Steel and Metal Production
Unexpected shutdowns are costly and very demanding for the workforce involved. Our Virtual Engineers help you to make your metal processing critical assets smart in order to increase the availability.
Today most often technical data sheets coupled with the knowledge of a number of unique experienced individuals are used to determine when maintenance is required for an asset. Product quality only becomes an issue when customers start complaining. Repairs are done when it's already far too late. All of this puts tremendous strain on the people responsible for the production and maintenance, while it can be avoided, quite easily.
The only way to validate the actual health of crucial assets, and predict upcoming issues, is by having a continuous look at a broad data set and adding a specific multi-aspect monitoring setup consisting of different sensor types. This combined with an automated smart follow-up of the behaviour of critical components and the general state-of-health of the asset based on the collected data.
Zensor offers a range of ready-made products for monitoring specific assets: Rolling bridges or Overhead Cranes, Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF), Hot Rolling Mills, Conveyors, AOD Converters, BOF, Continuous Caster turrets as well as Continuous Casting lines, Cold Rolling lines, including tensioners and welding stations, Cooling water pumps and de-scalers, ...
“The insights generated give us peace of mind regarding the overall status of the overhead crane. Prioritising, quantifying and investigating maintenance tasks became easier, which in the long run, will result in the avoidance of unexpected shutdowns."
Some of our clients
A typical steel plant process
Below a flow chart of a typical (integrated) steel plant or steel mill is depicted. It contains both process streams, bith the scrap-based as well as the ore-based route. In the future this flow chart will undergo massive changes, as for example DRI-based routed will replace the Blast Furnace process and Electric Arc Furnaces and also Induction ovens will take up the majority of the heavy lifting: the actual melting. Using the button below the chart a .pdf version of this chart can be downloaded.
Our Experiences
Use case:Metallo
Belgium
We're helping Metallo monitor the structural integrity of their critical overhead cranes. Read more in the case study.
Blog post:Save on operating costs while becoming smarter
In the production industry, machines and installations are one of the cornerstones of a company. How well they work and how high their availability is...
Blog post:How to be smart with data?
For a ‘smart’ follow-up of machines it is important not to rely on 1 source of truth. In reality this means that, in order to properly assess and predict the efficiency of operations and state-of-health of a machine, combinations are essential...
One pager:Critical asset
Gantry Crane
Remote & continuous, multi-parameter health follow-up of your gantry crane.
We understand your problems and we're here to help.
Blog post:To eat a nice sandwich in the afternoon…
Everything can be solved with Data. At least that’s what we’ve read for years in glossy advertisements and seen in beautifully edited online videos. With sensors and IoT you can monitor all your machines...
Blog post:A new tomorrow for the manufacturing industry
As the post-covid-19 world is finally looming in some European countries, both individuals and organizations alike wonder what is to be learned from this unusual situation....
Download:
Success Case
A recent success case where our continuous monitoring of an EAF resulted in considerable cost savings
Blog post:Industry 4.0 in the world
For starters: we’re not a fan at all of the term, as it is the source for a lot of confusion and misunderstanding. However, as it is often used, we can’t just ignore it either. As such, for you the message that the fourth industrial revolution is about to...
Blog post:Predictive maintenance is changing industry after industry
Predictive maintenance is no longer something that is reserved for big multinationals active in very specific industries....
Blog post:Experience at Hüttentag
Last week Zensor attended the Hüttentag in Essen. During this annual event the entire German steel industry meets up to discuss the state of affairs and exchange ideas about upcoming developments and changes...
Blog post:What does the future of maintenance look like?
With the economy going through a bit of a rough patch and revenue growth slowing down in different industries, companies are facing pressure to do something about their cost structure...
Blog post:Making Conveyors Smart
Conveyors form a cornerstone of many production plants and processes. The first conveyors have appeared near the end of the 18th century and since then their usage has only increased...
Blog post:A way out for long lead times for spare parts?
Lead times are a hot topic these days. It’s not at all uncommon to have to wait 4 or more months for components or spare parts that until recently could be delivered within a single week...
Blog post:Plant Managers aren't craving for AI
The main job of the Plant Manager is to keep the site running smoothly, whilst producing as many goods as efficiently as possible and using the resources provided..
