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The main objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of two machining processes on European oak wood surface characteristics. The relationships between wettability, free surface energy and machining methods were studied. Sawing and slicing, with or without sanding, were used to prepare surfaces prior to testing whether they produce surfaces with different characteristics. For the wood surfaces machined by slicing and sawing, there was a significant difference in contact angle measurements. This indicates that the influence of machining processes such as slicing and sawing on contact angle value is remarkable. Sanded surfaces showed good wettability and high process roughness.

The lack of knowledgeable and skilled workers is a major challenge faced by the Malaysian furniture sector. It hinders industrial productivity and its ability to move up the value-chain by adopting high technology. Therefore, in order to assess the awareness and readiness of the Malaysian furniture industry for Industry 4.0, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted with a sample of 778 large-, medium-, and small-sized furniture manufacturers throughout Malaysia. This study is part of an on-going Erasmus+ program funded by the European Commission, initiated in 2018 to develop a university-level education program to train workers capable of handling Industry 4.0 technologies for the furniture and wood industry in Malaysia. The results revealed that manufacturers of wood-based panel and metal furniture were more prepared to adopt automation and Industry 4.0 technologies compared to solid-wood and leather furniture manufacturers. The benefits from Industry 4.0 technologies include increased production capacity, product diversity, cost competitiveness, and workforce reduction. Further, the results of this study suggest that the lack of knowledgeable and skilled workers to handle Industry 4.0 technology is a concern among furniture manufacturers, and possibly the proposed university-level Industry 4.0 program may be beneficial to train workers for the future of the industry.

In the paper, by way of background, the role of Polish furniture industry in the world and in Europe is discussed and current trends in the fi eld of furniture manufacturing management are presented. Further, an analysis of the technological process in a furniture company is performed and the research questions are identifi ed. Based on this, the main aim of the research is provided-a concept of a new lean production control system based on Glenday sieve, artifi cial neural networks and simulation modeling. The aim of the present approach is to plan and execute the production program effectively and maximize the use of workstations at variable and hardly predictable demand for sets of furniture. The paper presents the methodological approach, results and discussion on the suggested solution.

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