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AbstractThe aim of the following research it to provide assumptions for creating workflow efficiency model that can be implemented in repeatable production workstations. One of the main components of this model are human activities and their interactions with other elements of working environment: human and artefacts. Recognition of patterns of human behaviours within working processes gives the opportunity to find critical points that influence workflow efficiency.The subject of research is a working process existing in meat producing plant. The main method used for recognizing human activity patterns was observation and qualitative and quantitative assessments of operational activities based on video registration. Particularly, human activities were analyzed under ergonomics criteria in order to proof dependencies between process efficiency and specific ergonomic factors forming working conditions at meat plant.

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies had to adapt quickly to survive in the market. During this time, employers played a key role, along with employees involved in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) activities, as they were responsible for implementing the recommendations of the European Commission. There is no unambiguous definition of OHS in Polish legislation. It is assumed that it is a set of rules defining the manner of performing work, and above all, a method of providing employees with working conditions so that their performance is safe and hygienic. Responsibility for the health and safety in the workplace is imposed on the employer by the legislature. Thus, effective health and safety training is an essential element of the success of any properly operating company. In the literature, no studies have been identified that evaluate the effectiveness of actions during the COVID-19 outbreak. The aim of the article is to present the actions of Polish employers along with their effectiveness assessment related to the protection of employees during the COVID-19 outbreak. The article presents a proposal for conducting remote OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) training using the platform Moodle. The created course was implemented during OHS training conducted in a selected manufacturing company. At its end, an evaluation of the course was carried out, and the collected opinions of training participants allowed the formulation of interesting conclusions, which became the contribution of this paper. The authors pay special attention to three main points of the work. The first is the form of training, which gives the possibility to conduct training at a distance while maintaining its effectiveness. The second important point is the mandatory feedback of the trainees, ensuring the possibility of continuous improvement and quality enhancement of both the program and the form of training. The evaluation was developed on the basis of the extended Kirkpatrick model, which is a completely new approach to OHS training evaluation. The third point emphasized by the authors is the possibility of precise adaptation of the training to other plants and even industries. Therefore, it can be concluded that the course developed by the authors is a very interesting and practical didactic tool with great implementation potential.

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The aim of the article is to analyze the activities performed manually in a meat processing enterprise in the context of shaping ergonomic working conditions. Based on observational methods, including metric measurements of workstations and an in-depth interview with employees of the enterprise, the activities realized in the production process of the selected sausage product were recognized, with particular emphasis on manual work. On the basis of ergonomic analyzes carried out with the use of 3D SSPP software, groups of activities were identified that carry an increased risk of static load and the occurrence of ailments in the musculoskeletal system. The results of analyzes form the basis for the development of a workflow improvement process resulting from the improvement of manual work conditions.

A comparison of 1-port, 2-port, 3-port, and 4-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy techniques from the point of view of workflow criteria was made to both identify specific workflow components that can cause surgical disturbances and indicate good and bad practices. As a case study, laparoscopic cholecystectomies, including manual tasks and interactions within teamwork members, were video-recorded and analyzed on the basis of specially encoded workflow information. The parameters for comparison were defined as follows: surgery time, tool and hand activeness, operator's passive work, collisions, and operator interventions. It was found that 1-port cholecystectomy is the worst technique because of nonergonomic body position, technical complexity, organizational anomalies, and operational dynamism. The differences between laparoscopic techniques are closely linked to the costs of the medical procedures. Hence, knowledge about the surgical workflow can be used for both planning surgical procedures and balancing the expenses associated with surgery.

The progress of digitization and the development of new technologies undoubtedly bring many benefits. However, they can also create or deepen problems related to the social exclusion of certain groups of people, such as the elderly, for whom modern technology is still largely unavailable, and even arouses a sense of uncertainty and fear (the so-called technophobia). The consequences of such a phenomenon become particularly evident in the situation of social isolation, whose unprecedented dimension is currently observed in the so-called COVID-19 pandemic era. In particular, the occurrence of the phenomenon of social exclusion combined with a pandemic situation has contributed to the development of the assumptions of the project entitled “Developing the cognitive capabilities of older people through information technology.” This project was developed by the INNOVATOR Student Science Club at the Faculty of Organization and Management of the Silesian University of Technology, and its goal is to develop a tool to support the acquisition of competences by seniors in the field of technological content, operation of electronic devices and the implementation of daily and routine activities using the Internet, e.g. shopping via the Internet or using tele advice services. The proposed tool is also to support the stimulation of the development of cognitive abilities of seniors using e.g. logical games. In the course of project implementation, a survey will be conducted in selected Nursing Homes, Retirement Homes, online forums for the elderly and through direct contact, the results of which will allow to learn the needs and possibilities of developing the abilities of the examined people, and assess the effectiveness of the designed tool in the process of transferring content and shaping competences. An element encouraging seniors to participate in the planned research will be their active participation in lectures and/or talks, workshops and discussions. The assumed result of the project will be to reduce the negative effects of isolation of seniors, improve their communication with their loved ones and reduce the generation gap. A complementary research task will be to develop a way to assess project results in qualitative and, where possible, quantitative dimensions.