Procedure to improve the transport logistics of steel ladies

One of the major interests of a steel manufacturer is to deliver his produc t to the customer at the right time in the right quality and to achieve thi s goal at the lowest possible costs. This kind of problem is generally solv ed by optimizing the logistics of sensibly defined individual production ar eas. In the area of a steelworks this goal can be achieved by optimizing th e transport logistics of steel ladies between melting and casting area. The main problem is the transported material. The temperature of the crude ste el, which is highly dependent on transport time, has to be adjusted to exac tly +/- 4 degrees C at the beginning of the casting process. Therefore the exact delivery time; of the cast to the casting machines plays an important role in logistic respect. Deliveries both too early and too late lead to c onsiderable disadvantages of the process. For these reasons a procedure was developed to optimize the transport logis tics of steel ladies. Concepts were worked out to achieve a better time man agement for the transport of the individual ladies both for hot and cold ci rculation. Thus a quicker and more regular material flow can be achieved, w hich is adjusted to the cycle times of the individual machines. This enable s savings of time and thereby temperature, leading to a reduction of losses in temperature and thereby converter tapping temperature. This procedure i s illustrated quantitatively by a practical example.