MMK introduces new IT services in the blast-furnace shop

Mobile mixers are used to transport liquid pig iron from the blast furnace shop to the oxygen converter shop of the plant. The new system makes it possible to provide technological personnel of the blast-furnace shop, in particular, production dispatchers, with operational information about the location and status of mixers. The system operates on the basis of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Each mixer is equipped with a radio tag, which is read when passing certain sections of the railway tracks of PJSC MMK. The main task of the system is to ensure the timely setting and withdrawal of mixers under blast furnaces to drain the cast iron and transport it to the oxygen converter shop. This ensures compliance with the release schedule and control of the supply of liquid iron to the mill's converters. The mixer dispatching system, which covers the entire blast furnace shop, allows personnel to see and evaluate when the mixer will be delivered to a specific blast furnace and where it is currently located. Previously, to obtain this information, the technological personnel of the furnace had to leave the control room, now it can be seen by simply opening a tab on the computer. The information received from radio frequency tags allows the furnace foreman to estimate the time of the opening of the melting products outlet and to take technological or organizational measures to conduct the process, for example, to rush the dispatcher. Employees of the oxygen-converter shop of MMK, which receives pig iron, also have access to this system and, if necessary, can adjust their work. The mixer dispatch system implemented in the blast-furnace shop is not the only example of RFID tagging at MMK. In particular, with their help, a system for accounting for reusable fastening devices (MSC) was introduced, thanks to which specialists of the logistics department of PJSC MMK and the workshop for the preparation of cars of Remput LLC can quickly monitor the life cycle of MSCs using a mobile terminal. Experience shows that RFID tags are an effective technology that allows you to quickly read information in difficult conditions of metallurgical production. Development and implementation of various IT services at PJSC MMK is being implemented within the framework of the strategic initiative Industry 4.0, which is based on the digitalization of all businesses. -processes. The active use of digital technologies increases the operational and functional efficiency of the enterprise, ensures the growth of labor productivity and contributes to the improvement of product quality, ensures the safety of employees and increases the efficiency of their activities, eliminating routine tasks, and helps to meet the expectations of customers and the requirements of the time. MMK