Transport Branch Research Articles

An Evaluation of Human Resource Practices on Employee Retention in State Corporations in Kenya

Organisations can achieve a competitive advantage by enhancing and expanding human resource knowledge, skills, motivation, and morale. The study aimed to determine the effect of performance management techniques on staff retention at the National Transport and Safety Authority-Kenya. The study focused on 2100 employees working in 15 of Kenya's National Transport and Safety Authority branches. A descriptive research design was used in the study, with a sample size of 336 respondents selected using a stratified random sampling technique. Findings showed that Staff retention is positively correlated with performance management. There was a strong positive correlation (association) (r = 0.725) between performance management and employee retention. The ANOVA findings determined the regression model's significance, from which an f-significant value of P<0.001 was derived, indicating that the model's likelihood (probability) of producing an incorrect prediction is less than 0.001. Management of NTSA-Kenya should appropriately handle aspects of employee relations management, such as HR initiatives, leadership styles, and shared values. They should also provide their employees with rewards in the form of cash bonuses, payments based on performance and pension schemes. Previous research on human resource practices and employee retention has mostly focused on the private sector, leaving a study gap on the effect of these policies on staff retention in Kenyan state corporations such as NTSA. The study, therefore, fills the gap in Knowledge of the performance management practice affecting staff retention.

THE IMPACT OF CRISIS SITUATIONS ON THE FINANCIAL INDICATORS OF ROMANIAN COMPANIES

The society is always on move and to deal promptly with this dynamic, the only option of companies is rapid and continuous adaptation to changes even trying to transform certain challenges into opportunities. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the impact that the changes in the economic environment, from the last period, had on Europe, and then specifically on Romania. The unexpected situations that have happened in recent years, starting with the COVID 19 pandemic, then with the war between Russia and Ukraine, and in the last year, strong inflation rates and accentuated economic crises, are some of the topics analyzed in the paper, highlighting the effect that these events had on the economy. The paper contains theoretical approaches regarding the effects of inflation on the whole society, both on individuals and on economic entities. The research methodology is qualitative, carrying out a descriptive analysis of the financial information of five significant Romanian companies, through the main economic and financial indicators, in order to analyze the changes that took place at their level, in the period 2019-2022. The previously mentioned events will be briefly analyzed, as well as the possible measures taken at the national or global level. The results showed that both companies from production and trade of petroleum products were more affected by the COVID-19 pandemic than by the war in Ukraine, and the other three companies, in the field of industry, suffered an accumulation of consequences, the war aggravating the crisis generated by the pandemic. Whether it is transport, industry, services, or other branches of contemporary economy, they all need fuel, in larger or smaller quantities, depending on the field of activity. So, the fuel price changes affected the costs and implicitly the profitability of the companies, but for the entities in the field of trade with petroleum products, the crisis was an opportunity to evolve and become stronger in the market.

ANALYSIS OF THE TRANSPORT VOLUME OF PASSENGERS AND CARGO ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE WARSAW-OKĘCIE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (POLAND)

Currently, the branch of air transport is one of the most dynamically developing branches of transport. Modern air transport systems provide relatively high quality of services in terms of satisfaction, preferences, and tastes of potential recipients, passengers, and freight operators. Air transport systems use highly advanced technologies, equipment, infrastructure, and appropriate rules and procedures in order to ensure the desired quality of services. The article presents an analysis of the volume of passenger and cargo transport in air transport on the example of the Warszawa Okęcie International Airport (Poland). The analysis covered the years from 2011 to 2021. In addition, the market of air services, and air connections with Warszawa Okęcie International Airport were characterized.

