The review assesses the Hoshin Kanri process from the point of view of theory and practice implementations in different organizations. There are several adaptations of Hoshin Kanri and a wide range of tools used in each organization. This review aims to determine which and how companies have implemented the afore-mentioned methodology into their strategic management. The PRISMA statement was the framework for the present research. The structure for this study was obtained through a review of articles from two of the most important databases (Scopus and Web of Science). The review focuses on three parts: the theoretical basis of the methodology, a bibliometric overview of the selected articles, and practical insight into the implementation of Hoshin Kanri within the case-study organizations. Since the study’s purpose is to determine not only the companies where Hoshin Kanri was implemented but also the reasons and results of those implementations, therefore, 26 journal articles covering detailed implementations were selected.
In general, college students have concerns about mastering the Statistics course. Several scientific articles suggest that methodologies in which the student is an active part of the educational process lead to their greater involvement in teaching activities and better results in their overall assessment. A modified form of the Mathematics course inspires this study. The Mathematics course precedes the Statistics course. This study presents students’ results from both affected courses for the last 12 years. The authors obtained the data from the Modular Academic Information System (MAIS). The study describes the Statistics course, which is a combination of the traditional form of teaching and learning with elements of active learning. The product is a redesign of this course. The proposed changes are based on the requirements of some stakeholders. The results are from a survey of course graduates, from the experience of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the introduction of active-learning elements. The authors of the article point out the risks and opportunities they found in teaching the Statistics course.
The development of medical technology devices leads to the introduction and use of agile methods, which enable the delivery of increasingly complex software with the fastest possible innovations. Delivery of the highest quality software must be considered during development, as medical products are important elements in saving human lives. Their development begins with determining a set of product requirements that exactly correspond to it. The development of specified medical products is finally delivered to the customer, who participates in the development. In this article, we present the use and combination of agile methods in software development, which correct and facilitate timely and continuous delivery of products. They also know how to smooth out a quick reaction to the customer’s changing needs and mainly focus on team management and communication. Specific agile methods make it possible to implement development through gradual improvements by integrating customer requirements towards the product. This article identifies three interconnected approaches to integrating agile methods and principles: SCRUM, SAFe, and Kanban combined with the V-model. The methods are gradually analysed based on the literature review, and the article presents a practical application in Siemens Healthcare Slovakia.
Technical and technological developments in recent decades have stimulated the rapid development of methods and tools in the field of statistical process quality control, which also includes control charts. The principle of control charts defined by Dr. W. Shewhart has been known for more than 100 years. Since then, they have been used in many industries to monitor and control processes. This paper aims to assess the possibilities of use and the selection of the most suitable type of control chart for monitoring the quality of a process depending on its nature. This tool should help operators in monitoring coking time, which is one of the important control variables affecting the quality of coke production. The autoregressive nature of the variable being monitored was considered when selecting a suitable control chart from the group of options considered. In addition to the three traditional types of control charts (Shewhart’s, CUSUM, and EWMA), which were applied to the residuals of individual values of different types of ARIMA models, various statistical tests, and plots, a dynamic EWMA control chart was also used. Its advantage over traditional control charts applied to residuals is that it works with directly measured coking time data. This chart is intended to serve as a method to monitor the process. Its role is only to alert the process operator to the occurrence of problems with the length of the coking time.
INTRODUCTIONStature is one of the key characteristics for establishing personal identity, particularly in forensic investigations. One of the methods for its estimation is based on a mathematical correlation between foot dimensions and body height. STUDY AIMEDThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various regression equations based on foot measurements for stature estimation in the Eastern Slovak population and to develop new population-specific equations. MATERIALS AND METHODSA total of 200 individuals (100 males and 100 females) aged over 18 years from Eastern Slovakia were analysed. Stature, foot length, and foot breadth were measured using standard anthropometric methods. Six previously published regression equations were tested and compared with newly derived models. RESULTSOur findings confirmed the presence of statistically significant sexual dimorphism in measured foot dimensions. Bilateral asymmetry was confirmed for foot breadth but not for foot length. A strong, positive, statistically significant relationship was found between foot length and stature, particularly in females. The accuracy of stature estimation varied depending on the applied regression approach, while newly developed models demonstrated improved predictive performance. CONCLUSIONFoot dimensions, especially foot length, represent reliable predictors of stature. The results demonstrated that regression equations derived from other populations do not provide uniformly accurate stature estimates, highlighting the need to develop population-specific regression models to ensure reliable forensic stature estimation.