U.S. Steel Looks to Forge High-Tech Future at Mills Both New and Old
fliptop writes:
A cutting-edge U.S. Steel mill in Arkansas is using AI tools in production, but implementing that tech know-how in century-old plants hasn't been easy:
At a U.S. Steel Corp. mill on the Mississippi River, an automated crane lifts and lowers 1,000-degree hot steel coils into open squares, using a machine-learning algorithm to calculate the optimal spot for each coil to quickly cool down before it is shipped off.
This automated steel-coil yard, laid out like a giant chess board, is one of many advanced-technology operations at Big River Steel, a six-year-old plant in Osceola, Ark., that was built with the goal of harnessing cutting-edge tech to save energy, time and money.
When U.S. Steel took full ownership of Big River last year, it also gained the plant's artificial intelligence know-how and was a signal of the 120-year-old manufacturing giant's commitment to advancing technology in its mills. But implementing the type of technology in use at Big River in the steelmaker's other mills, some of which are over 100 years old, has proven a difficult task, according to the company's chief information officer.
[...] U.S. Steel recently began offering digital training to non-IT employees, including machine operators who spend their time on the ground in the mill. Mr. Holliday said U.S. Steel is on track to meet its goal of having 100 employees trained as "digital agents" by the end of 2022.
Related: 'Green Steel': Swedish Company Ships First Batch Made Without Using Coal
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