Substantiating the normative values of company's liquidity ratios: Evidence from the engineering, transport and logistics industries

Subject. The article addresses the normative values of financial indicators of the liquidity group that are formed as a result of financial and economic relations of the enterprise. Objectives. The aim is to calculate the normative values of financial indicators of the liquidity group for engineering, transport and logistics companies, using the hierarchical cluster analysis tool. Methods. The study draws on general scientific research methods. Results. We offered an algorithm to calculate the normative values of financial indicators, using the hierarchical cluster analysis; calculated the normative values of the quick liquidity ratio, current liquidity ratio, and absolute liquidity ratio for the branches of mechanical engineering, transport and logistics. Conclusions. The calculated financial indicators are applicable for the analysis of financial and economic activities of mechanical engineering, transport and logistics enterprises. The proposed algorithm based on the method of hierarchical cluster analysis can be used to calculate other financial indicators of enterprises operating in various industries.

Flexible droplet transportation and coalescence via controllable thermal fields

Flexible droplet transportation and coalescence are significant for lots of applications such as material synthesis and analytical detection. Herein, we present an effective method for controllable droplet transportation and coalescence via thermal fields. The device used for droplet manipulation is composed of a glass substrate with indium tin oxide-made microheaers and a microchannel with two transport branches and a central chamber, and it's manipulated by sequentially powering the microheaters located at the bottom of microchannel. The fluid will be unevenly heated when the microheater is actuated, leading to the formation of thermal buoyancy convection and the decrease of interfacial tension of fluids. Subsequently, the microdroplets can be transported from the inlets of microchannel to the target position by the buoyancy flow-induced Stokes drag. And the droplet migration velocity can be flexibly adjusted by changing the voltage applied on the microheater. After being transported to the center of central chamber, the coalescence behaviors of microdroplets can be triggered if the microheater located at the bottom of central chamber is continuously actuated. The droplet coalescence is the combined effect of decreased fluid interfacial tension, the shortened droplet distance by buoyancy flow and the increased instability of droplet under the elevated temperature. The droplet coalescence efficiency is also related to the voltage of microheater, by increasing the voltage from 3.5 V to 7 V, the needed time for droplet coalescence dramatically decrease from 220s to 1.4 s. Finally, by the droplet coalescence-triggered calcium hydroxide precipitation reaction, we demonstrate the applicability of the droplet manipulation method on specific sample detection. Therefore, this approach used for droplet transportation and coalescence can be attractive for many droplet-based applications such as analytical detection.

About the legal regime of coastal territories

In the article the legal regime of coastal territories — territories adjacent to water bodies, the use of which directly affects the state of water bodies and / or is associated with the use of the water bodies themselves is analysed. The public importance of coastal territories is shown, the factors that determine the content of the legal regime of lands and land plots in coastal territories are highlighted. The features of zoning of coastal territories depending on the goals and objectives of the legal regulation of relations connected with various types of water use and ensuring public interests are considered. The cross-cutting nature of the legal regulation of the use and protection of lands and land plots in the coastal territories is shown, the actual problems of establishing and implementing their legal regime are identified. Particular attention is paid to the legal regime of the foreshore, as well as changes in the sanitary and epidemiological legislation in terms of legal protection of water bodies that are sources of drinking water supply.Trends in water, transport, environmental, sanitary-epidemiological and other related branches of legislation that establish requirements for the use of coastal territories are analyzed. Based on the analysis of the current legislation and materials of judicial practice, conclusions about the need to improve the legal regulation of the use and protection of coastal territories by specification of the existing legal mechanisms and harmonizing water and related legislation were drawn.

ANALYSIS OF THE RAIL CARGO TRANSPORT VOLUME IN POLAND IN 2010-2021

Rail transport is one of the branches of transport included in the group of land transport, and its operation is related to the transport of people and cargo by means of rail transport on a specially designated railroad built for this purpose. The article presents the classification of transported cargo in rail transport, the characteristics of the rail transport market in Europe, as well as the results of the analysis of the rail transport volume in Poland in 2010-2021. This analysis included an assessment of the following features: mass of transported cargo, performed transport and operational work, the average distance of cargo transport for a group of cargo transported by rail and the volume of intermodal transport. The obtained results allowed to conclude that the transport of goods by rail is systematically increasing. Moreover, intermodal transport is developing well.

