Metallurgical Plant & Process Consulting GmbH. PQA Product Quality Analyzer The digital road to superior quality

Transcription

1 Metallurgical Plant & Process Consulting GmbH PQA Product Quality Analyzer The digital road to superior quality

2 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer PQA The digital road to superior quality PQA (Product Quality Analyzer) monitors, documents, and safeguards process and product quality right from the start of the process chain from steelmaking down to the surface-finished cold strip or coated strip. For this purpose, all relevant production and process data are recorded and analyzed by rules in a continuous manner. Based on pre-defined rules, the system also monitors process data. In case of deviations, it issues instructions for action so that potential short comings during the production process are recorded and responded by countermeasures in due time. Semi-final products are assessed with regard to their suitability for various applications by expert rules based on proven MET/Con know-how. PQA has been set up by MET/Con. MET/Con provides consulting services with metallurgical and operational expertise. With more than 230 industry experts, MET/Con is your partner for all consulting services concerning the production of steel, aluminum, and further NF-metals. PQA perfectly combines MET/Con s profound process know-how with a powerful quality execution software solution into a high-performance quality assurance system for the metals industry. 2

3 MET/Con contents Introduction... 2 Main purpose of PQA...4 How does the PQA system work?...6 Main view of PQA quality monitor...8 PQA modules Pro-active process supervision Quality rules...14 Quality rules examples...16 DataCorrelator...18 Reference: Shandong Iron and Steel...20 Reference: Big River Steel Reference: Benxi Steel...24 Quality always develops along the whole process chain! 3

4 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer Main purpose of PQA comprehensive quality decision support Is the material suitable for further processing or supply? PQA provides quality decision support over the whole production and process chain with clear recommendations of actions. Signal Meaning Consequence Blocked Product quality not achieved decisive quality parameter out of tolerance downgrade material to lower quality Stop further processing save costs Reviewed Minor quality or process deviations Approved All relevant quality parameters within the limits Advice the downstream process to counteract quality deviations downgrade to orders with suitable requirements Forward the material to the next internal or external process PQA continuously controls the quality under consideration of all relevant process data and expert know-how. PQA quality relevant data (examples) Continuous measurements Dimensions Temperatures Atmospheres Shape Observations Process disturbances Laboratory data Chemical analysis Mechanical properties Surface properties Behavior Periodical measurements Quality of used agents 4

5 MET/Con Main benefits of PQA PQA is beneficial in different ways, especially when you analyze the entire production and process chain, since quality is never generated at the final production stage, but develops along the whole manufacturing chain. Save processing costs Due to the early detection of quality issues and the subsequent actions, further processing of substandard materials is prevented. That saves energy, recources, personnel and time. It also reduces inventory of disqualified material and rework. More guidance by experts also reduces the work load of the personnel. Increase yield and improve quality at every process step Yield will be increased at every process step due to reallocations at early stage or repair recommendations for the next process step. Transparent production process Material tracking and remote access to your quality by web-based reports make the production process transparent, which supports the optimization processes. Furthermore, long term data storage of quality relevant data makes quality issues retraceable. Generate trust at your customers The transparent and quality-oriented production process ensures that customers always receive stable quality. To prove that, all quality relevant data at every process step are documented and can be shown immediately if required. The full performance of the PQA system becomes apparent when it is applied for the entire production and process chain, but it is also beneficial when it is applied to parts of the process chain or just single lines like galvanizing or annealing lines. 5

