June 2006 — Broner Metals Solutions has announced that it will provide a Comprehensive Manufacturing Execution System (CMES) for OMK at the Vyksa Steel Works in Russia.

OMK’s CMES will include work dispatching, monitoring, tracking, performance analysis, inventory control and production scheduling. The CMES solution will provide a management information, execution and control system that will improve manufacturing efficiency through automation of processes, real-time information to support decision making at the shop-floor level, and improved capacity utilization.

The CMES solution, which will cover the two pipe production lines at Pipe Electric Welding Shop No. 4, will comprise two components: Production Monitoring, Dispatching and Analysis (PDMA) and Production Scheduling (PS).

The Production Monitoring Dispatching and Analysis component will record all production data, providing real-time monitoring and control and making this information available for fast and efficient decision making. It will include advanced modules such as warehouse inventory management, quality control management and KPI monitoring and reporting.

The Production Scheduling component will generate schedules for each resource on each production line, taking into account product demand, production capacity, process constraints, and material inventory constraints. It will allow the plant schedulers to run the plant more efficiently and to recalculate the schedule following disturbances in the production or sales situation.

David Mushin, Chief Executive of Broner Metals Solutions said, “Broner is delighted to be working with Vyksa to improve their business KPIs. We hope that the unique combination of: Broner’s dedication to the metals industry; our expertise in scheduling and MES solutions; and the local Broner Russia operation, will lead to a long term partnership between Broner and Vyksa.”

Vyksa Steel Works is an integrated steel plant with a capacity of up to 2 million tonnes of pipes per annum, operating in the Nizhniy Novgorod region of Russia. The plant is able to produce virtually all types of longitudinal welded pipes, with main products including steel pipes with diameter ranging from 15 to 1420 mm with a wall thickness of up to 48 mm. Vyksa Steel Works is also the world's biggest producer of solid rolled railroad wheels for passenger and freight cars, engines and subway trains.

Vyksa Steel Works is part of the United Metallurgical Co. (OMK). OMK comprises five large metallurgical plants in Russia: Vyksa Steel Works, Almetyevsk Pipe Plant (Republic of Tatarstan), Chusovoy Steel Works and Gubakha Coke (Perm Region), and Shchelkovo Steel Works (Moscow Region).

Broner Metals Solutions provides Supply Chain Planning, Scheduling and Manufacturing Execution Systems and Consultancy. Broner Metals Solutions products have been developed specifically for the Metals industry, with a product range that includes Demand Management, Sales and Operation Planning, Availability to Promise, Capability to Promise, Advanced Planning and Scheduling and Manufacturing Execution solutions.

The Broner Metals Solutions team has supplied production scheduling and MES solutions to Mittal Steel, Baosteel, Dofasco, Corus, Cosipa, CSN, Gerdau, Nippon Steel, Norandal, Usiminas and others. Broner Metals Solutions is part of Hyperion Systems Engineering Ltd.