WHITE PAPER Shop Optimization White Paper

8/2/2019 WHITE PAPER Shop Optimization White Paper

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AISTECH 2010Presented by RAD-CON, Inc

Michael W. McDonaldVice President Operations

TAKINGBATCHANNEALINGOPTIMIZATIONTOTHENEXTLEVEL.


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AbstractMoreefficientBAFoperationnotonlyincreasesthroughputandprofitabilitybutalso

improvesscheduling

and

effectiveness

of

downstream

operations.

With

the

current

use

of

softwareforstacking,heatingandcoolingcycleoptimization,annealfacilitiesareachieving

significantefficiencies.

Yet,todaymorethanever,theneedtosqueezeoutmoreateveryturniscritical.

Sowhatcanbeconsideredthenextgenerationinannealoptimization? Andhowcanmore

outputbe

obtained

without

adding

manpower

or

equipment?

Thecurrentfocusofoptimizationtypicallyemphasizesimprovingsoftwareinvolvedwith

inventorymanagementandheating/coolingcyclemanagement. Butintakingabroaderviewof

theannealshop,anewoptimizationmodelmoredemonstrativelydirectsthediverseactivities

ontheshopfloortooptimizeoperations,craneandequipment,andflooroperatorandgeneral

managerefficiency.

Therearetwostepsforthisnew,nextgenerationoptimization.

FirstisShopOptimizationwhichutilizesheating,coolingandstackingmodeloutputsbutgoesfurtherbydeterminingthemostefficientuseofmanandmachinebyidentifyingand

minimizingthedelayoftheconstraintresource.

SecondisOperationsPlanningwhichdirectsresourceactivitiesaccordingtotheShopOptimizationoutput,suchasrealtimetaskassignmentstothecrane,floor,andfurnace

operators.Withtheadditionofacrane(locator),navigationalfunctionalityisavailablethat


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maximizesefficiencyofcranemovement. Together,thisnewmodelprovidesthehighest

utilizationofassetsintheBAF.

ThisnewmodelsqueezesmoreoutofHNorhydrogenBAF,eventhoseoperatingamixture

ofequipmentmanufacturers.

RADCONwillpresentthebenefitsoftheirShopOptimizationandOperationsPlanning

softwaretobeinstalledaspartoftheBAFportionoftheNewCRMprojectatSAILsBokaro

SteelPlant.

More


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IntroductionToremaincompetitiveinthecurrenteconomicclimate,steelcompaniesneedtofocustheir

attentionon

the

cost

of

production.

This

challenge

will

be

complex

as

the

economy

recovers

withreshapedmarketsandasnewandidledsteelcapacityisbroughtbackonline. Theability

tobeflexibleandoperateefficientlyduringthesedynamicmarketconditionswillbekeyfactors

toturningaprofit.

SAILsprojectinBokaroforanewColdRollingMill(CRM)complexincludescuttingedge

automationtocontroloperatingcostswhilemaintainingtheflexibilitytoadapttochangesin

themarket.Themill,whichisdesignedforautomotiveapplications,willutilizeRADCONsBatch

AnnealFurnace(BAF)modelingcapabilitiestoeasilyshiftproductmixwithoutequipment

changesorproductiondisruptions.

BokarowilloperatewiththenewCAPSShopOptimizationModelwhichbuildsonthe

processmodelspreviouslydevelopedbyRADCONtooptimizetheheatingandcoolingtimesof

thecoilsaswellasthestackingarrangementofcharges.ShopOptimizationtakesabroaderview

oftheannealshoptoincludetheequipment,cranes,andoperatingpersonnel.Themodelnot

onlycreatesaplantooptimizetheprocessbutalsoimplementstheplanthroughrealtime

communicationstothecranes,transfercars,andpersonnel.

Thisnewsoftwarefurtheroptimizestheprocesstomaximizethroughputcapacity,minimize

operatingcosts,andmaintainthehighestlevelofmechanicalpropertyconsistency.


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BAFOptimizationTherearethreelayersofoptimizationthatapplytotheannealshop,eachlayerbuildingon

theprevious.

The

first

layer

addresses

the

coil

and

control

of

the

heating

and

cooling

processing

manner. ThesecondlayerofBAFOptimizationaddressesthegroupingofindividualcoilsinto

batchesorcharges,consideringeachindividualcoilsneedsaswellasthechargeasawhole.

