Web engineering and multi-criterion analisys of modeling languages used in production systems

Abstract Economic globalization and strong, unprecedented, industrial competition, the overwhelming influence of information and communication technology, the Internet and its most important service, i.e. the World Wide Web have an undisputed impact upon all enterprises, exerting a strong influence on the competition system, the accelerated development of new products and services through reducing the development time of the product life cycle, as well as the improvement of upstream and downstream communication with suppliers and customers. Within this framework, taking into account the decline in worldwide economy, especially during the past few years, this paper aims to proposing a new so…

Workforce active ageing case study in a Romanian manufacturing company

Ageing workforce is a major trend that characterizes the demographic evolution of Europe, which generally affects the society, but also the organizations from economic and social point of view. Employers should change their negative perceptions of ageing workforce, whereas the changes that occur along with ageing are unable to influence the efficiency of work, assuming that a suitable strategy implemented to prevent and manage potential problems. The paper includes European and national statistics on the issue, a case study analysing the workforce ageing management in a Romanian manufacturing company, which has succeeded in achieving the active ageing target, and - on this basis - several g…

Proposed Environmental Risk Management Elements in a Carpathian Valley Basin, within the Roşia Montană European Historical Mining Area

Non-ferrous metals mining activities have long accompanied people, and began in the study area of South East Europe over 2000 years ago. The environment quality is significantly affected by both historic mining activities and contemporary impacts. All these problems, inducing synergic negative effects on local organism communities, have created a chronic state of pollution. The Corna Valley has one of the oldest historical human impacts in Romania due to the influence of mining. Fish and benthic macroinvertebrates have exhibited significant responses to long term mining effects on lotic systems. The analysis of macroinvertebrate communities, correlated with the lack of fish and some biotope…

Incorporating Sustainability and Green Design Concepts into Engineering and Technology Curricula

Human society is facing an uncertain future due to the present day unsustainable use of natural resources and the growing imbalance with our natural environment. Sustainability is an endeavour with uncertain outcomes requiring collaboration, teamwork, and abilities to work with respect and learn from other disciplines and professions, as well as with governments, local communities, political and civic organizations. The creation of a sustainable society is a complex and multi-stage endeavour that will dominate twenty first century.  Sustainability has four basic aspects: environment, technology, economy, and societal organization. Schools with undergraduate engineering or engineering techno…

Sustainable Development and Technological Impact on CO 2 Reducing Conditions in Romania

Climate change is a reality all over the world, and its complexity is increasing. Therefore, sustainability has become a national and international concern, ingrained in many organizational processes. The ability of organizations to respond to sustainability concerns is sometimes hindered by the complexity of integrating sustainability into business models and by the need to rethink their strategic directions. In Romania, sustainable development has become a priority for businesses, but even though companies are showing some concern, there are yet to demonstrate any full commitment (they are mainly concerned with areas such as society and the environment). This paper assesses Romania’s invo…

Research Regarding the Influence of Raw Material and Woven Fabric Geometry on the Air Permeability of Mattress

Abstract Properties of woven fabrics are influenced by many factors: the nature of raw materials, woven fabric geometry and density, technological parameters of the weaving operation and finishing. The main purpose of this research paper is to increase the performance of woven process during mattress manufacturing by choosing the right woven fabric geometry and raw material. The variation in air permeability depends on the area density, linear density, loop length and thickness of yarns. To obtain woven fabric samples were used several types of classic yarns, also ecological yarns like organic cotton and bamboo viscose. On the other side, tests results show the fabric resistance regarding a…

Characterization of automotive shredder residues before and five years after landfill disposal

The paper illustrates the results of an extensive analytical characterization study of automotive shredder residues (ASR), also known as "fluff". The analyses concerned material fractions and their content, with special reference to heavy metals (e.g. Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, Cu) and arsenic. Elution tests on the original materials were also conducted. Moreover, chemical concentrations of ASR samples after about five years' landfill residence was assessed, in order to verify possible changes resulting from both in-situ leaching and organic matter degradation phenomena. Results show that lead seems to be the most critical element in view of possible ASR acceptance in non-hazardous waste landfills bec…