The Role Of River-Lake Transportation Company In Handling Body Electricians: Case Study On MV. Rhodos PT. Indo Dharma Transportation

Evacuation is a step taken to get first aid at that time. PT Indo Dharma of the River-Lake Transport Branch serving the ship must play a role in handling. On July 15, 2021, there was an incident above the MV. Rhodos, one of the crew members, Electricians, suffered a heart attack after a full day of repairs to a damaged crane. This research uses a qualitative description method by means of observation, interviews, and literature methods. Based on the study's results, it was found that the problem occurred, namely the distance between the port and the position of the MV ship. Rhodos and the distance between the port and clinic is quite far, the handover of the body from the agency to the insurance company takes a long time so it has an impact on the evacuation process which is quite long, and first aid by the medical party only when at the port and travel. PT. Indo Dharma of the River-Lake Transport Branch plays a very active role in facilitating supporting facilities and infrastructure efficiently and effectively by cooperating, coordinating, and communicating well with related parties and should each agency company have Standard Operating Procedures for handling deceased ship crews and socialized to agents on duty in the field so that they understand and understand what actions must be taken immediately when the same event occurs.

Water vapour multi-vortex structure under the interactions of typhoons and mid-low latitude systems during extreme precipitation in North China

With diverse atmospheric circulation and complex mechanisms, typhoon remote rainstorms (TRR) are closely related to a variety of mid-low latitude systems. The anomalous signatures in such processes can improve forecasting heavy rainfall associated with typhoons and fill the gaps in current physical conceptual models of TRR. Using the optimal typhoon path dataset, ground observation data, and the National Centres for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis dataset, the impact of anomalous water vapour transport on excessive rainfall in North China is investigated. The vector empirical orthogonal function (VEOF) analysis is applied to typhoon precipitation events from 1970 to 2021, and three major modes are extracted to reflect the anomalous water vapour transport for typhoon precipitation. Mode 1 reflects a moisture circulation pattern in North China due to the coexistence of typhoons and remote and direct precipitation, with the highest probability of heavy precipitation. The differences in remote precipitation areas and intensities are attributed to the location of typhoons in the western North Pacific and the shifting of the subtropical high ridge. To characterise the water vapour transport circulation of TRR in North China, we proposed the ‘multi-vortex’ idea. The transmission of the multi-vortex ensures a continuous supply of TRR water vapour, and the enhancement of the multi-vortex is significantly linked to the enhancement of remote precipitation. Three extreme northern rainstorms, 75·8 Henan, 7·21 Beijing, and 7·20 Zhengzhou rainstorms, have anomalous multi-vortex water vapour convergence, similar to Mode 1. The mechanism of water vapour driven by multi-vortex in the three severe rainstorm events is more extreme than in usual TRR events in North China. The stronger Indian low vortex and relatively southerly subtropical highs can intensify the southwest branch of the double water vapour transport branch, whereas the strengthening of typhoons in the western North Pacific facilitates water vapour transport through the channel on the southwestern side of the subtropical highs and then transports it to key rainstorm areas, promoting TRR development. Therefore, the combination of subtropical highs, typhoons, and the anomalous multi-vortex structure may help in the establishment of key indicators of extreme precipitation in North China.

Analysis of the Energy Consumption of Land Intermodal Transport From China to Poland

Combining two or more means of transport is an opportunity to achieve greater energy savings when transporting goods over longer routes. Depending on the type of transport branches involved in intermodal transport, there are three basic variants of intermodal transport: land-sea container transport, rail-road transport, and land-ferry transport.

Squid‐like soft heat pipe for multiple heat transport

AbstractSoft heat pipes are vital in many applications. Inspired by the structure of a squid, we proposed a squid‐like soft heat pipe with multiple heat transport branches that has excellent flexibility and outstanding thermal performance. Each branch could transport heat to different locations for multiple heating or cooling applications. The proposed soft heat pipe worked as a pulsating heat pipe with a unidirectional flow of liquid slugs and vapor bubbles. Its thermal performance was investigated at different heating temperatures, bending angles, and inclination angles. The result showed that the highest equivalent thermal conductivity of the squid‐like soft heat pipe could be up to 6750 W/(m · K), almost 17 times that of copper. Besides, the bending angle had little effect on its thermal performance, with the equivalent thermal conductivity reducing 10%–13% when the heat pipe was bent from 0° to 90°. The thermal performance of the soft heat pipe was affected by the inclination angle, with the equivalent thermal conductivity reducing 20%–25% as the inclination angle was reduced from 90° to 30°. The proposed soft heat pipe is scalable by increasing the tube length and branches. It has many promising applications like waste heat recovery, electronic device cooling, personal thermal management, and renewable energy harvesting.