Finallythethirdlayertakesintoaccountthechargesalongwiththeequipmentandmanpower

intheshoptoarrangeandmanagethe

completeshop. Itisfromthisthird

layerthatnewefficienciesarebeing

achievedintheBAFthroughthe

additionofoptimizationmodeling.

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Figure1:BAFOptimizationLayers

Theactivitiesaddressedbyeachof

theselayersarehandledateveryshop

witheither

manual

decision

making

or

withtheuseofproductionmodels.

RADCONsComputerizedAnnealing

ProcessSoftware(CAPS)whichisusedtoprocessover50%ofallbatchannealedsheetsteel

inNorthAmericahandleseachoftheselayerswithdifferentsoftwaremodules. RADCONs

newestsoftwareimprovestheefficiencyofLayer3byminimizingtheprocessingtimeofcoils

withinBAFandthereforereducingworkinprocessinventory,increasingpredictabilityofthe

system,andmostimportantlymaximizingthethroughputcapacityoftheshop.


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ImprovingShopPerformancewithOptimizationModelingWhenshopmanagementishandledmanually,therearealargenumberofvariablesforthe

personneltoconsiderinordertooptimizetheoperation.Thepersonmanagingtheshopis

typicallyjusttryingtokeepeverythingmovingandhaslittletimeorabilitytodevelopand

manageaplanmuchbeyondthecurrentturn.Thelargertheshop,themoredifficultthisisto

coordinateandthemoreinefficienciesthatsneakin.

RADCONsapproachincreasesshopcapacityinsteadofjustmanagingtaskswithinthe

shop. SinceCAPShasinformationabouttheshopsuchasprocessingtimesforeachcharge,

equipmentavailability,

manpower,

as

well

as

productivity

targets,

aplan

can

be

developed

and

implementedthatnotonlykeepseverythingmovingforthecurrentturnbutreducesdelay

time,shortensprocessingtime,decreasesworkinprocessinventoryandincreasesshop

capacity.

ShopOptimizationPlanFirstanoptimizedShopPlanisgenerated.Thesoftwareusestheheating,coolingand

stackingmodeloutputstodeterminethemostefficientuseofresources.Theresourcewiththe

leastcapacityisdeterminedfromthecurrentinventoryandequipmentinformationmaintained

inCAPS.Protectingthisbottleneckresourcebecomestheprimaryfocusoftheplan.

TheShopPlanisdevelopedusingMixedIntegerLinearProgramming(MILP)whichisa

techniquefordeterminingthemostefficientmethodforallocatingresourceswhilestillmeeting

allofthesystemconstraintsorrules. InLPanobjectivefunctionisdevelopedandtheLPsolver

isaskedtoeitherminimizeormaximizethefunction.Theresultisasolution that minimizesdelay

timeofthebottleneckresourcewhichwillgivethemaximumshopthroughput.


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TheoperatorviewstheplanthroughaGantt

chartviewofthebaseoverviewscreen.This

chartshowsablendofthecurrentstatusofthe

shopalongwiththeplannedfuturearrangement

ofchargesandequipment.Theoperatoris

allowedtomodifytheplantoaccommodate

trials,maintenance,orotherspecificrequests.Figure1:ShopPlanningOverviewScreen

OperationsPlanningNowthataplanisdeveloped,itneedstobeimplemented.TheOperationsPlanningmodule

directsresourceactivitiesaccordingtotheShopPlan,suchasrealtimetaskassignmentstothe

crane,floor,andfurnaceoperators.Withtheadditionofacrane(locator),navigational

functionalityisavailablethatmaximizesefficiencyof

cranemovement.

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ThesoftwareworkslikeanavigationsystemforBAF

operation,planningthesequenceofactivitiesforthe

operators,cranes,andtransfercarstoavoidconflictsthat

woulddelaythecompletionofatask.

For

example,

in

a

shop

with

multiple

cranes,

the

crane

activitymustbecoordinatedtomakesurethattheydonot

interferewitheachotherandmoreimportantlythattheywork

Figure2:CraneTaskList


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togethertocompletethehighprioritytasks.Eachcranehasatasklistofitemstobecompleted

thatisdynamicallyupdatedbasedontaskcompletionandothereventsintheshop.Ifoneofthe

cranesistakenoutofservicethenthetasksareredistributed.

