Germany’s biggest steel producer, ThyssenKrupp Steel AG, has decided to implement the Quintiq Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) solution to optimize capacity utilization at its steel mills as well as its supply chain procedures.
The highly complex processes involved in steel production make the planning and scheduling of the diverse stages of production — from iron right up to slab manufacture — a major challenge. To keep the company viable on the global market, all of the available resources need to be optimally deployed at all times. The APS solution from Quintiq will help ThyssenKrupp to analyze every step of its process chain and plan each individual stage of production.
For some time, the central steel ordering division of ThyssenKrupp Steel AG has been looking for a suitable software tool for optimizing the yield efficiency of its slab production and improving delivery performance. The main challenge for this steel scheduling would be to optimize the steel mill selection process, which involves spreading production orders over six continuous casters so that their capacities are optimally utilized. One way of achieving this is by optimizing production parameters such as the duration of production sequences and the casting width, as well as further reducing the number of slabs in stock. Further improvements in delivery performance should be achieved by increasing the number of on-schedule slabs and by reducing the amount of orders shifted forward.
Building on the orders provided and consolidated by ThyssenKrupp’s own systems, the Quintiq APS solution provides an analysis of order backlogs and draws up the initial rough sequencing. It sequences the continuous casters, generating weekly plans and the final casting programs. The software also performs an evaluation of ThyssenKrupp’s key performance indicators (KPIs), productivity and delivery compliance. This KPI analysis functionality ascertains the quality of each sequence and the associated sequence planning in real time.
“With a detailed Proof of Concept, Quintiq clearly demonstrated that their flexible solution was perfectly geared to support our complex requirements. The weekly plans contain all the in-depth information, down to the final planning of sequences in continuous casting. The effects of short-term changes in production — such as smelting more or less steel than was planned during scheduling — are immediately reflected in the weekly schedules at each facility,” said Frank Vidic, Head of IT/SCM/Order Processing at ThyssenKrupp Steel AG.
“The system also visualizes the current order backlog and evaluates the quality of our planning.”
“Quintiq has already proven itself in the steel industry many times, showing that it really knows the specifics and problems that can appear in steel production and logistics. We’re very proud to have won Germany’s top steel producer and a major global player in the steel industry as our customer,” said Dr. Victor Allis, CEO of Quintiq.
“Every one of our industry solutions is based on our extensive and detailed knowledge of the mission-critical business processes, thus enabling sound planning and targeted optimization in the desired areas.”
ThyssenKrupp Steel started its implementation of the Quintiq Advanced Planning & Scheduling solution in July 2007. The system is expected to go live in the second quarter of 2008.
www.quintiq.com
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