6 yöldkjgl hyöldoghyod kjövfkjy öo<jdsgöj<ö ydjgöyjdöfgjyöf <ölg foj<yädpfbjäypjfä pjgböyj PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer How does PQA work? Smart consultancy with software supported quality assurance Typical of classic consulting is passing on expert knowledge to customers on site and in written form. Yet what often happens is that this expertise does not filter through to the person doing the work. Or it may get lost when an employee changes jobs. That is no longer a problem with PQA. PQA supplies your operator with all the information he needs online in the form of quality rules and expert advice directly during production. PQA is a combination of production know-how and a quality execution system, which is specially designed for the metallurgical sector. The system collects all qualityrelevant data, processes this data and the specified product characteristics, and evaluates the results according to process rules drawn up by experts. Subsequently, it gives clear recommendations of actions for the operators. PQA effectively helps your quality inspectors to decide whether pre-material or finished material is good enough for the next step. PQA PQA is able to control the whole production process independently from the knowledge and availability of certain individuals. Furthermore, as a result of this analysis, you get a freely configurable quality report for all key parameters of the product and which are checked for conformity against order data. You benefit from consistent, quality-controlled production as well as compliance with final customer specifications. Collection of all quality relevant data Processing of this data set and comparison with specified product characteristics Besides the quality decision support, which generates direct benefits in the production process, the system also generates a quality report for documentation and further evaluations. 6

7 MET/Con Set-up of PQA Production know-how package Operational and metallurgical experiences Product standards Customer specifications End use by quality levels Product and process planning Plant setting Quality execution system Quality assurance software Specially developed concerning the requirements of the metallurgical industry PQA combines a special quality execution system for the metallurgical sector with solid production know-how, which is deposited in the system as process rules. Evaluation of results according to process rules Quality decision support (blocked/reviewed/ approved) Quality report for all key parameters of the product 7

8 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer Main view of PQA QualityMonitor (example) Coil description details about the selected coil example MET/Con PQA - CSP Coil list color shows result of quality evaluation Quality result result for different fields of observation Ruleset overview of the applied ruleset 8

9 MET/Con QualityMonitor Additional views on details example surface; different views available Defect maps Top and bottom Selected defects Defect image Defect density 9

10 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer PQA modules PQA is applying a modular software architecture, which is essential for highest computational power and the capability to map a customized process chain. Material tracking and genealogy Projection of all measured product data on the same reference length Product traceability over all production stages Upstream & downstream measurement data gets mapped onto the current product information Quality issue investigation reveals whether defects are consequential or not Potential quality issues are forwarded from upstream to downstream units 10

11 MET/Con Long term data storage (optional database or datawarehouse incl. level 1 data) Long term performance analysis and quality history Efficient claim management due to access to former production parameters Statistical evaluation and reporting Quality analysis and documentation 11

12 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer Pro-active Process Supervision with PQA Modular structure of PQA Just drawing a simple good-bad comparison would hardly be cutting-edge technology. The system must be capable of considering other factors. Take for example measured value trends. They can indicate that values currently still within the tolerance range will exceed it later. This is where instructions or expert advice help your operator. He will know in advance about upcoming tolerance deviations and their cause... plus he will get instructions for action. Pro-active Process Supervision (PPS) rules evaluate the process parameters of a plant section or segment. Then it compares the process parameters with the target values from the setup data (PDI) to generate an analysis of that section. Finally, if the analyzed values lie within the tolerance, the system issues a green light for the section. Clear symbols indicating process parameter within tolerance or non-conformities on an intuitive graphical human-machine interface: Opens Pro-active Process Supervision (PPS) rules Checklist with open tasks Reason for warnings and counter action proposal Immediate access to expert know-how wherever there are process disturbances Easy migration of know-how to rules and libraries Continuous updates plus 24/7 support for operators. This ensures your plant meets process requirements, e.g. for automotive material Support for your continuous improvement process (CIP) 12

13 MET/Con Simply click on the green check marks to access expert rules, recommendations, warnings, and explanations. There are also blue question marks you can click on to see open tasks, and red stop marks to display the reasons for warnings and/or suggested remedies. 13

