The calibration procedure for the frequency determination of HeNe laser interferometers used for length metrology is described and high-level traceability at the Metrology Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (MIRS) consistent with the Mutual Recognition Arrangement drawn up by the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM MRA) is presented in the article. The analyses of radiation frequency regarding stabilization time, repeatability and reproducibility are given for a case of an industrial and of a laboratory HeNe laser interferometer. Allan-deviation calculations at different sampling periods provided information for setting the optimal sampling period and proved that 100 000 samples at one-second or 10 000 samples at ten-second long period are usually the most appropriate sets for one-day calibration measurements.
COBISS.SI-ID: 17102870
A system of permanent magnets, similar to those used for scale prevention during water processing, was tested as an alternative to induce some improvements during the textile laundering procedure. In this comparative study, four sets of 25 runs of standard laundering were performed on white cotton under repeatable conditions: a set washed only with tap water, then with added standard IEC detergent, a set with magnetically treated water without the detergent, and then a set in a combination of both. Samples were analyzed on texture morphology by scanning electron microscopy, mineral fouling by X-ray diffractometry, and fabric characteristics, as prescribed by the standard procedure for the laundering effects' evaluation, i.e. dimensional change, breaking-strength, incineration residue, and color characteristics. It was indicated that magnetic water treatment modified the detergency and the mineral fouling, resulting in increased whiteness of cotton. It also slightly increased the reduction in the breaking strength, but this was still inside the standard quality requirements.
COBISS.SI-ID: 16816150
Manufacturers have to look constantly for new strategies and tools to improve processes, decrease cost and increase productivity and efficiency. Production scheduling is one of the crucial elements in manufacturing and has an impact on delivery deadlines and also on the production process in terms of its utilization. On the other hand, the value stream optimization is very important for lean manufacturing efforts. This paper is aimed to research the impact of job shop scheduling on value stream optimization and decreasing of cost-time investment. Value stream mapping represents a very efficient tool for visualization of activities within production flow focused on activity duration with the purpose to eliminate non-value added activities. Value stream costing is based on value stream and eliminates the need for overhead allocation and calculation. Cost-time profile is a powerful tool for visualization and calculation of cost accumulation during the time across the entire manufacturing flow. Software tools used in this paper are: Lekin scheduling system for constructing the schedules based on four different dispatching rules and Cost-Time Profiler software for simulating the impact of different schedules on total production cost and cost-time investment (representing the time value of money), which is proposed as a new scheduling objective function.
COBISS.SI-ID: 17379094
The first objective of this paper is to map the adoption of technologies for the reduction of energy and resource consumption in production and the second is to test the relationship between the implementation of those technologies and the performance of manufacturing firms. The aim is to contribute to the identification of the characteristics of the manufacturing firms that use this kind of innovative technology in order to help policy makers promote energy and resource efficiency in a suitable manner. Our research is based on the Spanish and Slovenian subsamples of a wider European manufacturing survey. Our suggested models explain how significant energy efficiency is, and how much of the variability in economic performance and environmental performance it can explain. The results show that the use of energy and material saving technologies does not have a clear and significant relationship with economic performance. On the other hand a significant positive relationship is found between energy and material saving technologies and environmental performance.
COBISS.SI-ID: 16834070
The main objective of this paper is to map the adoption of technologies for energy reduction and resources consumption in production. The aim is also to contribute to the identification and understanding of the characteristics of the manufacturing firms that use these kinds of energy and material saving technologies. Our research is based on data from the largest European manufacturing survey to date and it includes data from Spain and Slovenia. The results show that the use of specific energy saving technologies and material saving technologies in manufacturing firms is still modest. Dividing manufacturing firms based on technology intensity sectors and based on their relative energy efficiency we have concluded that firms in high technology industries focus less on energy efficiency than low technology firms. Some other specific relationships between the use of energy efficient technologies and adopters' characteristics (e. g. use of environmental management systems) are presented in this paper.
COBISS.SI-ID: 16949782