MMK launched its first software robot last year in a commercial of the plant's management: a robot based on the innovative RPA (Robotic Process Automation) technology is responsible for interaction with scrap metal suppliers. In particular, it processes e-mail, independently searches through Russian Railways databases and generates reports for the company's specialized services. This year MMK plans to analyze in detail 69 more production processes for the possibility of their robotization.
The development of RPA technologies is one of the directions of the Industry 4.0 concept being implemented at MMK, which provides for a comprehensive digitalization of business processes in order to improve production efficiency. According to Valery Rybolovlev, mathematical models and digital twins will become key digitalization technologies in the next five to ten years. For their development and implementation, a group of mathematical modeling and system-analytical research has been created at the MMK scientific and technical center.
Over the past three years, the group has done a great job: several software solutions have been developed and implemented that work on Big Data technologies and artificial neural networks. For example, a mathematical model was developed to optimize the procurement and consumption of coal raw materials, thanks to which the company saved more than 500 million rubles at the end of last year. The "Sniper" recommendation service, developed by MMK in cooperation with Mechanica AI, was put into pilot operation, which allows optimizing the consumption of ferroalloys and additional materials in steelmaking.
The Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works has always successfully implemented the most advanced technologies for automated production control. As part of the strategic initiative "Industry 4.0", the company organically uses the capabilities of the new technological order to improve planning efficiency, improve product quality and reduce operating costs. At the moment, MMK, in partnership with Deloitte, is preparing a roadmap for the digitalization of the plant for the medium term. It will include the most effective projects that will help MMK achieve its strategic goals faster and significantly improve business efficiency.
