Maximizing knowledge transfer is one of the main factors of modern education. It is important to raise the probability that students can successfully apply acquired knowledge into practice. This article deals with virtual reality (VR) as an alternative method to provide students with a more immersive approach to semester assignments and their completion. In addition to information on paper, they are provided with an immersive virtual environment that interactively visualizes problems. To test this approach, a case study took place at the Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Žilina. Students were given a standard assignment for workplace analysis and optimization. However, in addition to papers containing all the necessary information about the workplace and its processes (a drilling workplace), the students could also put on a VR headset and walk through a virtual copy of the assigned workplace. Instead of relying on a 2D layout and a few photos, the students observed every detail of the workplace from any angle. Moreover, the immersive virtual workplace was interactive, and the students could interact with machine tools and replicate the real manufacturing process. With this new addition, the students completed the assignment and then filled out a short questionnaire questioning their satisfaction with the chosen approach. With positive feedback, the implementation of VR into the teaching process could further motivate students and make the transfer of knowledge into their future jobs easier.

The article deals with the design of virtual reality (VR) interactive training as a teaching method and its effect on knowledge transfer and retention of students. The first part presents the methodology of the VR interactive training design. The second part utilizes the created interactive training for a case study to evaluate its effect on the teaching process and to examine the potential of VR interactive training as a sustainable teaching method. The study took place at the Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Žilina. Volunteers were divided into two groups. The first group used VR interactive training as a teaching method, while the second group used the conventional method. Both groups then underwent tests. The main goal was to evaluate the effect of the VR interactive training on the teaching process in comparison to the conventional method while trying to identify the key elements of the VR interactive training design and its influence on knowledge transfer and retention in a sustainable learning environment. At the start of the case study, four hypotheses were formed, questioning the effect of interactive training on knowledge transfer and retention in the long and short term, and its overall influence on the teaching process. Obtained data were then used to evaluate these hypotheses.

In the last decade, simulation software as a tool for managing and controlling business processes has received a lot of attention. Many of the new software features allow businesses to achieve better quality results using optimisation, such as genetic algorithms. This article describes the use of modelling and simulation in shipment and sorting processes that are optimised by a genetic algorithm’s involvement. The designed algorithm and simulation model focuses on optimising the duration of shipment processing times and numbers of workers. The commercially available software Tecnomatix Plant Simulation, paired with a genetic algorithm, was used for optimisation, decreasing time durations, and thus selecting the most suitable solution for defined inputs. This method has produced better results in comparison to the classical heuristic methods and, furthermore, is not as time consuming. This article, at its core, describes the algorithm used to determine the optimal number of workers in sorting warehouses with the results of its application. The final part of this article contains an evaluation of this proposal compared to the original methods, and highlights what benefits result from such changes. The major purpose of this research is to determine the number of workers needed to speed up the departure of shipments and optimise the workload of workers.

Sustainable manufacturing is not just about manufacturing, but also products and services. In the area of custom production processes, there may also be circumstances of organizational management where compliance with labor productivity and the due-date principle is problematic. Similar products with different operating times cause the throughput of assembly lines to slow down, increase number of works in progress (WIP), and increase productivity waste. It is possible to reduce this impact through various productivity-enhancing methods and innovations. This paper presents an innovative approach to product segmentation in the assembly phase of custom manufacturing, and a proposal for a new segmentation procedure that will allow significantly better integration of products into existing assembly processes without negatively impacting the company’s production indicators. The scientific problem was defined on the basis that extending existing segmentation by the third dimension of operating times allows products in MTO (made to order) environments to be divided into families with approximately equal operating times. This will increase assembly efficiency in existing medium to large companies without large investments in the development and adaptation of assembly process products. The contributions of this work relate mainly to simple adaptations to existing processes in medium-sized businesses. The proposed solution respects the basic elements of Industry 4.0.