Figure

4:

Operator

Receiving

Message

on

PDA

SimilarinformationisprovidedtotheflooroperatorviaahandheldPortableDigital

Assistant(PDA).Sincetheinformationisavailabletotheoperatorwhiletheyareontheshop

floor,theyareabletospendmoretimecompletingassignedtasksinsteadofconstantly

checkingbacktothecontrolroomtodecideonthenexttask.Also,sincethecomputeris

determiningthetasksequencetheoperatorwillbeassignedthepropertasksrequiredtomeet

theShop

Plan

requirements.

ThePDAisalsousedtocollectinformationrelatingtotheoperators

activity.Coilsarescannedtoavoididentitymixupsandmanualtaskssuch

asverifyingtanklevelsorsafetychecksareinputfromthelocationthatthe

activityiscompletedinsteadofrecordedlater.Thisallowseachoperatortobe

moreproductivewhichcanreducethenumberofoperatorsnecessarytorun

theshop.

Figure5:OperatorScanningCo

Identification

Layer3optimization,withRADCONsShopOptimizationandOperations

Planningmodules,providesthehighestutilizationofhumanandequipment

assetsintheBAF. LikealloftheCAPSmodels,ShopOptimizationincreases

throughput,decreases

operating

costs,

and

improves

product

quality.

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BokaroBAFBokaroSteelPlant,aSteelAuthorityofIndiacompany,locatedinJharkhand,INDIAis

currentlyinstallingacompletehydrogenbelltypebatchannealingfacilitythatwillbethemost

advancedBAFintheworld,intermsofoverallproductivityefficiency.Whencompleted,the

facilitywillprocess860,000tonsperyearofcoldrolledsteel,primarilydestinedforthe

automotivemarket,usingonly47bases. Theproductmixofgradesisasfollows:

Mix[%] Grade Description

10 CQ CommercialQuality

20 DQ DrawingQuality

30

DDQ

Deep

Drawing

Quality

20 EDDQ ExtraDeepDrawingQuality

10 IF InterstitialFree

5 HSLA HighStrengthLowAlloy

5 BH BakeHard

RADCONisoverseeingthecompleteproductionandturnkeyinstallationofthecompanys

H2SHC(100%HydrogenSuperHighConvection)annealingsystemconsistingof:

47baseswith2mchargediameterand6.5mstackingheight;

26mixedgasfiredfurnaces;

20air/watercoolers;

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49basepostcoolingfacilityfordehumidifiedair

cooling;

o Allassociatedcontrols.

Theprojectfeaturesthetalleststackfor508mmIDcoils,utilizingRADCONsuniquehigh

pressureSuperHighConvectionsystem.ThesystematBokarocombinestheleading

convectionsystemwiththeleadingthermalmodelingsystem,CAPS. TheShopOptimization

systemmergesequipmentandmodels,tomaximizeoutputofthecombination.Inadditionto

productivity,thematchingofcoilsatscheduletimealsoreducesvariabilitygivingconsistent

qualitythatshouldgivepausebeforecommittingtosystemsbasedonCAL.

Managinganannealshopofthissizerequiresdetailedandsophisticatedsystemsand

controls. Therefore,asanintegralpartoftheproject,theBokarofacilitywillutilizeCAPS

OptimizationSoftware,tocontroltheentireannealprocess. Thecompletesoftwaresuite

includesCAPS

models

for,

Stacking,

Heating

and

Cooling

as

well

as

the

new

Shop

Optimization

model. CAPSinterfaceswiththefacilityslevel3datatoscheduleeverymovementofeach

coilfromthetimeitpassestheannealbaydoorsthrougheveryphaseoftheprocessincluding

instructionsforcranesandcoilcaroperatorstoensurefullutilization. Thesoftwarewillprovide

Bokarowithoptimizedcoilselectionandstackcharging,reducedcycletimesandmaximum

facilityandmanpowerproductivity.