Formation of an information and training ecosystem of a traffic control training center

Digital technologies are reshaping many branches of transport, logistics, including the learning process. Digitalization is considered as the use of digital technologies to update and diversify the learning process. The training center is a mock-up of a railway consisting of ten stations, where the workplaces of the operational staff of the organization of train traffic are organized, two levels of traffic control are implemented: station and dispatcher. The layout has many objects and affects many railway transport technologies. The article discusses the creation of a digital ecosystem of the “B.P. Beshchev Training Center Traffic Control”, for this purpose the following tasks are solved: systematization of information about the objects of the training center; placement of information on University resources; providing open access to information via direct links. This will make it possible to organize the educational process in a new way, students will instantly have access to information about the objects and work that they need to organize in business games and laboratory work. It is proposed to use already well-known digital solutions, such as the classification of educational center facilities, the use of an “Information and Educational Environment”, as well as direct links when using modern mobile devices using QR codes.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS OF DEVICES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION APPLIED IN VARIOUS BRANCHES OF TRANSPORT

One of the priorities of the EU economy is to create the best possible conditions for the design and implementation of innovative solutions within the scope of energy efficiency. In recent years, there has been quick technological progress in the field of devices having controlled motor drive used for air purification, and from heating plates, which are applied in the eating places, including restaurants and zones for preparing meals in various means of transport. The research conducted by the EU on EcoDesign requirements showed that range hoods at the stage of their use have a considerable potential of saving energy. The introduction of energy efficiency labels to the market has improved the energy efficiency of these devices and accelerated the transformation of the market to implement energy-saving technologies, which according to the experts, may lead to an annual primary energy saving of 27 PJ/year in 2021, which may increase in 2030 to 60 PJ/year. The authors of this publication researched the fluid dynamic efficiency of a selected range hood, showing the necessity of investments in new technologies. Patented original solutions of the range hoods that can be applied, among others, in such means of transport as passenger ships, cargo ships, and submarines having a zone for preparing meals were presented in this article. An environmental aspect in the context of energy consumption was shown during the phase of using the device for air purification, providing many premises and arguments for future constructional solutions for energy management in various branches of transport and more.

Interdecadal variation in atmospheric water vapour content over East Asia during winter and the relationship with autumn Arctic sea ice

AbstractThis study focused on the interdecadal variability in water vapour content (WVC) over East Asia during winter and its associated mechanisms. The interdecadal variation in the WVC over East Asia during winter was investigated using the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) method. The leading mode (EOF1, explained variance is 52.7%) of interdecadal variability in the WVC, which explains most of the interdecadal variation, exhibits a monopole pattern characterized by consistent WVC anomalies over East Asia. The mechanisms associated with the interdecadal variability in winter WVC over East Asia were further investigated, and it was found that the interdecadal variability in winter WVC over East Asia is modulated by three water vapour transport (WVT) branches from the eastern, western, and southern boundaries of East Asia that are associated with Eurasian winter circulation. Further analyses revealed that increased sea ice concentration over the Barents‐Kara Sea (SIC‐BKS) in October–November (ON) serves as the source of wave activity flux and stimulates a stationary wave train along the Eurasian continent to change the downstream atmospheric circulation. As a response, an abnormal cyclone, an abnormal anticyclone, and an abnormal cyclone are triggered over western Siberia, the northern area of East Asia, and the southern area of East Asia, which are together favourable for WVC sufficiency over East Asia. Sensitivity experiments by the Community Atmosphere Model, version 4 (CAM4) using sea ice forcing in the Barents Sea yield similar results to the observed data, further confirming our conclusion. Therefore, the SIC‐BKS in ON may be an important potential predictor for the interdecadal variability in winter WVC over East Asia.