Conceptualization and Examination of Success Factors in the Banking System

Abstract Banking competition has intensified in recent years, largely due to globalization, technological process and economic instability. The banking system in this context is supplied with considerable challenges, with customers’ characteristics, needs and desires consistent with the current environment (globalization, technological change and economic crisis). It is necessary to identify those features that contribute to the development of competitive advantage. In this sense, this paper shows the results of the analysis of success factors in the banking system. To obtain the results the following methods were used: in-depth questionnaire (for experts), questionnaire (for customers), ob…

How Supportive Are Romanian Consumers of the Circular Economy Concept: A Survey

The aim of this paper is to investigate consumer behavior regarding the environment and the adoption of new patterns of behavior and responsible consumption in the promotion of a Circular Economy (CE) in Romania. With this goal in mind, a questionnaire survey was performed on-line on a nationwide scale to explore consumers’ behaviors and attitudes, which was distributed in all four of Romania’s macro-regions and interviewing 642 respondents. The results indicate that the consumers have a positive attitude towards the importance of the environmental protection, in general and it also measures the frequency of adopting eco-friendly behaviors by the consumers, showing that the consumption beha…

Experiencing Urban Mining in an Italian Municipality towards a Circular Economy vision

Abstract Selective waste collection in Italy has undergone significant changes over the last decade, highlighting very different approaches from one region to another. Research results presented in this paper are underlying differences between geographical regions and use them as a model of good practices to improve the less optimized systems. In the last decade, the Trento City Council has established a goal – the optimization of selective municipal solid waste collection – that led to a very low amount of recyclable materials in the residual fraction. More than that, for the first time sanitary textiles have been considered as a separable fraction at the source; for a long time this type …

THE IMPACT OF TRAFFIC RELATED POLLUTION ON AIR QUALITY IN SIBIU REGION

Urban areas represent the main zones of anthropogenic emissions and, at the same time, includes the largest number of population exposed to air pollution. Data related to traffic hot spots locations in Sibiu urban areas are presented and discussed in this paper. It is important to assess the impact of changing climate conditions and concentration of pollutants, these aspects are of special interest because of high and increasing population of urban regions exposed to consequences of climate change and air pollution. Paper tackling the problem of traffic related pollution and especially PM10 fraction as a novel research. No other research were previously done in Sibiu region emphasising part…

Sustainable Development Model for the Automotive Industry

The relationship between sustainability and business has become one of the central debates at the national and international level in both industrialized and emerging countries. A series of existing business models lack some critical aspects. The automotive industry strongly affects economic development, requiring rethinking business models in order to reduce their impact on the environment. An evaluation of the websites of the major automotive industry companies shows they have reported sustainability (through different methods) and present various practices in implementing organizational sustainability (OS). This paper aims to present a new business model for the automotive industry that …

Machine Learning and Creative Methods Used to Classify Customers in a CRM Systems

Considering the fact that business processes are becoming more and more customer-oriented, marketing and connecting top management to the customers are extremely important, which should be given a special attention, taking into account the globalization and the increasing market competition. Due to the exponential growth of data volume, in any field, it was necessary to use and develop new methods and techniques for discovering hidden information in data, information almost impossible to be detected by traditional means, based on human analysis skills. This paper presents a pre-processing method for mining data in order to support decision makers in developing coherent and saleable strategi…

Sustainable Development and Technological Impact on CO2 Reducing Conditions in Romania

Climate change is a reality all over the world, and its complexity is increasing. Therefore, sustainability has become a national and international concern, ingrained in many organizational processes. The ability of organizations to respond to sustainability concerns is sometimes hindered by the complexity of integrating sustainability into business models and by the need to rethink their strategic directions. In Romania, sustainable development has become a priority for businesses, but even though companies are showing some concern, there are yet to demonstrate any full commitment (they are mainly concerned with areas such as society and the environment). This paper assesses Romania’s invo…

