Strana 23
POSITIV 2017/2018 | 21
INNOVATIONS
Safety and Efficiency
The key to success in modern industry lies in the ability
to efficiently implement digital and automated man-
ufacturing processes. Therefore, ArcelorMittal Ostra-
va has established a large team of both Czech and
foreign experts. “There were several reasons to estab-
lish our own automation plant. First of all, automation
greatly improves safety at work in all operations. Steel
production includes dangerous areas where even
minor hesitation may lead to fatal consequences,
whereas automation is capable of minimizing such
risks. Secondly, automation also increases the efficiency
of production, which has now reached its limits: further
improvements can only be achieved through automa-
tion, making it a strategic pillar for sustainable develop-
ment of the company,” said Miroslav Hýbl, director of
the automation plant at ArcelorMittal Ostrava. Another
advantage is the improvement in competitiveness.
“European steelmakers are facing low-priced imports
from Asia. If we want to remain competitive, continue
to produce high quality steel and maintain jobs for our
7,000 employees, we need to streamline our processes
as well as look for new ways,” explained Hýbl.
Investment into the Future
Since its beginning, ArcelorMittal Ostrava´s automa-
tion has developed and put into practice substantial
amount of innovations. “We have developed, for
example, new control systems for our manufacturing
plants, unmanned control of quenching cars at the
coke plant using fully automated systems, we have
simplified the dispatch of steel and the movement of
trucks in our area or introduced remote control of our
machinery,“ described Hýbl. Automated systems make
it possible for ArcelorMittal Ostrava to focus more on
product development and improvement. “There still is
and will always be work that only men can do. Thanks
to automation, employees can concentrate on tasks
with higher added value in the production process and
on their personal development. Therefore, innovation
and automation are investment into the future, not
a threat to employees, as one might mistakenly think,“
explained Hýbl. Experts in automation and digitiza-
tion work not only to improve the existing processes
but also to come up with unique projects. “At the
moment we have put a new digital model of a blast fur-
nace in operation that simulates the processes inside.
The operation of a blast furnace entails a substantial-
ly high temperature and pressure, and will not allow
to measure the variables directly inside. Based on the
parameters such as the composition of the charge, the
temperature of the casing, and the condition of the hot
metal, this “digital twin” is capable of calculating the
parameters of the metallurgical process taking place
inside the furnace,” concluded Miroslav Hýbl, descri-
bing the project that is considered one of the most
innovative accomplishments in the plant up to now.
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