14 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer Quality rules Evaluation on quality influence by expert rules of process incidents To draw up our quality rules, we apply our expert knowledge of the relevant influences over the complete process chain. It is comparatively easy to evaluate a finished product because the specification prescribes all the key quality parameters. Much more difficult is assessing the quality influence of process incidents during earlier or even final production stages. Often, producers cannot directly measure product characteristics along the production chain and they only come to light in lab testing. Even if your final customer (OEM) accepts a production route, it is vital to meet all the intermediate quality gates. Only then you can ensure compliance with specifications as well as consistent quality. This is the easiest way for a steel maker to save costs, while for the final customers, PQA is the key for reliable production. This explains why a comprehensive quality survey along the entire route is crucial. PQA guarantees product quality along the entire production route. The earlier the production stage is, the more important it is to apply quality rules based on longstanding experience in order to avoid adding value to already defective semifinished products which will lead finally to defective finished products. Product standards and specifications usually define the final characteristics customers want and need. However, there are many other aspects required for specific final applications of material groups. This is where experience and expertise make the difference. Our quality rules especially those that go beyond a simple actual target value comparison provide the solid basis behind PQA quality decision support. Rule Logical rule Examples Issue Solution Benefit Thickness in hot strip mill with up-trend, but still in tolerance Feed forward expert advice to the cold rolling mill: reduce speed for adjustment at rollstand Stood within thickness-tolerance in cold rolling mill Metallurgical rule carbon content of the melt too low lower dewpoint in the galvanizing furnace to avoid further decarbonizing Melt saved and reprocessing for order avoided Empirical rule Too much entrapped slag at tap lower cleanliness status of melt and assign to lower applications early identification of quality issues and assignment of melt to maximum appropriate application Pro-active production supervision rule roughness with trend in the skin pass mill, but decreasing early warning new work rolls in skin pass mill required Trend stopped before damage done The production know how is deposited in PQA in the form of rules, which can be differentiated into logical, metallurgical and empirical rules as well as pro-active production supervision rules. 14

15 MET/Con Experienced experts are helping to define quality rules for every quality decisive process step and inspection opportunity, which are jointly integrated into PQA and applied when necessary independently from presence of external or internal specialists. PQA Archive Data Rule Database LogicDesigner Rule Design Feedback Loop Screenshot Production Quality Monitor Decision This is how the generation of rules works: First, your quality department together with MET/Con checks and tests rules against existing data, then you apply the rules for new orders. 15

16 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer Quality rules examples Dewpoint rule Evaluates defect relevance for the next process steps and creates advice 16

17 MET/Con Integrated empirical rules Process incidents For many different options for production from steel works to shipping of coated metal sheet set-up information will be entered as encoded data representing manufacturing instructions. This is a precondition for automatic order processing and setting of process parameter. A smart internal coding system will give you the opportunity to combine process instructions with quality requirements and application targets. It is mandatory that the steel grade as ordered by the customer will be transformed into a steel name, an abbreviation code that is unique and unequivocal regarding steel analysis and treatment down the process route. PQA is able to incorporate your quality codes from slab making process to shipping of finished goods. Different final qualities require different slab release procedures. According to the prime steel makers, not all slabs of a sequence have the same quality level to meet the final expectations. Of course, PQA empirical rules need a strong Level 3 coding system in place in order to support the codes in PQA rules. incidents ic01-ic05 alerted Application only for commercial grades! choose Steel grade JB007 17

18 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer Process optimization and root cause failure analysis with datacorrelator module Data mining and big data analysis have become more and more important in the last years. Since verified highquality data is available within PQA, big data analysis can be applied by using the DataCorrelator. Hitherto unexplained phenomena, unrecognizable relationships and missing plausibility can be investigated using configurable multivariate data analysis to derive patterns and causalities. The module DataCorrelator uses the data available from PQA for further analysis. An intelligent software library provides various statistical methods of examination for data correlation. Troubleshooting with DataCorrelator is performed most efficiently on the historical data set of a particular set of variables (such as suspicious parameters or process areas). DataCorrelator allows easy selection of variables, simple sorting of the data to be checked and loading into this area of database with a secure strategy (data flow limitation and priority ranking). Therefore, the network and databases are not extensively debited. For a meaningful cause analysis, the data are prepared and/or corrected. This cleanup functionality is an essential component of the DataCorrelator module. The sorting out of implausible data or the replacement by a configurable value is possible. The complex analysis carried out can be graphically eval - uated and, if necessary, exported to other modules. The analysis and results are stored in a library so they can be repeated later with the same settings and other time periods. How to guarantee 100 % quality? How to maximize improvement potential? How to give 100 % transparency? How to dig unknown relations? Be focused on process and product data Apply latest analytical, state-of-the-art statistical methods Verify with experience and know-how Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Digitization, Data Mining, etc. Everyone is talking about it - we are doing it! 18