Respirometric Index and Biogas Potential of Different Foods and Agricultural Discarded Biomass

The biological stability of biomass is an important parameter for treatment plant design, process control or compost use. Measuring the biological reactivity of waste with the help of indicators such as respirometric indexes (RI) becomes an important tool to prevent the significant environmental impact of biodegradable wastes in accordance with European legislation. The aim of this paper is to show the importance of the RI technique as a tool to establish further uses of biomass such as fertilizer or biogas. The respirometric process length for different types of biomass (grape marc, apple pomace and olive pomace) was quantified. Higher moisture content seemed to favor the biological activi…

Enhancing Creativity: Using Visual Mnemonic Devices in the Teaching Process in Order to Develop Creativity in Students

(1) Background: In the field of creativity studies there is always space for expansion and new conceptualizations of the methods involved. Therefore, we will present in this paper a brief arrangement of the methods used to enhance creativity and consider whether visual mnemonic devices can increase creativity. The devices are used in the teaching process in order to ease the remembering process by creating a visual representation. Visual mnemonic devices are techniques that increase creativity as part of their own performance. (2) Methods: We will use a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent group design, the procedure involving the use of visual mnemonic devices. (3) Results: The results show t…

Conceptualizing Core Aspects on Circular Economy in Cities

Currently, there are many different interpretations in the literature of what a circular economy is and how it functions. As cities are still facing challenges to become fully sustainable, the need for a comprehensive analysis of how the circular economy can be implemented in urban areas is increasing. This article aims at outlining circular cities by their key characteristics and to further explore and provide a framework for fostering circularity at the city level. In order to achieve this goal, we performed a systematic review and analyzed key papers published in the field of circular economy to determine how circular economy practices form circular cities. We discovered that cities play…

Is organizational skill a will or a way to a successful lifestyle and workstyle?

Organizational skill is a transversal competence, which is formed through concrete life experiences. On the labour market, organizations want high-performing employees with developed organizational skills. The approach of training the organizational competence is inductive, starting from personal life, competence formed through voluntary exercise, and continuing by practicing and improving it during school life and at work, through ways offered by academic education and management, but also through organizational skill management. This paper aims to analyse the concept of organizational skill, from the perspective of mental mechanisms involved in its formation, as well as human resource man…

Risk Indicators and Road Accident Analysis for the Period 2012–2016

Road accidents are a major societal issue for every country. The purpose of this paper is to assess the number of traffic and road accidents depending on a series of variables (collision mode, road configuration, conditions of occurrence, road category, type of vehicle involved, personal factors, and length of time of the driving license) in Romania from 2012–2016. The analysis of the road accident trend identifies the causes of accidents, road safety performance indicators, and risk indicators. Having these identified data, a framework is proposed for improving the road safety system and reducing accidents. The Romanian Police, the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) in Romania, and the…

A review of the impact of mining operations on sustainable development

Global annual extraction has increased due to market demand. It is anticipated that this aspect will continue in the future. The mining industry is one of the important industries at national level. It also anticipates certain aspects of sustainability that must be seriously evaluated. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate mine waste reuse, pollution, and recycling in mining industries. At the same time, mining operations are evaluated to carry out a review of the implications for sustainability. In order to achieve the research aspects, a qualitative evaluation and a semi-quantitative evaluation of some data series are used. For the entire research approach, the objectives of sus…

Spatial [Elements] Decision Support System Used in Disaster Management

Natural disasters profoundly affect the development of human society, they are the most pervasive disasters in the world and they cause the greatest property and human loss. Considering the natural disasters that have struck Romania these years, we believe that is it is absolutely necessary to develop a spatial [elements] decision support system, which would prevent - as much as possible - natural disasters from occurring or would help mitigate their effects. All these objectives are unattainable without effectively applying information and communication technology in the field of natural disasters.

