Industry 4.0 Digitisation Gap Analysis
The Project
Many foundation industries operate on brownfield sites, often with legacy equipment and bespoke process models. Applying Industry 4.0 technologies to these sites requires the digitisation of aging kit and improvements to the PLC data logging infrastructure.
The project was funded by Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency, through its Manufacturing Made Smarter Challenge, and part of the government's larger Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The project was to create an industrial demonstrator of the application of Industry 4.0 to brownfield steel sites such as the Institute’s Normanton Steel Plant which consists of a 7 tonne electric arc furnace (EAF), combined vacuum degassing and ladle furnace and continuous caster for billets and mini slabs up to 20m cast length.
The Process
Structured workshops were used with brainstorming gap analysis sessions to identify areas for improvements requiring new instrumentation that were scored on benefits and ease of implementation. As the caster is used for both commercial products and research purposes benefit scores were different between research and process improvements. High benefit and ease of implementation were initially chosen for progressing.
Following the identification of areas for improvement, Key Performance Indicators were identified for benchmarking. Similar structured workshops have been successfully applied to a client manufacturing process.
The Outcome
The structured workshops identified the stakeholders, project success factors, project value drivers and potential Industry 4.0 ideas, resulting in a value chain map of ideas and a prioritisation chart based on benefits and ease of implementation.
The Benefits
Identifying where to start on the digital transformation process together with how the application of industrial technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things platforms, machine learning, augmented and virtual reality showed how they could be used to:
• Improve process and product
• Gain competitive advantage
• Increase value
• Reduce costs
• Generate key KPIs
LINK TO THE PROJECT CASE STUDY - https://www.mpiuk.com/downloads/case-studies/CS-19-2021-Digital-Technologies-Gap-Analysis.pdf
28 July 2021
