Corus scrap handing operations
Corus Engineering Steels (CES) operate electric arc furnaces at their Aldwarke site in Rotherham. These produce nearly one million tonnes of high quality steels for demanding engineering applications including aerospace and automotive applications. Recycled steel scrap provides the input to the process and effective management of this resource is essential for high yields and optimum product quality.
A capital scheme was proposed to improve the on-site management of scrap operations by constructing a purpose built facility close to the furnaces. This represented a radical change to operations and presented significant design challenges both in terms of the physical elements (roadways, vehicles, mobile cranes etc.), and in the way that the new facility would be operated. In particular, it was essential that the operations strategy be well designed (and communicated). Thus ensuring that supporting IT systems could be developed, and training implemented, such that seamless transfer between the current and new configurations would be achieved over a short period of time with zero disruption.
In support of this objective NAMTEC's Design Simulation & Modelling (DMS) Centre used Discrete Event Simulation (DES) to model the relevant manufacturing operations and business processes. Here specialist software packages are used to describe the resources and components of the system, and how entities (materials, people, information, etc) flowed through that system, and an animated view of the system is also produced. Armed with such a model, the business team can analyse different scenarios to properly evaluate investment proposals, and to determine where focus needs to be applied to improve the overall business performance.
Steve Thornton, Modelling Project Leader, says "Using simulation in this way, we are not trying to recreate reality, but rather to provide as simple a representation of the intended system as possible. This greatly assists the design team in gaining a shared view of the project intentions and options, and is an objective way to test assumptions and ideas. In my experience the availability of such models stimulates knowledge sharing and creativity, supports good decision making, and generally results in ‘joined up thinking'."
Simulation modelling was used from the early stages of the project and quickly provided a focus for the design debates of the project team. Questions about requirements for the physical components of the scheme were resolved relatively quickly, but one of the greatest benefits arose from greater insight into different operating options. This included scheme elements such as where empty baskets should be positioned, how to minimise vehicle movements, and how best to control the overall operation.
Peter Williamson, Project Engineer for the capital scheme, said about the benefits of the model, "Capital schemes like this one present a great challenge in that we need input from the manufacturing people who will operate the scheme, but their main job is manufacturing. The model provided a focus helping these people to quickly get up to speed and optimise their input. I'm sure that the model input to decision making has resulted in a robust scheme which will be simpler to implement and sustain."
Martin Boul, Technical Director of Corus Engineering Steels, summed up the value of the method for the business; "The business faces many challenges which require innovative approaches in order to continue to serve our customers with quality products on time and to specification. Change is always challenging and must be achieved without disturbance to our role in the supply chain. Any tools which can help us to ensure that this is the case are to be welcomed, and simulation modelling certainly fits the bill in this regard".
