.gif?width=220&height=200&mediaprotectionhash=b13da841472e6e7ed500ee35df2a350aaf53d75246118b33ea2095cc7e9a3fc4&ext=.gif)
Duferco La Louvière Adds Two More SteelPlanner Modules
05/01/2009 - Duferco La Louvière completes its implementation of two new SteelPlanner modules that will help optimize its supply chain.
Duferco La Louvière, part of the Duferco Group, has implemented two new SteelPlanner modules to help optimize its Supply Chain. The new modules complement the facility’s existing SteelPlanner environment.
The facility will use its first new module, the BetaMatcher MidTerm, to help optimize coffin selection at the Hot Strip Mill. Previously, the facility’s Planning Department targeted streamlined HSM operations by addressing two complex and consecutive problems: the assignment of slabs to orders and the scheduling of those assigned slabs. Although these two logistical problems have traditionally been solved independently, this resulted in a suboptimal solution with inherent drawbacks. Solutions derived this way could result in slab population assignments that are not feasible to schedule or that result in poor schedule quality.
The new BetaMatcher module circumvents these types of problems by delivering an optimized solution that solves the assignment problem within the critical constraints of the HSM Schedule. "BetaMatcher MidTerm added value to the slab utilization process and allowed us to maximize the HSM schedules by assigning the critical sizes which increased the schedule length up to 15%," said Mr. Tufaru, Planning Manager at Duferco.
MFC-CAP, the second module installed by Duferco La Louvière, provides capacity planning and due date quotations. MFC, AIS' leading solution for profit optimization, capacity planning and master scheduling, has been implemented and tuned in order to face Duferco La Louvière’s challenging production environment. The system accurately models a wide variety of constraints, such as casting transition rules, product mix at the Hot Strip Mill, different production routes with possible reparation operations, campaigns at the pickling lines, limited inventory storage capacity, customer orders due date, complex shipment constraints, and different priorities for different order categories.
Mr. Havelange, project manager at Duferco said the new module “gives us a clear and feasible production plan, which is a base for strategic discussions and decisions."
The facility has achieved a number of accomplishments since the module’s installation was completed last year. For example, the weight and the length of the sequences of rolled slabs have increased by an average of 15 to 20%.
The MFC module has helped to improve both customer service and cross line synchronization. Moreover, within the current economical situation, MFC has been extensively used to help simulate different production scenarios in order to plan line maintenance and shutdowns.
Headquartered in Linz, Austria, the AIS Group is a leading supplier of planning and scheduling systems for the metals industry. The company has provided its SteelPlanner family of planning, scheduling and control solutions to numerous references in the metals industry.
