Effective process management is a basic prerequisite for increasing the quality and performance of educational organizations. The aim of the paper is to point out the potential for the application of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Model 2020 to improve and perfect the processes in a Slovakian vocational school towards sustainability. We used the latest version of the EFQM Model and applied the questionnaire method to conduct a self-assessment. A study of the documentation was also carried out to get more insight into the processes of the school. The application of the EFQM Model 2020 pointed out weaknesses in areas such as those titled Organizational Culture, Driving Performance & Transformation, and Stakeholder Perceptions—namely, the perceptions of employees and partners. Improvements were primarily recommended in the fields of culture management to support changes, motivational processes to support creativity and innovation, human resource planning processes, employee training and development, performance indicators and performance management, and employees’ and partners’ perception measurement to enhance sustainable value for the students and key stakeholders. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of quality and performance management of Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers.

Purpose: This paper aims to present the results of the study focused on the assessment of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) maturity level and adoption level of Quality 4.0 (Q4.0) intelligent technologies in organisations operating in the automotive industry in Slovakia (OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers). The results serves as inputs for identification of learning and development needs.Methodology/Approach: The background of the study was a literature review and quantitative research. The I4.0 maturity model published by PwC (2016) was used in the study, while dimension elements were adjusted to the specifics of the automotive industry.Findings: Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive suppliers are in the early stages of I4.0 maturity and adoption of Q4.0 intelligent technologies. OEMs achieve the level of horizontal collaborators in most of the dimensions. Q4.0 intelligent technologies are mostly adopted at an average level. Further development of OEMs to achieve the level of digital champions requires new disruptive business models and a fully integrated partner ecosystem.Research Limitation/Implication: The research is limited by the sample size and target levels of particular dimensions, related elements and Q4.0 intelligent technologies, which were not examined.Originality/Value of paper: The results bring more in-depth insight into the current state of I4.0 maturity and Q4.0 technology adoption level of the automotive organisations in Slovakia. There is no evidence of the study examining holistically the I4.0 maturity and Q4.0 technologies in the automotive.

Nowadays, information technologies influence every sphere of human activity including education. Over the last years, many e-learning projects were realized at universities in Slovakia and e-learning was integrated into education process in different forms. The aim of the paper is to describe e-learning facilities used within the selected subject as well as bring lecturers’ experiences and their view on e-learning in the terms of education process efficiency and effectiveness at the Faculty of Metallurgy of Technical University of Kosice. The paper also discusses the results of survey aimed at students’ satisfaction with e-learning utilization

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to identify improvement possibilities in the data processing and information flow relating to product quality in the processes of automotive component production, which might result in the acceleration of decision making on product quality and reduction of defects and related costs. The expected results of the proposed improvement are presented in the paper.Methodology/Approach: Modelling and simulations of the component production processes with the current and proposed state of information flow were made in the QPR software to test the effect of the changes in the information flows. Subsequently, the results of the simulations of both process models were compared from the perspective of quality.Findings: Results of the simulations showed the positive effect of the proposed changes reflecting in the lower number of defects compared to the current state. Based on the accurate and timely received information on product quality, needed interventions to the process can be realized to reduce the defects.Research Limitation/implication: The limitation of the paper is the exact estimation of benefits after the improvement implementation. The expected benefits were defined on the base of test operation.Originality/Value of paper: The originality of the paper is in the applicability of the proposed solution in organisations operating in the automotive industry or other data-driven manufacturing organisations calling for timely and accurate information access to achieve a high level of quality, effectiveness and efficiency in the production processes.

Industries demand that their products are high quality with the least number of defects due to the rapid improvement in manufacturing technology. Quality is a critical criterion for evaluation in manufacturing firms. The production of a final product that can meet customer requirements is essential in a sustainable supply chain system to reduce costs, increase productivity and provide high-quality products. The aim of the study is to identify the root cause of defects emerging in the production process of prestressed railway concrete sleepers. Ishikawa diagram and Pareto analysis were used to identify the root cause. The results showed that the cause of the faulty concrete sleeper is the breaking of the bolts, which are supplied by the external provider. Since the supplier refused to accept the complaint, chemical analysis and measuring of hardness and microhardness of bolts were realized. It showed that the hardness of the bolts does not achieve the values, which should be achieved after the declared heat-treatment. As a corrective action, the input control of bolts hardness was proposed as well as establishing the team cooperating with the supplier to improve the heat treatment process, which will be the objective of further study.

The purpose of the present study is three-fold. Firstly, it attempts to describe the bake hardening (BH) behavior of selected interstitial free (IF) and dual phase (DP) steels. Secondly, it predicts the BH behavior of the IF DX 51D and DP 500 HCT 590X plates of steel, and thirdly studies material failure prevention in scholarly sources. The research is aimed at investigating the increasing steel strength during the BH of these two high-strength sheets of steel used for outer vehicle body parts. Samples of steel were pre-strained to 1%, 2%, and 5% and then baked at 140–220 °C for 10 to 30 min. The BH effect was determined from three factors: pre-strain, baking temperature, and baking time. Research has shown that increasing the yield strength by the BH effect is predictable. Therefore, the number of experiments could be reduced for the investigation of BH effect for other kinds of IF and DP steels. The literature study of the hailstone failure reveals that the knowledge of BH steels behavior helps to calculate the steel supplier´s failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) risk priority number.