Completed WMS projects
Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH
Designing a Dispositions-Systems
Branch
- Metal- and plasticsworking industry
The team warehouse logistics was asked by the Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH (HKM) located in Duisburg to develop a despatching system for the storage and shipment of steel slabs. HKM has specialised on semi-finished steel products including all necessary processes – from the production of crude iron including cokery and sintering over the production of crude steel products up to the continuous casting of steel slabs and rod stock.
Reason and goal
The foundry was conceived for an annual capacity of 5.6 million tons in continuous operation. Bottlenecks due to troubles in the downstream areas which may also lead to an uncoordination overload in the smelter dispatch (free sequencing without loss) and even to casting losses drastically reduce the output. The goal of this project was to develop a dispatching system for steel slabs to guarantee for an annual output of 6 billion tons of shippable material.
Target/actual analysis
In a first step the information and material flows from the steel slab production over the storage up to the provision at the pick-up station and tour planning were studied during a visit on the site, by means of interviews and in moderated workshops. As a result the system “Cooling, storage, shipment” is represented in detail in the form of a report of the actual situation. The presentation and evaluation are performed above all with regard to functions, performance, costs and flexilbilty and based on the recorded processes and the data analysis.
Conception
Based on a model of the business processes of the system „Cooling, storage, shipment” and under consideration of the planning requirements of the dispatching departments modules were developed to automise and optimise the planning processes as well as to improve the reliabilty and quality of the results. Three types of environmental influences were studied:
- Exclusive development in the system “Cooling, storage, shipment”
- Consideration of conclusions and reactions in the upstream dispatching departments
- Propagation of data which are relevant for tour planning and shipment far in advance (space, additional load, order, tour)
The solutions were combined in the form of a planning and dispatch concept for the optimized cooling, storage, orderpicking and provision of steel slabs. Based on the actual analysis the solutions were compared and evaluated concerning the effects on the functioning, performance, economicalness and flexibility of the future system “Cooling, storage, shipment”. The weighting of the used parameter were discussed with HKM and analysed with regard to their sensitivity. Finally, one variant of the system “Cooling, storage, shipment” was recommended.
Result
The functional requirements of the system „Cooling, storage, shipment” were summarised in the form of a requirement specification which can also be used for calls for tenders.