Amplified wintertime Barents Sea warming linked to intensified Barents oscillation

In recent decades, the Barents Sea has warmed more than twice as fast as the rest of the Arctic in winter, but the exact causes behind this amplified warming remain unclear. In this study, we quantify the wintertime Barents Sea warming (BSW, for near-surface air temperature) with an average linear trend of 1.74 °C decade−1 and an interdecadal change around 2003 based on a surface energy budget analysis using the ERA5 reanalysis dataset from 1979–2019. Our analysis suggests that the interdecadal change in the wintertime near-surface air temperature is dominated by enhanced clear-sky downward longwave radiation (CDLW) associated with increased total column water vapor. Furthermore, it is found that a mode of atmospheric variability over the North Atlantic region known as the Barents oscillation (BO) strongly contributed to the BSW with a stepwise jump in 2003. Since 2003, the BO turned into a strengthened and positive phase, characteristic of anomalous high pressure over the North Atlantic and South of the Barents Sea, which promoted two branches of heat and moisture transport from southern Greenland along the Norwegian Sea and from the Eurasian continent to the Barents Sea. This enhanced the water vapor convergence over the Barents Sea, resulting in BSW through enhanced CDLW. Our results highlight the atmospheric circulation related to the BO as an emerging driver of the wintertime BSW through enhanced meridional atmospheric heat and moisture transport over the North Atlantic Ocean.

Risk Management Model for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles during Flight Operations.

Risk management and uncertainty models are practised in all branches of transport. Although unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) constitute a branch of the industry rather than transport as a whole, their development is oriented toward increasingly more serious applications involving the transport of goods and people. The constantly growing number of operations employing UAVs requires not only identification of hazard sources or risk assessment recommended by the applicable regulations, but also comprehensive risk management. In order to develop a systematic approach to risk management for air operations of UAVs, the classic risk management method can be used. This work proposes a novel multi-criteria risk model that may serve as the basis for further activities aimed at developing a risk management method for this domain. The model was based on six criteria and validated using a virtual route to risk assessment and valuation.

Modulation of Coupled Modes of Tibetan Plateau Heating and Indian Summer Monsoon on Summer Rainfall over Central Asia

Abstract It has been suggested that summer rainfall over central Asia (CA) is significantly correlated with the summer thermal distribution of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and the Indian summer monsoon (ISM). However, relatively few studies have investigated their synergistic effects of different distribution. This study documents the significant correlations between precipitation in CA and the diabatic heating of TP and the ISM in summer based on the results of statistical analysis and numerical simulation. Summer precipitation in CA is dominated by two water vapor transport branches from the south that are related to the two primary modes of anomalous diabatic heating distribution contributed by the TP and ISM precipitation, that is, the “+−” dipole mode in the southeastern TP and the Indian subcontinent (IS), and the “+−+” tripole mode in the southeastern TP, the IS, and southern India. Both modes exhibit obvious midlatitude Silk Road pattern (SRP) wave trains with cyclone anomalies over CA, but with different transient and stationary eddies over South Asia. The different locations of anomalous anticyclones over India govern two water vapor transport branches to CA, which are from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The water vapor flux climbs while being transported northward and can be transported to CA with the cooperation of cyclonic circulation. The convergent water vapor and ascending motion caused by cyclonic anomalies favor the precipitation in CA. Further analysis corroborates the negative south Indian Ocean dipole in February could affect the tripole mode distribution of TP heating and ISM via the atmospheric circulation, water vapor transport, and anomalous Hadley cell circulation. The results indicate a reliable prediction reference for summer precipitation in CA.

