Marta Starostka-Patyk

Degradation of PCBs in sewage sludge during methane fermentation process concerning environmental management

AbstractThe aim of the investigation was degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sewage sludge and supernatants during the methane fermentation process. The mixture of municipal sewage sludge and industrial sewage sludge was incubated for 20 d at 37°C in the dark. The quantification of the PCBs was carried out simultaneously in both the solid and supernatant phases, the latter separated from the sludge during centrifugation. The prepared samples of sewage sludge and supernatants were subjected to extraction with the application of the organic solvents mixture. The qualitative–quantitative analysis of PCBs was done using the GC–MS system. After 20 d, the solid phase was observed to have its PCBs content reduced by 58% in the solid phase and 71% in supernatants. The percentage removal of PCBs was 49 and 75% in solid phase and in supernatants mixture of municipal and industrial sewage sludge, respectively.

LCA approach to management of defective products in reverse logistics channels

Reverse logistics and its processes are crucial in modern companies activities. One of the very important problems in this matter is the management of returns. As returned products are products with defects, there is always the possibility for proper treatment. Decisions about further management of defective product is difficult, regarding the product and its parts environmental impacts. Here, the useful tool is life cycle assessment (LCA), that can support reverse logistics processes in case of defective products management. LCA is used to assess environmental impact of cellular phone and 6 possible scenarios of its handling in case of any defects. The assessment shows that reuse and repair scenarios are helpful in mitigating environmental impact in life cycle while waste scenario and also recycling scenario have much higher impact.

Intelligent Traceability System of Containerized Goods

In recent year, many countries across in the world have made traceability a compulsory procedure in the Supply Chain. The Supply Chain is distributed collaborative environments involves the acquisition and use of extensive informational and physical flows. The flows management seems a complex task for the actors of the multimodal transport chain which the transport is the major driver in a Supply Chain. The literature reviews throws light on the traceability in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) shows the lack of interoperability and flexibility in data management systems hinders the work of traceability. And it introduces the importance and complexity of multimodal transport operations. To ensure effective traceability all along this chain, we relied on the agent paradigm and the ontology which facilitate the integration of goods data in order to exploit and reuse. Indeed, to ensure communication and interoperability of these data we relied on Multi-Agent Systems, due to their characteristics of autonomy, sociability and responsiveness that are generally associated. The Multi-Agent Systems can build flexible systems whose behaviors are complex and complicated due to the combination of different types of agents. With a focus on the importance of the concept of the traceability, the objective of this work is to propose an intelligent system for the traceability of containerized goods in the context of multimodal transport: Intelligent Traceability System of Containerized Goods (i-TSCG).

The management of the inventories of facturing equipment spare parts in Polish industrial enterprises

The purchase and storage of a real inventory plays an important role in carrying out the main manufacturing processes in an industrial enterprise. To optimize its level, with adhering to the rules of reducing the maintenance costs and carrying out production in uninterrupted manner, is a major challenge for manufacturing entities. The volume of stored maintenance part inventories is largely due to the method of using and maintaining the production equipment; therefore, for the effective management of the spare part flow it is essential to define the strategy of repairs of machinery and equipment. The selection of the equipment operation strategy and the resultant repair activities have a significant impact on the spare part purchasing process, which may be varying in character. The aim of the paper is to assess the method of managing spare part inventories in Polish industrial enterprises. The survey covered micro-, small-, medium-sized and large production enterprises (identified by the number of employees), based on the presumption that each of these types of entities, due to conducted operation processes, uses various technical facilities and it is possible to identify the management of that equipment in association with the flow of spare part. Based on the survey results, the paper discusses basic issues related to the consequences of the unavailability of parts, the preparation and structure of spare part orders, and the type of inventories that need to be considered when planning the storage of spare parts.

Reverse logistics barriers in Polish enterprises

The main purpose of this paper is to determine and describe the numerous barriers to reverse logistics implementation in Polish enterprises. The paper presents at first short theoretical introduction to reverse logistics. Then determines reverse logistics barriers divided into four main groups: economical, organisational, related to market and related to government. After, there is a brief description of research methodology - survey about reverse logistics in Polish enterprises, and next, all barriers to good reverse logistics are specified on the base of research results. Finally, there is a short summary with proposal of major law changes to avoid some barriers to reverse logistics practices, followed by the discussion in the form of conclusions with suggestion for future research.

Urban transport system in Czestochowa City

Range of transport system in Poland has changed a lot during last years. Rapid growth of car quantity and small increase of road infrastructure are basic circumstances for seeking new solutions in transport system. New projects of transport system development are also effect of Polands presence in the European Union. There are described assumptions and concepts of further transport system development for Czestochowa City. Survey of present transport problems and causes of system malfunction are shown. Finally transport system strategy for the City is presented.

THE MEANING OF ECO-DESIGN PROCESSES FOR LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT OF DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS

Modern market economy is adapted to the ever increasing demands of customers. Therefore, in logistics flows appear more often and in larger quantities defective products – returns, that need to be properly managed. Fulfilment of this requirement is by the concept of logistics management of defective products. Another advantage is the ability to re-use these products or their components. And here helps the eco-design concept. By this concept, it is possible to reuse the materials used before. The paper presents the basic principles of ecological design (eco-design) processes and their importance for the logistics management of defective products. Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Humanitas. Zarządzanie 114

Value Based Management (VBM) for Logistics Enterprises

Currently, when the market of every industry branch is a highly competitive one, the great need is to gain advantage against competitors. This can be achieved in many different ways. One of them may be appropriate management of enterprise value. This article presents the opportunities offered by Value Based Management (VBM) on the example of Polish companies realizing activities in the field of logistics – accurately reverse logistics and logistics of waste. It also presents the case study of company performing such activities. This article attempts to identify the key determinants of value creation in the logistics companies.