Hasil untuk "Regulation of industry, trade, and commerce. Occupational law"

Joaquim Jorge Vicente, Lurdes Neves, Catarina Marques

This paper investigates the growing problem of abandoned maritime containers and the lack of effective reverse logistics to manage them: <i>Background:</i> The research highlights the significant environmental impact and economic burdens caused by the imbalance of container inflow and outflow, which leads to the accumulation of containers in storage yards; <i>Methods:</i> The study used the Delphi Method, gathering insights from a panel of experts in container transport and maintenance. The goal was to identify key challenges and potential solutions for improving container reverse logistics in Portugal; <i>Results:</i> The results confirm the urgent need for efficient reverse logistics strategies to address the container imbalance. The experts reached over 60% consensus on the importance of developing logistics systems and improving communication between ports. Implementing these strategies would not only reduce economic costs but also significantly lower environmental pollution; <i>Conclusions:</i> The paper concludes that a strategic shift toward effective reverse logistics is essential for enhancing the sustainability and operational efficiency of the maritime transport sector.

Livia Rauca, Catalin Popa, Dinu Atodiresei et al.

<i>Background</i>: Port congestion contributes significantly to operational inefficiency and environmental impact in maritime logistics. With tightening EU regulations such as the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and FuelEU Maritime, understanding and mitigating the economic and environmental effects of vessel delays is increasingly critical. This study focuses on a single bulk cargo pier at Constanta Port (Romania), which has experienced substantial traffic fluctuations since 2021, and examines operational and environmental performance through a queuing-theoretic lens. <i>Methods</i>: The authors have applied an M/G/1/∞/FIFO/∞ queuing model to vessel traffic and service time data from 2021–2023, supplemented by Monte Carlo simulations to capture variability in maneuvering and service durations. Environmental impact was quantified in CO₂ emissions using standard fuel-based emission factors, and a Cold Ironing scenario was modeled to assess potential mitigation benefits. Economic implications were estimated through operational cost modeling and conversion of CO₂ emissions into equivalent EU ETS carbon costs. <i>Results</i>: The analysis revealed high berth utilization rates across all years, with substantial variability in waiting times and queue lengths. Congestion was associated with considerable CO₂ emissions, which, when expressed in monetary terms under prevailing EU ETS prices, represent a significant financial burden. The Cold Ironing scenario demonstrated a substantial reduction in at-berth emissions and corresponding cost savings, underscoring its potential as a viable mitigation strategy. <i>Conclusions</i>: Results confirm that operational congestion at the studied berth imposes substantial environmental and financial burdens. The analysis supports targeted interventions such as Just-In-Time arrivals, optimized berth scheduling, and Cold Ironing adoption. Recommendations are most applicable to single-berth bulk cargo operations; future research should extend the approach to multi-berth configurations and incorporate additional operational constraints for broader generalizability.

Sebastian Wójcik-Jackowski

W opracowaniu przedstawiono przekrojowo zagadnienie kontroli gospodarowania wodami. Autor sięgnął do genezy obecnych rozwiązań, a także przeanalizował obowiązujący stan prawny i kierunki zmian wynikające z ustawy o rewitalizacji rzeki Odry, w szczególności te związane z utworzeniem Inspekcji Wodnej i powierzeniem jej określonej kategorii zadań. Drobiazgowo omówił pojawiające się wątpliwości i mankamenty nowo wprowadzonych przepisów oraz wskazał najważniejsze kwestie, które jego zdaniem wymagają uwzględnienia, a które dotychczas pomijano w toku prac legislacyjnych.

Zhumanov Azat, Kegenbekov Zhandos, Tolujevs Jurijs

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) is one of the main transport corridors between China and Europe. It passes through the territory of Kazakhstan, as well as the countries of the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Iran, and contributes to the full realisation of transit and export opportunities of these countries. Each country participating in the development of TITR is implementing projects to increase the capacity of its transit infrastructure, but the potential of this route has not yet been fully realised. The reason for this is both high tariffs for sea and rail transport and insufficiently short transport times, which are dependent on the parameters and methods of using the infrastructure. This paper is devoted to the study of the TITR railway infrastructure located in Kazakhstan. The developed simulation model allows estimating the impact of infrastructure parameters of the railway track on the movement time of a container train from the PRC border to the ports of Aktau and Kuryk on the Caspian Sea coast.