СТРАТЕГІЯ РОЗВИТКУ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ АВТОСЕРВІСУ ТА ОЦІНЮВАННЯ ЇХ ІНВЕСТИЦІЙНОЇ ПРИВАБЛИВОСТІ

he article proposes an approach to assessing the investment attractiveness of car service enterprises, taking into account their development strategy. The object of the research is assessment processes of car service enterprises. The aim of the work is to determine the impact of the development strategy of car service enterprises on their investment attractiveness. The article considers the processes of attracting investment funds, which should be based on making certain management decisions aimed at taking into account the impact of competitiveness of a car service enterprise in the market of transport services. The most important factors for investment climate, such as: stability of economic and social development of transport branch; provision of qualified personnel of the enterprises; level of industrial and service transport infrastructure; transparency and stability of tax legislation; presence of interested investors; possibility of risk reduction in the process of investments attraction. At the same time the specific factors in the functioning of car service enterprises were investigated, namely: materiality; manufacturability; assortment and completeness of services; seasonality and discreteness of car service provision. It is for this reason that the effective development of an enterprise is determined by how well the investment attraction management system is set up in the enterprise. The management of these activities allows the enterprise to achieve its goals with a minimum investment of resources. Therefore, at the heart of activity directed on increase of efficiency of functioning, there should be a strategic decision: what services to provide, on what segment of consumers they should be oriented. The basic mistakes of auto service enterprises management in conditions of investment risks which are necessary to minimize and their interrelation with a choice of strategy of increase of investment attractiveness are analyzed. The essence of assessment of investment risks in development of car service enterprises which consists of uniting qualitative, quantitative, administrative and operational measures on prevention of risk occurrence is traced. The results of the article can be implemented in enterprise management when attracting investments in the development of car service enterprises.

Optimization of Train Energy Cooperation Using Scheduled Service Time Reserve

The main aim of the paper was to develop an innovative approach to the preliminary estimation possibility of train energy cooperation based on data from timetables, without traction calculations. The article points out the need to strive for sustainable and environmentally friendly transport. It was pointed out that rail transport using electric traction is one of the more ecological branches of transport. It also offers a number of possibilities for improving energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption, one of which is the recovery and reuse of energy lost in the electrodynamic braking process. The main ways in which such energy can be used are listed, but the focus is mainly on the aspect of the so-called “energy cooperation” of trains. Then, the current state of the research and knowledge on the narrowed scope of rail traffic management and recuperative braking in rail transportation is presented; an innovative approach to the indirect optimization of the amount of recuperated electrical energy immediately usable by another vehicle by maximizing the duration of energy co-optimization is proposed; and the authors’ function is proposed to enable optimization, taking into account various parameters. The optimization was performed with the use of a proprietary, multi-criteria objective function and the Solver optimization module. Finally, the results obtained using the proposed approach are presented and illustrated with the example of train timetables used by some of the largest railway stations in Poland.

Possibilities of Implementation of the System of Automatic Indication of Safe Clearance under the Bridge in Poland

Purpose: In relation to the observed climate changes, the governments of countries- especially those of the European Union- pay more and more attention to the influence of the transport system on the natural environment when creating transport policy. Priority is given to the development of the branches of transport which are least harmful to the environment - rail transport and inland waterways. Due to difficult navigation conditions and poor condition of waterways in Poland, solutions are being implemented to improve the efficiency of inland navigation. One of such solutions is. Approach/Methodology/Design: The first part of the article describes the issues related to inland navigation in Poland, the River Information Services (RIS) system and describes the principles of operation of the system of automatic indication of safe clearance under the bridge. A cost analysis was then made to implement such a system on all bridges with a clearance of less than 5.25 meters on the Oder Waterway. Findings: The system of automatic indication of clearance under the bridge can significantly contribute to safer navigation, more efficient fleet utilization and reduced fuel consumption. Practical Implications: The analysis presented in the paper can serve as a guideline for state authorities and waterway managers regarding the rationale for implementing the system of automatic indication of safe clearance under the bridge and the financial outlays that should be incurred for implementing such a solution. Originality/Value: Inland navigation in Poland is very poorly developed, therefore it is necessary to analyze the possibility of implementing solutions aimed at improving its operation. The system for measuring clearance under bridges is a new solution on a national scale, but one that has a significant impact on the safety and optimization of navigation.