MAINTENANCE SUPPORT SYSTEMS USING A NETWORK TECHNIQUE OF PROGRAMMABLECONTROLLERS

In recent years, it has become possible to operate steelmaking plants with much fewer operators than before, In a plant like SMI-Wakayama, s everal factors contributed simultaneously to change drastically the ma intenance work, The objective is now to detect problems as early as po ssible and to prevent later, more serious breakdowns, In this task, th e maintenance workers need the support of an automatic system based on recently developped technologies, Such a system is described and its functions explained.