Masilonyane Mokhele, Tholang Mokhele

<i>Background</i>: Airports are essential drivers of spatial development; hence the placement of logistics facilities relative to airports is a topical subject. Despite the wealth of the literature on the subject, relatively little is known about the airfreight catchment of airports. To contribute to the existing knowledge, the paper used the study area of the City of Cape Town municipality, South Africa, to address three research objectives, namely analysis of factors that influence the placement of logistics firms in the municipality, analysis of the linkages of the logistics firms with Cape Town International Airport (CTIA), and analysis of the association between airfreight-related firms and the general attributes of logistics firms in the municipality. <i>Methods</i>: The study hinged on a quantitative design, which included a survey and spatial analysis. A total of 110 logistics firms were sampled through a stratified random sampling technique, and 66 firms participated in the telephonic interviews conducted in October and November 2021. Survey data were analyzed using Stata, and spatial analysis was undertaken using ArcGIS 10.8 and QGIS 3.16. <i>Results</i>: It was discovered that a quarter of the respondent logistics firms utilized CTIA for airfreight purposes. At a municipal scale, the potential airfreight catchment of CTIA extended to about a 20 km radius of the airport. <i>Conclusions</i>: In formulating the spatial plans, the planning authorities are encouraged to take cognizance of the possible extent of the catchment, wherein airfreight-related firms do not necessarily locate near the airport.

Patricia Inês Schwantz, Leander Luiz Klein, Eugênio de Oliveira Simonetto

<i>Background</i>: This study aims to analyze the relationship between lean practices and organizational performance in a public institution, specifically, a military organization. <i>Methods</i>: The research has a quantitative approach with a descriptive character, having as a sample the members of a military unit located in Rio Grande do Sul. A valid sample of 116 answered questionnaires was obtained. Data analysis was carried out through multivariate statistical treatment, known as Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), using the Smart-PLS software. <i>Results</i>: At the end of the study, it was possible to confirm the central hypothesis of the study and conclude that lean practices (waste elimination, continuous improvement, support and leadership, member involvement, education and training, long-term thinking, quality, and systemic vision) positively impact organizational performance. Together, these elements combine to engender organizational effectiveness and success, promoting more productivity, quality, profitability, and customer satisfaction, thus improving the organization’s performance. <i>Conclusions</i>: It is evident that the members of the military unit are committed to optimizing organizational performance, showing constant improvement in productivity, rarely committing errors, cost reduction in activities and works, high effectiveness in meeting goals, prioritizing cost reduction in the execution of activities, as well as achieving goals and objectives related to the services provided.

Yatskiv (Jackiva) Irina, Tolujevs Jurijs, Petrovs Vladimirs et al.

Many shipping companies tackle the challenge of potentially replacing conventional trucks with electric ones in economically developed countries. The aim of this work is to describe the principle of scaling models for analysing the operation of a fleet of vehicles, when the decision to use a particular type of model is made considering the accuracy and completeness of the initial data, as well as the goals of modelling. At the end of the report, information is provided on the TraPodSim simulation system developed by the authors, which is based on a multi-agent simulation model created using AnyLogic software.

Bartosz Rakoczy

Cel niniejszego artykułu stanowi analiza rozwiązań normatywnych nakładających na posiadacza odpadów obowiązek dołączenia do określonych wniosków zaświadczenia o niekaralności wspólnika, gdy jest nim osoba prawna. Rozwiązania te, zawarte w ustawie o odpadach i ustawie nowelizującej, naruszają zasadę proporcjonalności. Rozumiejąc ideę, by nie dopuszczać do działalności w zakresie gospodarki i gospodarowania odpadami podmiotów, które popełniły czyny zabronione przeciwko środowisku, należy jednak zdecydowanie sprzeciwić się wyciąganiu negatywnych konsekwencji wobec podmiotu wnioskującego w sytuacji, gdy takiego czynu dopuścił się tylko wspólnik. Oczekiwanie dotyczące przedłożenia stosownego zaświadczenia o niekaralności wspólnika trzeba uznać za niekonstytucyjne, jeśli skutkiem jego nieprzedłożenia jest odmowa przyznania decyzji niezbędnej do prowadzenia działalności gospodarczej. Podobny skutek wystąpi, jeśli wspólnik był karany za czyn zabroniony przeciwko środowisku. Wątpliwości konstytucyjne budzi również ograniczenie regulacji jedynie do spółki z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością, z pominięciem spółki akcyjnej.