AlargeannealingshopliketheoneoperatedatBSLrequiresdiligenceinordertofullyutilize

theassets.Planningfortheutilizationofthe47bases,26furnacesandcoolers,threecranes,

multipletransfercars,anddifferentlevelsofpersonnelisdonewithRADCONsShop

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OptimizationmoduleinCAPS.

CoilsarereceivedfromthePickleLineTandemColdMill(PL/TCM)andElectrolyticCleaning

Line(ECL)conveyorsandtrackedbyCAPSuntilthecoilsareremovedbytheSkinPassMill

(SPM)fromthesoftcoilstoragearea.AllequipmentandcoillocationsaremaintainedinCAPS

throughcommunicationtoandfromthecranesandtransfercars.CAPScoordinatesthe

activitiesfortheentryconveyors,cranes,andtransfercarstomovecoilstothedifferent

processingandstoragelocations.

Coilsareautomaticallybuiltintothermodynamicallyefficientchargestoimprove

throughputandalsoreducecoiltocoiltemperaturevariability,givingthemostfavorable

mechanicalpropertyperformance. ThechargesareplannedonabasebytheShopOptimization

Modelandasdiscussedabove,tasksaredistributedtotheappropriatecraneandfloor

personneltoprocessthecharge.

AtBokaromostoftheoperatortasksareautomaticallyverifiedbythesystemwithoutthe

needfor

operator

input

of

information

into

CAPS.

For

example,

when

the

operator

is

asked

to

disconnectthefurnace,thePLCnotifiesCAPSwhenthetaskiscomplete.Thisallowsthe

OperationsPlannertopermitthecranetomovethefurnace.CAPSalsoknowstheexact

locationofthefurnaceandsincethecranehasapositioningsystem,CAPSsendsthefurnace

coordinatestothecraneandthecraneissenttothatlocation.Thiseliminatesthepossibilityof

movingafurnacethathasnotbeendisconnectedandalsominimizesthewaittimebetweenthe

tasks.


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ConclusionTheintroductionoftheShopOptimizationmodeladdressesthefinalBAFlayer

managementoftheshoptomaketheshopequipmentandpersonnelasproductiveand

efficientaspossible. ThesoftwareallowstheBAFtooperatewithfeweremployees,provides

significantlyimprovedcommunicationandassignmentoftasks,reducesincidentsofhuman

error,improvesequipmentandmanpowerutilization,increasesthroughputcapacity,lowers

productioncosts,andimprovesqualitylevels. Inaddition,BAFproductionbecomesmore

predictableandeffectivewhichenhancestheefficiencyandeffectivenessofdownstream

operations. TheShopOptimizationmodelcanbeaddedtoexistingshopsornewRADCON

installationsthatutilizeCAPSHeating,CoolingandInventoryManagementmodules.

AlloftheCAPSmodelshelptoimprovemechanicalproperties.TheHeatingModel

accuratelycalculatescoretemperatureofeachcoilinthechargeanddynamicallyendsthe

heatingphasewhenthecriticalcoilhasreceivedenoughheat.TheStackingModelbalancescore

temperaturerequirementstobuildchargeswiththeleastvariationattheendoftheprocess.

Finally,ShopOptimizationsynchronizesmanandmachinetoensurethatfurnacesarenotleft

onbasestoovercookthesteel.

TheRADCONsuppliedBAFandCAPSoptimizationsuitewillallowBokaroSteeltoprovide

highlyconsistentproductqualitytotheautomotivemarketatlowerdeliveredcostthan

competitorsusingContinuousAnnealLines(CAL). Bokaroswillingnesstoembracethisnew

technologyis

indicative

of

Indias

progressive

approach

and

the

resulting

industrial

growth

that

ishelpingtoraisetheworldoutofitsrecession. FortheIndiansteelcompanies,thisgrowthwill

meanopportunitiestodevelopnewmarketsandexpandproduction.Theinevitableadditionof


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coldrollingcapacitywilldrivethedevelopmentofassociatedannealingfacilitieswhichwill

significantlybenefitfromimprovedcontrolandoptimization.

RADCONhasaprovenrecordofprovidingeffectiveoptimizationsoftwareforBAFs.The

ShopOptimizationModelcontinuesthattraditionwithnextgenerationprocessmanagement.

www.RAD-CON.comPhone: +1.440.871.5720Fax: +1.216.221.1135

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