Technical and commercial communication methods used in semi-finished industrial goods market in South East European markets

South East European industrial markets are crossing a period of strong development. This progress is also strongly felt by industrial suppliers, including semi-finished non-ferrous metal products traders. Industrial marketing presents a lot of features which differs from the consumers marketing. Analyzing these markets one can observe an increased communication between sales teams and buying centers. This communication has two major line: technical and commercial. Buying teams, which include very often engineers, need special, detailed and customized technical information related to products, delivery and payment conditions etc. The clarity and efficiency of this communication is one of the…

Introduction of the circular economy within developing regions: A comparative analysis of advantages and opportunities for waste valorization

The introduction of effective solid waste management strategies in developing countries should be considered for improving sustainability at global level. Many barriers should be overcome, concerning the introduction of environmental policies, effective investments, social inclusion and public awareness, which are significant issues in low-middle income countries. The Circular Economy could represent the answer for improving current solid waste management activities worldwide, since denote the principle of waste valorization and recycling for boosting developing economies. This paper is focused on this theme, analyzing main opportunities for improving the current state of solid waste manage…

Research Regarding the Influence of Raw Material and Knitted Fabric Geometry on the Tensile Strength and Breaking Elongation

Abstract The main purpose of this research paper is to increase the performance of knitting process during socks manufacturing by choosing the right knitted fabric geometry and raw material. On the other side, tests results show the wear resistance regarding mechanical properties like tensile strength and breaking elongation of knitted fabrics for socks. To obtain samples knitted fabric were used several types of some classic yarns, which already use to obtain socks organic also another type of yarns less used: cotton, organic cotton, bamboo viscose, soy + cotton, Tencel. From these yarns the following knitted fabric geometry were obtained: plated single jersey, plated ribb 4:2 and plated p…

Model to Assess the Quality of Magmatic Rocks for Reliable and Sustainable Constructions

Geomechanical assessment of rocks requires knowledge of phenomena that occur under the influence of internal and external factors at a macroscopic or microscopic scale, when rocks are submitted to different actions. To elucidate the quantitative and qualitative geomechanical behavior of rocks, knowing their geological and physical–mechanical characteristics becomes an imperative. Mineralogical, petrographical and chemical analyses provided an opportunity to identify 15 types of igneous rocks (gabbro, diabases, granites, diorites, rhyolites, andesites, and basalts), divided into plutonic and volcanic rocks. In turn, these have been grouped into acidic, neutral (intermediate) and basic magmat…

Evaluating and prioritizing municipal solid waste management-related factors in Romania using fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS

Smart Sustainable Development Approach and its Implementation in Engineering Organizations

This paper explores the concept of sustainability in engineering systems and proposes a smart conceptual framework for engineering organization development. Sustainability is a critically complex goal for enterprise activity and development. Sustainability in the engineering area requires a comprehensive and continue approach because, a) engineering activities are ubiquitous in society, b) of the high importance of engineering applications in the development of the companies and of the world, and c) technological support becomes imminent in a dynamic economic environment and sustained in large part by technological advances. This paper aims to provide to the engineering environment a smart …

Renewable sources and its applications awareness in educational institutions

The topic of the presented research was to analyze the awareness on renewable energy sources among the students of three universities: the Ural Federal University (Russia), the University of Trento (Italy) and Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (Romania). The survey included 6 basic multiple-choice questions about the main points of the renewable energy topic. Data were collected and analyzed in aid of percentage ratio of right answers among students on each possible answer. The approach adopted in the three universities for the education on topics related to renewable energy is different. This difference explains the different point of view of students on renewable energy.

