Improvement Batch Annealing Process
This market leader in high quality steel start their journey of application rationalization a couple of years ago. As they went down on the shopfloor major critical information of processes and applications were not documented.
They then decided to harmonize the documentation following ISA 95 and using static documentation tools such as ‘Word’ and Visio. The documentation is then been used for centralized application maintenance and support.
Although a huge effort, and almost impossible to sustain, it fulfill the purpose to at least have a first basic documented view.
It became clear that this approach will not serve the strategic business goals of improving manufacturing cost, processes and quality, and ability for innovation. As part of their journey towards creating The Smart Mill, as a next step they want to improve their right first time, optimize supply chain and assure quality, while reducing cost.
This use case will explain how to achieve this for the batch annealing process, using a holistic based modelling solution approach. As an additional result those models can also be used to improve the application maintenance and support process and further reduce cost.
The following business objectives are in scope:
• Right First Time
• Reduce Inventory
• Reduce planning time
• Improve planning accuracy
• Reduce Production Cycle Time
• Reduce Waste
The Challenge
The pain points can be summarized as:
• Annealing hood not integrated in the overall system
• Missing master data in production execution system
• Excel – data not in a system, maintained manually on a local PC
• Manual decision for compilation of coils/annealing hood based on long term experience
• No optimization due to missing data in the systems
• Missing measurements of cooling temperature history and cooling time when coils in the stock
• Additional transport way back and forth to the stock when a coil is too hot for further processing
• Cooling time is hard coded as value in the production execution system, this should be variable
• Manual coil handling and to many manual steps
As the documentation is static and fragmented within tools that does not allowed proper change management, common overview and no insight it became difficult for the company to understand how to transform their mills into smart mills.
Solution Approach
We used the unique Smart Industrial Transformation approach and Models4Insight holistic modelling platform to create and manage digital representations of the batch annealing process with regards to users, process, applications and physical assets, taking into account the actual current situation and the ‘To-Be’ scenarios.
The approach uses models to describe the different constituents ranging from business goals down to the shopfloor infrastructure and physical assets. As an additional result those models can also be used to improve the application maintenance and support process and further reduce cost.
This approach gives the possibility to extend towards end to end holistic models for Smart Mills of the different dimensions of, Users, Processes, Applications, Physical assets, Infrastructures and Data.
Figure below gives a view of models used to design a possible ‘To-Be’ scenario.
For the batch annealing process this mean:
• Eliminate manual steps, by digitizing and automate batch annealing process
• Optimize planning having a control loop that is validated by the models
• Better control of cooling process
• Capture the real cooling temperature by contextualized data, by linking the data with the models in the future
• Improve Yield
• Higher utilization
• Improve supply chain
• Reduce overall cost
• Support the lean processes with model based impact analysis and validation
More specifically:
In the Smart Industrial Transformation Approach models are used in a specific way:
• Scenarios are modelled from different point of views like e.g. for a manufacturing process: the physical object view, the machine view, the operator view and the process engineer view. These four views together describe the actual process best.
• Scenarios are modelled in the most detailed way and semi-automatically derive higher level views, thus views with lesser detail. These different views with varying level of detail are required for different groups of people. A manager just wants to see the high level picture, while a process engineer wants to see all details. By deriving the higher level views we ensure that the different levels of details are consistent with each other.
Stakeholders are able to visualize the ‘As-Is’ and the ‘To-Be’ situation, and do scenario play and impact analysis to manage process and application migration.
Benefits
Achieve Right First Time
Improve planning
Reduce supply chain cost
Proactive impact and cost analysis
Reduce waste
Our Services
Our assessment framework is uniquely tailored for Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things, and Digital transformation. It is supported by a Smart Industrial Transformation approach, based on holistic modelling.
By using our unique Smart Industrial Transformation deployment framework we make sure that your deployment will be better, smarter and faster.
It is the only solution that is able to integrate and digitize the different dimensions of, Users, Suppliers and Customers, Processes, Applications, Physical assets, Infrastructures and Data, needed for best in class transformation deployments.
The basis is the ability to create digitized templates, which brings your templates alive and enables you to constantly control, manage the uncertainty and have maximal agility during your deployment journey.
The digitized transformation template is typically used to manage the deployment of:
- Global (MES) applications;
- IT-OT architecture in general as well as more specifically RAMI 4.0 (Reference Architecture Model Industrie 4.0);
- Digitized System Architecture Transformation – Architecture and application deployment of OEM machines;
- Horizontal and Vertical integrated value chains.
Our Smart Industrial Transformation based roadmap framework is a holistic model based framework uniquely tailored for Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things and Digital transformation.
It is the only solution that brings alive your strategy, by digitizing it. This is a key advantage as strategy is a constant iteration, while communication and execution are key.
Our Smart Industrial Transformation based roadmap framework is a holistic modelled framework uniquely tailored for Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things and Digital transformation.
It is the only solution that brings alive your roadmap by digitizing it. With this you are in constant control, able to manage the uncertainty and have maximal agility during the journey.
The roadmap framework is typically used to get insight and input:
• To align Users, Suppliers and Customers, Processes, Applications, Physical assets, Infrastructures and Data dimensions;
• To understand the impact and execution of your roadmap items;
• for insight on impacts of roadmap items;
• for your IT-OT (Information Technology – Operational Technology) Architecture;
• for roadmap agility;
Our training courses:
2 day – Basic modelling training (include 1 year free private subscription), attendant will learn:
- What ArchiMate models are
- How to use the Models4Insight models
- Build basic models
- Manage basic models
- Basic queries
4 day – Advanced modelling training (include 1 year free private subscription), attendants will learn:
- To integrate ArchiMate, BPMN, ERD, UML models
- How to use the Models4Insight models
- Build advanced models
- Manage advanced models
- Analytics capabilities
- Advanced query of models
5 day
Combine basic and advanced modelling training (include 1 year free private subscription). This training can be given in two periods (one of 2 days and one of 3 days) :
2 day
Basic analytics training for connected assets, connected operations and manufacturing improvement. Attendants will learn:
4 day
Advanced analytics training for connected assets, connected operations and manufacturing improvement. Attendants will learn:
5 day
basic and advanced analytics training for connected assets, connected operations and manufacturing improvement. This training can be given in two periods (one of 2 days and one of 3 days)
Customized Training
We offer modelling services to be able to create digital formal models (digital twins) for Industry 4.0, II0T and Digital transformation. Those models are digital representations covering processes, applications, infrastructures, physical assets and contextualized data.
The modelling is based on de ArchiMate architecture language using our Models4Insight™, IP based Modelling & Insight solution platform, It enables you to design, create, enhance, manage, store and retrieve digitized integrated models giving a formal digital representation making you in control of your Industry 4.0, IIoT and Digital Transformation journey. It is offered as a free public version or private subscription based service.
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