Hot Strip Mill Introduction
The operation of a modern hot strip mill has placed demands on people, machinery, and information. Increasing customer requirements for quality, service and delivery, at lower market prices, have pushed many steel suppliers to continually look for improvements and ways to reduce costs. Add to that the need for Total Quality Management, Quality System compliance, ISO certification and any number of customer required quality assurance programs, and one begins to appreciate the complexity of the automation and information systems necessary to support the management of a modern mill.
Operators need precise control over their equipment, aided by computer modeling and automation. Real-time information to permit timely, intelligent decisions is key to safety, quality and productivity. High working ratios come from consistent, non-abusive operating practices, which lengthens equipment life and improves product quality. Over-burdened equipment places stresses on mechanical and electrical components, shortening their life, impacting alignment and deteriorating the ability to produce a quality product.
Maintenance personnel need real time diagnostic information to become predictive, rather than reactive to equipment problems. The ability to predict an equipment problem before a breakdown occurs improves reliability and productivity, by allowing repairs to be scheduled. The availability of detailed information on delays and equipment failures drives improvement by providing sophisticated analysis tools to locate and correct root causes. Failure Mode Effect Analysis, sometimes referred to as FMEA, is an effective corrective method driven out of good information.
Quality assurance requires precise process control, adherence to established standards, and immediate identification and diversion of any out of standard material. Not only is this a common sense approach to quality, but retaining quality compliance certification (such as ISO registration) requires proof of this compliance on a regular audit basis by an approved independent company. Computer systems that provide customer quality requirements, manufacturing standards, effective process control, material tracking, and exception reporting, provide a good migration path to implement total quality control.
Management at all levels requires accurate, timely information for good daily management of the facility. Management information is far greater than knowing the daily tonnage and delays. Management information is providing each process area and levels with the information necessary to drive decisions and foster corrective actions. It is information needed by the operator, maintenance employee, foreman, quality annalist, section manager, and upward. It is feedback required by the up stream manufacturing facilities to drive improvement. The data is structured to be meaningful and supportive of the intended user.
The total integration of all these needs suggests a very complex system with computers and human interface at all levels. Complicated models, sophisticated controls, improved feedback sensors, large relational databases, redundant supervisory systems, computer analytical tools, human machine interface design, information and control network design, exception reporting, quality management, and maintenance diagnostic systems are some of the key components. Successful implementation requires a company with a broad base of experience and understanding. Not just with respect to the computer and automation, but people with backgrounds in mill management, operation and maintenance. IPACT is such a supplier.
Integrated Process Automation & Control Technologies