Evaluating Safety Systems for Machine Tools with Computer Numerical Control using Analytic Hierarchy Process

Computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools are complex production systems with fully automatic machine parts. Nowadays, high feed rates and machining speeds are used during the machining process. Human operators are still needed to set-up the machine, load/unload workpieces and parts, load the machining code, and supervise the machining process. The operators work in an environment where automated high-speed motions occur, and consequently, CNC machine tools have to be equipped with safety systems. The approach presented in this paper was to evaluate the main safety systems of CNC machine tools based upon the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The analyzed systems were divided into six m…

Whether an innovation act as a catalytic moderator between corporate social responsibility performance and stated owned and non‐state owned enterprises' performance or not? An evidence from Pakistani listed firms

The objective of the study is to signify the impact of corporate social responsibility performance on state‐owned and non‐state‐owned enterprises' performance. The contributive concept of CSR performance has been formulated while contemplating total tax, staff expenditure, public welfare expenditure, social cost and total equity. To contemplate with deep insight, the moderating role of innovation input and output has been substantiated through empirical results. The data of 502 listed companies on Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has been endorsed for years 2009–2018. Empirical underpinnings reveal that corporate social responsibility performance boosts the non‐state‐owned ent…

SMS disaster alert system programming

Floods are natural phenomena that profoundly affect the development of human society, as they are the most widespread disasters in the world and they cause the greatest property and human loss. The flood warning system presented in this paper provides a reliable and effective solution, which is complementary to existing traditional warning systems; it employs information and communication technology and specialized devices.

Energy recovery from Municipal Solid Waste in EU: proposals to assess the management performance under a circular economy perspective

In 2015 the European Commission issued a package of documents on Circular Economy concerning an integrated revision of legislative proposals on waste management. The aim was to stimulate a European transition towards a circular economy concept, which is expected to foster competitiveness, sustainable economic growth and new jobs generation. Three indicators are proposed in this paper to contribute to the assessment of the energy recovery management performance from MSW in a scenario of circular economy: a) referring to MSW directly used (RMSW) or indirectly used (SRF) as input of thermochemical plants, an indicator can be the percentage of waste having LHV > 13MJ/kg; b) referring to the MSW…

Safety culture: a perpetual challenge or an opportunity for Romanian companies?

The main objective of the paper is to analyze the safety culture in order to understand how theory and practice can be integrated to improve safety performance and related economic outcomes. The research includes the synthesis of systematic studies on safety culture and the factors that influence the relationship between organizational culture and safety behavior. In a global manner, the results obtained generate relevant insights into how safety culture can be theoretically systematized and provide a series of recommendations that can guide the development of future safety culture interventions. Finally, a framework is proposed for an in-depth understanding of all the implications of safet…

MINIMIZING COSTS UNDER CONSTRAINTS

Abstract The present paper deals with the costs the production of goods and services involves in the conditions of a company's struggle to keep those costs as low as possible in order to afford competitive prices on various markets. Several types of constraints emerge which compel the management to consume resources, for instance financial resources, in order to respond to constraints. This is the case with protection equipment or environmental requirements and pollution prevention.

Occupational Hazards Management Using a Grey-Based Decision-Making Approach

Abstract The objective of this paper is to present and verify the decision-making model which makes it possible to streamline the occupational hazards that tend to occur in the work environment, according to the adopted decision-making criteria. In this way, it will be possible to reduce inconsistencies of decision-makers deciding to focus their preventive measures upon the most important hazards, in the situation when the same assessments for hazards are obtained using classical matrix techniques. Within this model, a grey approach was proposed, which makes it possible for experts to use linguistic variables in such assessments. The following three risk assessment parameters were used as t…

PRODUCTION FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTING TO MARKET CHANGES

Abstract This paper describes those situations when a company, an organization, in its search for minimum costs, including those involved by investment, and production flexibility, manages to adapt to those changes that ensure survival on the market. Economies of scale are an attraction for any firm and thus globalized, huge firms emerge, conquering continuously developing markets. However, smaller firms face market changes that are usually dangerous in terms of sustainability. The paper highlights those market components that provide information on adapting production through flexibility.