into account that the final objective is to create a building with the highest energy efficiency ratio, i.e. with the lowest energy consumption, both for heating and cooling, it is necessary to realize the good thermal characteristics of the multi-layer wall. To obtain the optimal solution for the wall's structure, various wall structures with different thicknesses of the individual layers, were analyzed. Based on results, presented in this paper, one can conclude that for walls with the same total thickness, but various thicknesses of the individual layers, that constitute the complete wall structure, the differences appear in the delay of the change of the walls outside temperature. In that way, by varying those individual layers' thicknesses, one can obtain the optimal solution for the wall structure with the highest savings of energy.

Quality of Video Games: Introduction to a Complex Issue

The video games industry is one of the fastest growing branches of industry, reaching revenues comparable to (or even surpassing, depending on the source) the 70 year older film industry. The growth was not free from turmoil, as the industry faced many disruptive changes, market crashes, fusions and takeovers. High development costs and fierce competition make video games a high-risk business. While it seems obvious that companies in such unstable environment should strive to achieve the highest quality of their products, the uniqueness, variety, complexity, and constant evolution of video games makes common definitions and models of quality difficult to apply. This article provides an overview of problems concerning the application of the term “quality”, it's frameworks and measurement methods to video games.

The Economic and Social Dilemmas of Management Focused on the Future of Retail Branches of Commercial Banks in Poland

The problem of leadership and human resource management in commercial banks is a challenge to the growing dominance of e-commerce businesses. Scientific discussions are invariably focused on pro-competitive activities, however, the economic efficiency of which is not always sufficient. In this paper the authors attempt to identify economic and social factors leading to the future and development of retail branches of commercial banks in Poland. The research was carried out by the means of a diagnostic survey in retail branches of selected commercial banks.

Comparison Crack Resistance of RC Beams with and without Transverse Reinforcement after Shear Testing

Main parameters, which characterize shear strength, are crack distribution, width of diagonal crack opening and angle of inclined crack. There are in this article, comparison crack resistant of testing reinforced concrete (RC) beams on the shear with such variable parameters like presence or absence internal reinforcement, different shear span, and presence or absence external composite reinforcement. Shear span (relative span to effective depth ratio) was acquired the following values: a/d=2, 1.5, 1. For internal reinforcement, rebar’s A240C with diameter 8 mm and steps 100 mm was chosen. The composite FRCM system was like external reinforcement with three stripe of composite fabric with width 70 mm and step 100 mm. Eight RC beams were tested. After testing, we discovered that the most influenced on the serviceability capacity was shear span. Internal transverse reinforcing increased shear strength on the same level and it was independent from shear span and other factors. Only quantity of reinforcing determine level of increasing shear capacity. FRCM system is efficient strengthening system, which significant increase shear crack resistant for RC beams. External FRCM reinforcing increase shear crack resistance on the same percentage and independent from presence or absence internal reinforcement.

Surface Quality of the Materials used for Lighting Columns

Quality of the lighting columns plays a major role in the comfort and safety of life of road users. The surface quality of the materials used in the columns is especially critical during extreme weather conditions. Road infrastructure, including street lighting, uses modern lightweight materials from the group of non-ferrous materials or composites. The materials used in the manufacturing process ensure important advantages, such as durability, electrical safety, aesthetic qualities, low maintenance costs, light weight, and easy transport and assemble. This paper presents an analysis of the quality of coatings used for street lighting columns.

Advantages of Colour Etching in Quality Control of Recycled Al-Si Cast Alloys

Colour Metallography is a set of light metallographic microscopy methodologies that utilize phase colour contrast as a source of new structure information compared to conventional techniques. In many cases, colour contrast can be induced where no identifiable phase contrast is obtained by conventional techniques. With the help of colour contrast, we gain new information on the structure of Al-Si alloys, especially intermetallic phases, in which the benefits of its use in casting quality control are of benefit. Blue-yellow contrast is definitely more pronounced than dark grey or light grey contrast. There is no substantial reproducible colour reproduction, since it is irrelevant whether the two phases are distinguished by blue-yellow or green-ocher contrast. When using the colour contrast, the structural components differ not only according to their microscopic appearance, but also based on the knowledge of the chemical composition of alloys, interactions between structural components, knowledge of the possible influence of Al-alloys structure (e.g. refining, modifications, heat treatment). Colour contrast in quality control of Al-Si alloys was applied to AlSiMg cast alloy (AlSi7Mg0.3; AlSi7MgTi; AlSi10MgMn; etc.)

Effect of Non-Fulfillment of Assumptions on Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility Study Evaluation

The evaluation of the measurement system quality has already become an integral part of quality planning activities in both the automotive and metallurgical industries. An important assumption for obtaining the most relia ble results is compliance with the basic assumptions for evaluating the variability of the measurement system. The main goal of this paper is to analyze, how the failure to meet the basic assumptions influences the evaluation of the measurement system's statistical properties. This goal is achieved by performing a detailed analysis of the latest developments in the field of measurement systems analysis aimed at verifying the assumptions of normality and uniformity. The evaluation of the effect of non-fulfillment of both assumptions on the values of the most important statistical properties of the measurement system is performed using simulated data. Suitable graphical tools are used for practical verification of both assumptions.