Shervan Ataei, M Shariatzadeh

There is an escalating demand for condition monitoring enhancement of transport infrastructures worldwide. Bridges are of vital importance in transportation infrastructure and need such monitoring. In this research, a non-contact vision-based technique called Digital Image Correlation (DIC) was used to calculate the bridge displacements. A high frame rate camera with 4K capability was used for raw data acquisition and simultaneous feature tracking. Also, a noise reduction filter is employed to make the measurements errors negligible. The displacement of the main span was calculated with an error of 0.08 pixel with 180 Frames Per Second (FPS) from a distance of about 200 meters. The obtained results by DIC were validated with those acquired from the verified FE model. It was concluded that the Digital Image Correlation method has acceptable proficiency and suitable precision for displacement measurement. Thus, it can be used as an alternative to traditional bridge displacement measurement instruments.

Glushkov Alexandr, Shepelev Vladimir

The paper considers an approach to building various mathematical models for homogeneous groups of intersections manifested through the use of clustering methods. This is because of a significant spread in their traffic capacity, as well as the influence of several random factors. The initial data on the traffic flow of many intersections was obtained from real-time recorders of the convolutional neural network. As a result of the analysis, we revealed statistically significant differences between the groups of intersections and compiled their linear regression models as a basis for the subsequent formation of generic management decisions. To demonstrate visually the influence of random factors on the traffic capacity of intersections, we built distribution fields based on the fuzzy logic methods for one of the clusters consisting of 14 homogeneous intersections. Modeling was based on the Gaussian type of membership functions as it most fully reflects the random nature of the pedestrian flow and its discontinuity.

Paś Jacek, Rosiński Adam, Białek Kamil

The paper presents issues associated with the impact of electromagnetic interference on static converters, which exploitation in a railway transport environment. The measurements of an electromagnetic field emitted by a static converter were shown. Designs of this kind are exploitation in railway facilities, therefore, they should not disturb the functioning of other equipment, the rail traffic control systems, in particular. As a result of the EMC tests, it was concluded that the permissible values of conducted interference emissions were exceeded. An analysis of the obtained results enabled developing a research model, and a further reliability and exploitation analysis, taking into account electromagnetic interference. This, in turn, enabled determining a relationship allowing to determine the probability of a static converter staying in a state of full ability. The presented discussions regarding a static converter, taking into account electromagnetic interference, allow for the numerical assessment of different types of solutions (technical and organizational), which can be implemented in order to mitigate the impact of electromagnetic interference on a system’s functioning.

Barzilai Orly, Giloni Amit, Voloch Nadav et al.

Smart devices and their connections to the Internet of Things (IoT) have been the subject of many papers in the past decade. In the context of IoT in transportation, one feature is the smart junction. This research deals with this junction, where several cars approach the intersection from different directions, and a smart traffic light must decide regarding the time intervals of red and green light in each direction. Out novel approach is based not only on the number of vehicles in each lane, but also on the social characteristics of the passengers (e.g. a handicapped person, a driver with no previous traffic violations). These factors will be gleaned from IoT network sources on cars, traffic lights, individuals, municipality data, and more. In this paper, we suggest using a VCG (Vickrey-Clarke-Groves) auction mechanism for the intersection scheduling, combining the social characteristic with a benefit parameter that expresses the passenger’s subjective perception of the importance of crossing the intersection as soon as possible. Our simulation results show the efficiency of the suggested protocol and demonstrate how the intersection scheduling depends on the passengers’ preferences, as well as on their social priorities.

