Authors:
Atanu Mukherjee
and
Arnab Adak
Affiliation:
A division of M. N. Dastur & Company (P) Ltd, India
Keyword(s):
Steelmaking, Logistics, Bottleneck, Simulation, Modeling, Throughput, Utilization.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Discrete-Event Simulation
;
Formal Methods
;
Simulation and Modeling
Abstract:
Maximizing productivity in a steel melt shop requires appropriate equipment and facility design and the
synchronization of production across units like iron making, steel making, holding furnaces and casting of
the molten metal. This requires that blockages and bottlenecks in the production chain be identified and
overcome and the logistics in terms of equipment and facilities to move the materials appropriately
designed. Removal of blockages and bottlenecks requires a combination of process redesign and
investments in facilities and equipment in the production units supported by potential logistics redesign in
terms routing and scheduling of equipments like cranes, ladle cars hot metal ladles and steel ladles used in
the production shop . This approach addresses the system-wide bottleneck removal problem such that
congestions, interferences, delays, stoppages and idle times coupled with process and cycle time variations;
do not limit the end-to-end production. This paper pr
esents how we improved the productivity in a melt-shop
by using an iterative hierarchical decomposition based modelling and simulation approach to help
identify the bottlenecks causing capacity loss, and experiment with options to redesign the system by
suggesting mechanisms for improvement and additional facilities and logistical resources. The
implementation of the system has resulted in a 28% increase in melt-shop throughput and increase and
significant increase in profitability by decreasing hot metal diversions to alternative casting facilities.
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