19 MET/Con The DataCorrelator analyses a big volume of data to find correlations which can be converted to quality procedures and parameters, especially in case of failures with unknown root causes. Data preparation and cleaning Delete null entries (if necessary and not relevant to quality) Eliminate outliers Group and sort data Plausibility check Graphic visual assessment by any combination of data Statistical data analysis using various mathematical methods Descriptive statistics Categorized and normalized histograms Linear correlation coefficient Cross-correlation Automatic adjustment of categorized histograms Principal component analysis Multivariate regression Key functions of the DataCorrelator Data mining and correlations Discriminant analysis Decision tree with rule evaluation Decision tree with cross-validation Simulation Derived results are validated on historic data Future production output and downgrade ratio can be predicted Risks of new or modified rules/rule sets are eliminated 19

20 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer reference: Shandong iron and Steel rizhao, china Greenfield project for production of State-ofthe-Art automotive grades in China Complete flat steel complex including high-performance quality assurance system PQA and operation know-how Shandong Iron and Steel Rizhao, China, has contracted the SMS group to supply a complete flat steel complex including the newly developed quality assurance system PQA and operational know-how by MET/Con in the Shandong province on the Chinese east coast. A special feature of this project is the supply of holistic-process know-how package while simultaneously monitoring, documenting and securing the product characteristics. The flat steel complex comprises a hot strip mill, a pickling line/tandem cold mill, a hot-dip galvanizing line and two annealing lines. Thanks to this investment in high-quality equipment technology combined with extensive know-how and innovative quality assurance, Shandong has one of the most up-to-date plants worldwide. In addition to the production of tube grades and cold strip for the construction and household appliances industries, the focus lies on sophisticated steel grades for the automotive industry. The equipment commenced operation in With the new equipment, Shandong is able to produce almost five million tons of hot strip and two million tons of surfacefinished cold strip per year. A central part of this project is the implementation of PQA which has the task to monitor, document and secure the process and the products right up to the surface-finished cold strip. For this purpose, all relevant production data are recorded and analyzed in a continuous manner. Based on pre-defined rules, the system issues instructions for action, so that possible irregularities in the production process are responded to in due time so as to ensure highest yield at optimal quality. Furthermore, the manufactured products are assessed in regard to their suitability for various applications. The main benefit for Shandong is the immediate identification and elimination of quality issues, high process stability combined with increased yield and a higher acceptance on the part of the end customers thanks to complete documentation of the entire production process. The scope of supply comprises a comprehensive knowhow package which makes it possible to produce different 20

21 MET/Con material grades at high quality in a short period of time. For all hot and cold strip grades, material, process and operating parameters are pre-defined for the entire production route in order to obtain the required mechanical properties. Furthermore, the production is supervised and the process optimized continuously. With the new equipment supplied by SMS group, Shandong is able to produce a total of two million tons of surface-finished cold strip per year, mainly supplying end customers in the automotive industry. The integration of PQA by MET/Con ensures immediate identification and elimination of quality issues, high process stability combined with increased yield and a higher acceptance on the part of the end customer thanks to complete documentation of the entire production process. 21