Redakcja PPGiOŚ

Jeffrey Steven Paulson, Anil Raj Kizha, Han-Sup Han

Economic potential of feedstock generated low-valued forest residue can be enhanced by emerging biomass conversion technologies (BCT), such as torrefaction, briquetting, and gasification. However, for implementing these emerging processes within the woods, several hurdles are to be overcome, among which a balanced supply chain is pivotal. Centralized biomass recovery operation (CBRO) could be an economically viable solution in accessing harvesting sites and allows integration of BCT into forest management. The goal of this study was to examine the logistic effects of integrating a BCT into a CBRO, under different in-wood scenarios based on variations in travel time between the facility locations, amount of raw materials handled, intermediate storage capacity, and duration (number of days) of annual operations. Specific objectives included analyzing the effects of forest residue recoverability (BDMT, bone dry metric ton/ha), total transportation time from the harvest unit to the market, and the annual number of in-woods production sites on the overall efficiency of the BCT operations. Concurrently, this study examined the forest managerial impacts due to such an integration. Location-allocation tool (maximize market share problem type) within the ArcGIS Network Analyst platform was utilized to model the scenarios and generate one-way travel times from the harvest site to final markets. Results from geospatial analysis showed that there were 89&#8722;159 and 64&#8722;136 suitable locations for the BCT for logistics model (LM) I and II, respectively. Total one-way travel time for all the models ranged between 1.0&#8722;1.7 h. Additionally, the annual numbers of BCT sites was inversely proportional to the total one-way travel time (i.e., harvest unit to market). Arranging CBRO and BCT operations to occur at the same in-woods site returned shorter total and average travel times than arranging the two activities at separate in-woods sites. The model developed for this study can be used by forest managers and entrepreneurs to identify sites for placing BCTs in the forest that minimizes transportation times.

Adrienne Héritier

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the plausibility of four different mid-term paths of development of the European Union (EU): first, a political union or a European state; second, a differentiated and flexible integration of the polity; third, a covert and deepening integration of the polity outside of the political arenas; fourth, the disintegration and/or dissolution of the EU through the exit of individual members or a joint decision to terminate the union. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses strategic interaction analysis to identify the plausibility of each of these four possible outcomes. By systematically varying the relevant actors’, i.e. European Council’s and member states’, the European Parliament’s, the Commission’s, preferences over outcomes while holding constant institutional rules of decision making on the one hand, and systematically varying institutional rules on the other while holdings actors’ preferences constant, the paper comes to the conclusion that differentiated and flexible integration and covert integration are the most plausible mid-term paths of development. Findings – The paper finds that neither a European state or deep political union nor a disintegration or even dissolution of the EU is the most plausible path of development. Rather, it concludes that flexible and differentiated integration as well as covert integration outside the political arenas are the most likely developments. However, it also draws attention to the political costs of flexible and differentiated integration which does not allow for an overall view of political and policy issues negotiated at one political table, limiting the scope of compromise formation and even leading to a fragmented polity. Covert integration consisting of mechanisms of hidden integration “invisible” to the wider public may lead to a democratic backlash, once citizens realize that integration has considerably deepened without their being aware of it. Originality/value – Most publications regarding the future development of the EU are normatively driven, either conjuring an imminent disintegration, or invoking the necessity of a deepening integration leading to a political union. This paper, by contrast, seeks to assess the likely further development based on empirically identified factors and a logical argument.

Hamid Masoumi, Frederik Vermeulen, Tom Vanhonacker

Apart from regular wheel wear such as decreasing wheel diameters and reduced flange thicknesses and heights, wheel flats (WF) and oval wheels (or OOR, Out-Of-Roundness) are the most common wheelset problems for railway vehicles. Within the FP7 Research Project “Saferail”, APT has developed an innovative wheelset monitoring system so-called “Wheel flat and Out of Roundness Monitoring (WORM) system”. The monitoring system is installed on the track and is based on the vibration signals measured during the passage of trains. The main advantages of vibration signals are the short measurement time of just a few seconds, and the very limited number of sensors to be installed. As a consequence, the track space required for the installation of the equipment is very limited and thus the associated installation cost is significantly reduced. Early detection of wheel flats combined with appropriate corrective action not only contributes to lower track stresses and wear, but also results in a longer wheel life. The WORM system reports all measured vehicles via a web interface so no user software installations are necessary. A historical overview of measurements and alarms can easily be retrieved from the proposed system. Immediate alerts can be programmed to be sent by email or text message. These advantages make the APT-WORM system as a strong device to increase the service life of the wheel and decrease the maintenance cost by optimizing the maintenance intervals.

