Performance, Quality, and Control in Steel Logistics 4.0

In the steel industry, logistics is very often part of the value chain since storage processes and therefore cooling processes contribute to the product quality to a very larger degree. As a result, steel logistics is concerned with the storage and movement of – in our case – work in process (WIP) materials. Thousands of tons of steel are transported with cranes and heavy-duty vehicles and stored in stacks at large yards every day. The whole industry is under pressure to reduce costs, which strongly influences logistics operations. The efficiency of transport and storage processes is a crucial success factor and is challenged by highly dynamic processes and environments. In this article we focus on slab logistics with respect to logistics performance measurement, quality assurance, and operational control in the processes that directly follow the continuous caster. Closely related to this, we concentrate on selected aspects of the steel production value chain, especially concerning the logistics part. We evaluate the performance measurement and simultaneously show how quality assurance may be supported. Finally, methods from the domain of prescriptive analytics are employed to automate or support human resources in handling complex logistics operations.