The scope of this work focuses on the aspects of quality and safety assurance of the iron cast manufacturing processes. Special attention

was given to the processes of quality control and after-machining of iron casts manufactured on automatic foundry lines. Due to low level

of automation and huge work intensity at this stage of the process, a model area was established which underwent reorganization

in accordance with the assumptions of the World Class Manufacturing (WCM). An analysis of work intensity was carried out and the costs

were divided in order to identify operations with no value added, particularly at individual manufacturing departments. Also an analysis

of ergonomics at work stations was carried out to eliminate activities that are uncomfortable and dangerous to the workers' health. Several

solutions were proposed in terms of rationalization of work organization at iron cast after-machining work stations. The proposed solutions

were assessed with the use of multi-criteria assessment tools and then the best variant was selected based on the assumed optimization

criteria. The summary of the obtained results reflects benefits from implementation of the proposed solutions.

The article presents the issues of costs analysis of iron casts manufacturing using automated foundry lines. Particular attention was paid to departmental costs, conversion costs and costs of in-plant transport. After the Pareto analysis had been carried out, it was possible to set the model area of the process and focus on improving activities related to finishing of a chosen group of casts. In order to eliminate losses, the activities realised in this domain were divided into activities with added value, activities with partially added value and activities without added value. To streamline the production flow, it was proposed to change the location of workstations related to grinding, control and machining of casts. Within the process of constant improvement of manufacturing processes, the aspect of work ergonomics at a workstation was taken into account. As a result of the undertaken actions, some activities without added value were eliminated, efficiency was increased and prime costs of manufacturing casts with regard to finishing treatment were lowered.

The article presents issues related to creating and realizing added value by logistic processes and processing in a casting enterprise. It discusses possibilities of improving systems of casts production by evaluating labour intensity of casts manufacture and analyzing manufacturing prime costs. Operations with added value, processes indirectly creating added value and operations without added value have been specified. The problem was presented on the example of materials flow design in a foundry, where casts are manufactured in expendable moulds and using automated foundry lines. On the basis of the Pareto analysis, a group of casts was specified whose manufacture significantly influences the functioning of the whole enterprise. Finishing treatment operations have been particularly underlined, as they are performed away from the line and are among the most labour-consuming processes during casts production.

The problem of production flow in steel casting foundry is analysed in this paper. Because of increased demand and market competition, a reorganisation of the foundry process is required, including the elimination of manual labour and the implementation of automation and robotisation of certain processes. The problem is how to determine the real difference in work efficiency between human workers and robots. We show an analysis of the production efficiency of steel casting foundry operated by either human operators or industrial robots. This is a problem from the field of Operations Research for which the Discrete Event Simulation (DES) method is used. Three models are developed, including the foundry before and after automation when taking into consideration parameters of the availability of machines, operators and robots. We apply the OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) indicator to present how the availability, performance and quality parameters influence the foundry’s productivity. In addition, stability of the simulation model was analysed. This approach allows for a better representation of real production processes and the obtained results can be used for further economic analysis.