Boye Benedict Ayantoyinbo, Olusegun Onifade Adepoju

This study examined the relationship between waste management logistics and identified metrics for waste management logistics performance. Secondly, the study assessed the various challenges inhibiting the performance of LAWMA in the State. Random table sampling and purposive sampling were used to select 47 waste collection centres with 10 questionnaires distributed per centre (470 in total) across the 20 Local Government Areas (LGA) in Lagos State. However, only 339 questionnaires were retrieved from the sampled population. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict the relationship between waste management logistics and identified metrics for waste logistics performance. Descriptive statistics was used to explain the challenges of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA). The results established that the volume of solid waste and commitment of staff are crucial to waste management logistics and one factor that strongly affects waste logistics is traffic in the metropolis. Conclusively, waste collection turnaround must be increased and government and private investors should provide enabling infrastructure and trained personnel for effective solid waste management in Lagos metropolis.

Frenkel Ilia, Bolvashenkov Igor, Khvatskin Lev et al.

This paper focuses on a comparative analysis of the most important parameters of an icebreaker ship’s sustainable operations: the operational availability, power performance and power performance deficiency of the multi-state Multi-Power Source Traction Drives of Norilsk-type Arctic icebreaker ships. These parameters have a significant impact on the correct choice of the propulsive system of icebreaking vessels. The parameters’ evaluation was based on statistical operational data on Arctic icebreaker ships with diesel-geared traction drive. The Lz-transform approach was used to arrive at a solution of that problem. This approach drastically simplifies the solution compared with the straightforward Markov method.

Shanaka Rajakaruna, Alge Wattage Wijeratne, Tim Mann et al.

The significance of Humanitarian Logistics (HL) skills as basic requirements for employment and career development within the HL field has been demonstrated in previous research by the authors. This research showed a strong relationship between recognised HL skills, individual performance and the HL supply chain. With the increasing number of humanitarian disasters globally, it is essential to determine the correlation between individual performance and humanitarian organisational performance. As with previous research, this paper focuses on HL in the Sri Lankan context. Some limited research has already been undertaken on the subject. However, there were a number of major issues identified during this early research that need to be addressed regarding the effective and efficient operation of humanitarian supply chains. These issues include selecting the right personnel for the job, assessing their performance and building and maintaining measurement indicators to evaluate the performance of the humanitarian organisations. A conceptual model based on a Structural Equation Analysis was deduced from an extensive literature survey and was employed to answer these three interconnected issues. The resultant Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used to analyse the conceptual framework with data being gathered from HL practitioners across Sri Lanka by questionnaire. The existence of a relationship between individual skills and HL performance has been demonstrated previously, but not all skills contribute to individual or organisational performance. This research helps prove earlier theories by other researchers regarding the significance of specific skills for performance. The paper also suggests possible areas of future research.

Krylatov Alexander Y., Zakharov Victor V., Malygin Igor G.

Recently in-vehicle route guidance and information systems are rapidly developing. Such systems are expected to reduce congestion in an urban traffic area. This social benefit is believed to be reached by imposing the route choices on the network users that lead to the system optimum traffic assignment. However, guidance service could be offered by different competitive business companies. Then route choices of different mutually independent groups of users may reject traffic assignment from the system optimum state. In this paper, a game theoretic approach is shown to be very efficient to formalize competitive traffic assignment problem with various groups of users in the form of non-cooperative network game with the Nash equilibrium search. The relationships between the Wardrop’s system optimum associated with the traffic assignment problem and the Nash equilibrium associated with the competitive traffic assignment problem are investigated. Moreover, some related aspects of the Nash equilibrium and the Wardrop’s user equilibrium assignments are also discussed.