22 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer reference: Big river Steel, usa Total quality control from steelmaking to strip processing Quality decision support ensures high-quality and efficient production from steel scrap to fully-finished products at Big River Steel. Big River Steel s new integrated steel mill with comprehensive PQA Big River Steel is a newly erected steel minimill located in Osceola, Arkansas, USA, on approximately 1,300 acres. It is one of the country s most modern and environmentfriendly steelworks. Applying innovative, clean, and efficient processes, the company aims to produce highquality steels for the energy, automotive, oil and gas industry from recycled steel scrap. The plant has an annual capacity of 1.5 million tons, which can be further increased to 3.0 million tons. As a provider for integrated systems, SMS group supplied all units from the melting to the finished steel strip, including all drive and hydraulic components, the entire electrical equipment, the complex automation systems as well as the environmental technologies. Furthermore, PQA and production know-how by MET/Con are included in the comprehensive supply scope. The new mill s product range is focused on demanding steels, such as tube grades for pipeline construction, silicon steels for electrical applications and Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS) grades. Main target of Big River Steel was to obtain a system which is capable to guarantee a semi-automatic disposition from the very beginning of production. Within an implementation period of 8 weeks, PQA was able to do the job which lead to the following statement by a Big River Steel executive: I can t express where we were and where we are today on dis positioning material at Big River Steel. The push to disposition is on demand by management and PQA is being utilized to its fullest. 22

23 MET/Con The new Big River Steel complex gives work to about 500 people and primarily produces high quality steel grades with support of the PQA, which is for the first time applied for the whole process chain; comprising the production of tube grades, silicon steels and advanced high strength steels grades out of steel scrap. 23

24 PQA ProducT QuAliTy AnAlyZer reference: Benxi Steel, china PQA integrated in the new continuous galvanizing line at Benxi Steel The new galvanizing line of the Chinese Bengang Steel Plates Co. Ltd. (Benxi) belongs to the new cold-rolling mill No. 3 in the northern Chinese province of Liaoning and was commissioned in The installed annual production amounts to approximately 500,000 t including deepdrawing steels and high-strength DP and TRIP grades. In the line, strips with a galvanized or a galvannealed coating can be produced. Besides the design of mechanical equipment and the production of high-quality core components, the supervision of the local production, as well as the assembly and commissioning of the line also belong to the supply scope of SMS group. With this investment, Benxi advanced in the market for high quality hot-dip galvanized automotive grades for unexposed and exposed vehicle parts. To achieve this, MET/Con provided the technical assistance and know-how for the production and following certification of automotive grades. Furthermore, a sophisticated PQA solution was installed. For Benxi, PQA plays a key role for the scheduled qualification of the advanced automotive steel sheets at international automotive customers. PQA is expected to facilitate and to speed up the quality ramp up at the state-of-the-art automotive galvanizing line supplied by SMS. This will significantly reduce the time-to-market of the processed automotive steel sheets. The application of PQA at a single processing line is a good example of how quality software with expert know-how can make the difference when reduction of timeto-market period is a must for a quicker break even. Most recent orders for PQA : 24 Shandong Iron and Steel Rizhao Phase II-Plate/ steckel mill PT Krakatau Steel, Indonesia Hot strip mill European SBQ-producer MET/Con experts delivered technical assistance and know-how on site and supported the Benxi staff personally.

25 MET/Con PQA was integrated for the new galvanizing line at Benxi steel to ensure a sustainable and efficient production of high-quality automotive grades. 25

26 MET/Con Metallurgical Plant & Process Consulting GmbH Ivo-Beucker-Strasse Düsseldorf, Germany X-354E SMS group GmbH Published on Circulation 500 Printed in Germany Ky The information provided in this brochure contains a general description of the performance characteristics of the products concerned. The actual products may not always have these characteristics as described and, in particular, these may change as a result of further developments of the products. The provision of this information is not intended to have and will not have legal effect. An obligation to deliver products having particular characteristics shall only exist if expressly agreed in the terms of the contract.