2023 Steel Intern Scholarship – Benjamin F. Fairless (AIME)
Raymond P. Wysmierski
During the summer, I had the privilege of co-oping with SSAB at their steel mill in Axis, Ala., USA, where I was able to meet key personal goals for my last collegiate summer. Along the way, I got to work with a knowledgeable technical services (metallurgy) team and heat treat departments to make solo and joint improvements throughout the mill. The hands-on projects and in-depth learning I experienced here was one of a kind, and I know it will benefit me in my future career.
First, I got involved with the quench line 5 (QL5) department early on in my term where I was tasked with reporting production data for both normalizing and quench/temper lines. Here, this task turned into my first project: automating the QL5 monthly report. This required spreadsheet was manually put together each month over 8–10 hours to reflect all production and downgrade data for the most recent month and past quarters. By using Excel macros, I was able to automate this quench line report, ultimately saving 108 hours of manual labor per year and improving the long-term consistency/accuracy of the reports.
In addition to this project, I got to work with other mentors and team members through different parts of the steel mill. For one, I aided the physical and chemical labs with material testing. These tests were new to me and illustrated the in-depth metallurgy that goes into each piece of steel. Moreover, I helped in a painting trial that sought to speed up the blast and paint line from 6 m/min to 7 m/min by observing and documenting steel surface quality. With the feedback provided from myself and others at the mill, the pump pressure and blaster amps were adjusted to make the increased speed viable. The 7 m/min speed resulted in 15% more throughput.
Toward the end of the summer, I took on a project about ballistics data management. My mentor and I needed to compile ballistics testing data from the past five years to illustrate overarching mechanical trends and outliers for the U.S. military. Through this task, I learned about the fascinating way the armor plate is tested and observed how common mechanical testing can provide an insight into the ballistic capabilities of steel.
All and all, I had a fantastic experience at SSAB. My time there was filled with interesting projects and tasks for me to learn and grow from. In addition to this technical work, SSAB provided various “Lunch and Learn” classes for professional development. To summarize my term: I was able to meet all the goals I set for myself, I gained insight into the steel industry, I met helpful team members and learned a lot from them, I expanded my technical and professional skills, and I have a greater understanding of career opportunities within my field.