- Ekotech online fair is behind us!
Trade Ekotech always held in late February in Kielce exhibition center. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the traditional edition of the fair had to be canceled.
- The first seminar in the series "Quality Problems - yesterday, today and tomorrow"
The editorial board of "Quality Problems" accepts as one of its most important objectives the presentation of contemporary challenges faced by the community of scientists and practitioners dealing with issues related to quality and management of this category. An essential element of the journal's mission is to conduct a constant, open discussion with the community of authors representing a wide spectrum of interests in the theory and applications of knowledge about quality. Therefore, on April 28, 2021, a nationwide on-line seminar, i.e. a webinar, was organized, opening, according to the Editorial Board's assumption, a cyclical initiative enabling such a discussion. The form of the meeting resulting from the pandemic's time limitations turned out to be a solution that should work well in this case in the future, also when the restrictions are lifted.
- Modular training seminar entitled "System tools for improvement" - part II
We present the second part of the webinar report summarizing the training seminar entitled "System tools for improvement". During the webinar, the topic of internal audits was discussed, which are an extremely important tool for improving management systems. The speakers tried to answer the question what is the weakest element in their implementation. It has been pointed out that the problem is documenting nonconformities, because in practice the nonconformities are not always documented in an identifiable manner, they are not properly justified by the description used, there is no objective evidence characterizing the nonconformity or they are incomplete. Difficulties related to the improper preparation of the audit plan, the lack of holistic perception of the audited area and reference to aspects of the management system (e.g. failure to take into account the criteria related to powers and responsibilities or the values of indicators that do not allow for the actual assessment of the effectiveness of the management system in a given audit area), preparation of auditors (e.g. failure to take into account previous audit results while preparing for subsequent audits, failure to adequately refer to audit criteria), setting too large their scopes and underestimating the time needed for their implementation. Another noticeable problem is acquiring people from outside the organization in order to conduct internal reviews.
- Opportunity or need? Occupational health and safety management system
Is there anything more important to running a business than money? It would seem not, but it turns out that nowadays it is the employee, his safety and health that become the overriding interest of the employer. Therefore, the goal of each organization is to ensure the safety of its employees by implementing an effective occupational health and safety management system (OSH) compliant with the requirements of the international standard PN-ISO 45001: 2018. Obtaining the OH & SMS certificate issued by an independent certification body is an objective confirmation of the fulfillment of these requirements. For over 20 years, the Quality Certification Center of the Faculty of Safety, Logistics and Management of the Military University of Technology (CCJ WAT) has been conducting certification activities in the field of occupational health and safety management systems. As part of the accreditation held by the Polish Center for Accreditation (No.AC 057), CCJ WAT assessed the functioning of the OH & SMS system in organizations, awarding over 700 certificates.
- From the Foreign Press
Currently, about 33% of manufacturing companies have achieved a high level of digitization of their activities. It is predicted that this ratio will exceed 70% in the next few years. The development of industry 4.0 will be accompanied by significant changes in various areas of management. The use of artificial intelligence, augmented reality tools and 3D printing will spread. It can be predicted that the demand for labor will decrease as it will be replaced by automated and intelligent production processes.
- The perspective of limited development opportunities in the conditions of the impact of COVID-19 on the quality of B2B relationships
The aim of the article is to show the limited development opportunities in the conditions of the impact of COVID-19 on the quality of B2B relationships. The study is theoretical and empirical in nature. The theoretical part focuses on the issues of cooperation in the supply chain with suppliers and recipients (companies) in conditions of epidemiological threat. The empirical part includes the results of own research on the quality of business-to-business (B2B) relations on the example of a small enterprise - a paper producer.
- The product and its quality as a symbol
The article deals with the symbolism of the product. The examined issue was considered from the perspective of perceived product quality. The aim of the article was to present the symbolic side of the product, which is important in the perception of quality by consumers. Selected examples of products with characteristic symbols were presented. It also explains what this symbolism is about. It has been shown that dealing with a product of symbolic value is, among others, an announcement of experiences that are bought with the product, as well as a unique atmosphere related to its use. It was pointed out that the symbolic values of the product often become more important to the consumer than the usable values.
Problemy Jakości (Quality Problems) - the whole list