In addition, there were many variables with much randomness (e.g. One of the reasons the team decided to go for simulation modeling as a solution was the complexity of interdependencies between the elements of that system. The engineers wanted to find a simple rule of thumb to operate cranes and optimize the overall production process by decreasing human dependency in decision making.
The objective of the project was to find out if changing the existing rules of handling the internal logistics system would increase throughput. Once the metal is poured into the vessel, the crane returns the empty ladle to the torpedo station. After the metal is purified, it is moved by the transfer cars to the charging bay, picked by another crane, and taken to an LD converter, or vessel. Then a torpedo bay crane picks it from there and transfers it to the desulphurization station. This metal is then transferred to a ladle which, in turn, is placed on a transfer car. In the steel manufacturing unit in question, the production process starts with tanks (torpedoes) with hot metal arriving at the plant, specifically at the torpedo station. Therefore, less human decision making was required. The possible reason for this was that most of the crane handling was done manually and independently. As a result, the throughput was impaired: there was an underproduction of heats (batches of steel), the final product of this unit.
The steel melting team saw that the utilization rate of cranes was unequally distributed throughout the production process.
The opportunity was in improving crane and ladle handling by introducing optimized process flows and testing different layout configurations. One of the company’s steel manufacturing units showed potential for increasing the overall unit throughput by optimizing the internal logistics systems. Tata Steel focuses on a wide range of segments like automotive, consumer goods, infrastructure, etc. The company has been recognized as one of the largest steel manufacturers and suppliers with an annual crude steel capacity of 33 million tonnes per annum. Tata Steel is the second geographically diversified producer in the steel industry that operates across five continents.