Mobile technology improves process efficiency at ArcelorMittal
12 Apr 2012
London - ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker, has achieved significant efficiency gains through the use of mobile applications at its manufacturing operations.
The company has applied the technology in its sample testing process, with improved visibility of the request status, immediate correction of errors, improved workload planning and increased traceability. This enables ArcelorMittal to deliver products more quickly and efficiently to their customers.
The main driver for the mobile application was process efficiency through improved visibility for sample factory staff and laboratory workers, leading to improvements for both sides, according to Olivier Vansteene of ArcelorMittal Atlantique.
“The application is integrated with the factory laboratory systems and allows employees to track steel samples through their journey from distant factories to the laboratory, allowing better workload scheduling,” Vansteene explained.
To meet customer expectation and ensure product quality, ArcelorMittal Atlantique, which has four sites in the north of Franc, sends samples of manufactured steel to the laboratory for physical and mechanical testing.
The company faced significant challenges with this process, as tracking information was not available between sample creation and delivery to the laboratory, which could be up to two days later.
With no visibility on the sample delivery schedule, the laboratory had issues with workload scheduling. This resulted in significant delays to the testing process, which in turn could delay customers’ orders.
ArcelorMittal Atlantique developed a mobile application solution that would enable them to track their samples from production to testing. Staff were provided with a ruggedised device that enabled barcode scanning recognition, which was linked to the laboratory’s information management system.
Within the system, manufacturers create samples with a barcode. The contractor collects the samples and scans them with a handheld device that informs the laboratory’s system in real time when samples have been picked up. When a barcode is missing or unrecognised, the contractor can manually specify new samples in the system, through the device application.
The contractor delivers the samples to the laboratory, and connects the PDA to a local system – through a dock – which retrieves further information about all samples delivered The samples then enter the laboratory’s internal analysis cycle.
According to ArcelorMittal, the mobile application has delivered benefits to both the factory and the laboratory:
For the factory:
? improved visibility of sample status between collection and delivery
? immediate correction of errors by factory workers rather than after samples are sent to the laboratory
For the laboratory:
? improved productivity through workload planning
? improved traceability of samples
These benefits ultimately led to improved efficiency of the testing process and greater customer service and delivery.
ArcelorMittal links the success of the application to partnering with a specialist hardware provider that had not only developed solutions for their production operations previously, but had also really understood their needs and their operational context.
The hardware provider brought in a third company for software development. This expertise, combined with the commitment of internal teams, was important to the overall project success as it meant they were able to develop a successful application at the first attempt, without significant re-working.
Report based on case study in a white paper by Arthur D Little, which it completed on behalf of Orange Business Services. The paper examines the benefits and challenges associated with some of these emerging mobile applications in the healthcare, transport, manufacturing, construction, retail, finance & insurance, public sector and professional services industries.
