EXHIBITIONContinuous improvement and digitization are the keywords of ORI Martin Group current and future programs, which involve both the parent company to the subsidiaries. These guidelines are combined with investments focused on the continuous improvement of processes’ efficiency and reduction of costs and environmental impacts.
With this in mind, supported by the CSMT’s Technology Transfer Engineering team and in collaboration with Rozzi, in 2021 ORI Martin started the project to equip the grapple of the scrap yard in Brescia with a sensor system. This is a key milestone in the wider project to digitize the production processes called Lighthouse Plant Steel 4.0, developed with Tenova.
The work side by side with CSMT comprised two steps. At first, the hardware infrastructure, the sensors and the wireless data communication system were chosen and simultaneously the triggering system and the basic preventive maintenance program were developed. Later on, a more complex system to anticipate faults and extend the predictive maintenance was implemented.
Improving the management of the scrap grapple maintenance is the main goal of the project. The second step involves a more ambitious target: moving from planned or reactive maintenance to a predictive one, to reduce faults, production downtime and sudden breakdown
To reach these goals, the scrap grapple has been equipped with sensors to monitor the main physical quantities of the process: temperature, pressure, bucket angle, energy consumption, oil level. The software gathers, analyzes and files data and accordingly implements the alarm system and identifies anomalies, faults and needed maintenance. Moreover, the data stream is shared with the company’s information systems.
This state-of-the-art system aims at reducing the costs of preventive maintenance and production downtime due to the fault of the management system of the scrap, which is the main raw material for electric steel mills.