Streamlining Steel Strip Handling with Quality Management
By Strategic Research Institute on Oct 05, 2023 10:23 am
Synopsis
ArcelorMittal Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico has adopted an integrated quality control, production management, and transportation system from Primetals Technologies. This innovative solution combines a production management system (PMS), autonomous coil transport using the Modular Coil Shuttle System, and a quality control system called Through-Process Quality Control (TPQC). It enhances quality management in the hot-rolling mill and skin-pass mill, reduces unnecessary material transport, and optimizes production processes.
Article
In an effort to streamline steel strip handling and enhance quality control, ArcelorMittal Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico has implemented a comprehensive system from Primetals Technologies. This integrated solution encompasses a production management system (PMS), an autonomous coil transport system known as the Modular Coil Shuttle System, and a quality control system called Through-Process Quality Control (TPQC). The system orchestrates quality management across the hot-rolling mill and skin-pass mill, ensuring product quality while minimizing redundant material transport.
The key to this system's effectiveness lies in its seamless integration with Primetals Technologies' process control and optimization systems, providing operators with in-depth production data and real-time quality assessment. It automates quality assessment, reducing unnecessary material transport by directing coils either to storage or to the skin pass mill based on quality evaluations.
Antoine Dhennin, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer at ArcelorMittal North America, highlights the system's benefits: "It enables automated quality assessment in real time and reduces unnecessary transport routes, as coils are diverted directly to the skin-pass mill for processing when defects are detected." This approach increases efficiency, streamlines logistics, and shortens overall production time.
The TPQC system collects and stores quality-relevant data from both the hot-rolling and skin-pass mills, enabling long-term data evaluation. This data is used to continuously improve product quality and process reliability.
The production management system (PMS) includes modules for demand and sales planning, material-flow management, order planning, and sequencing. It optimizes material logistics and inventory, while the Modular Coil Shuttle System automates the movement of hot-rolled coils within the plant.
ArcelorMittal plans to expand the scope of this integrated system to cover additional parts of the plant. This initiative enhances quality control, production efficiency, and logistics management in the steel production process.
ArcelorMittal Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico's largest steel producer, primarily uses DRI for steelmaking, resulting in high-quality slabs. The hot strip mill has an annual capacity of 2.5 million metric tons, while the skin-pass mill processes 650,000 metric tons annually. Both mills are supplied by Primetals Technologies.
Conclusion
The implementation of Primetals Technologies' integrated quality management system at ArcelorMittal Lázaro Cárdenas marks a significant step in enhancing steel strip handling and quality control. By automating quality assessments, reducing unnecessary material transport, and optimizing production processes, this system improves efficiency and product quality in the steel industry.
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