lgt: logistics

The problem of controlling in-factory flows of unfinished and finished products is an important one due to the huge volume involved. Detailed visibility of stocks and the features of manufactured or purchased unfinished products (billets, coils, strips, sheets) allows careful planning of plant production, increased efficiency and optimal utilisation of production capacity. It is also possible to avoid quality problems with the finished product due to a lack of correspondence between the metallurgical characteristics of the unfinished products and the specifications for the finished product.

Likewise, real-time visibility in terms of quantity, location and condition of each batch (bar bundle, wire rod roll, coil, strip, sheet metal pack, etc.) is very important for optimising warehouse stocks, speeding up despatch operations, allowing the sales department to respond promptly to customer queries regarding availability, and preventing non-conforming material from being despatched to the customer.

We track the product throughout the manufacturing process, starting with identification of the raw material. This gives clear real-time visibility of the quantities available in the various WIP warehouses at each stage of the process.

Despatches are also computer-controlled using wireless handheld terminals. This process handles conformity and compatibility checks on the material to be loaded on the lorries and automates delivery note compilations with full details of each shipment (heat, article, weight and so on).

Many logistics solutions have been developed for METAL companies using the MILL+ suite’s LGT Framework, giving numerous economic, technological and organisational advantages.  The main ones are listed below.

• Real-time updating of stocks of finished and unfinished products following deposits of bundles and rolls straight from the production plants, thereby eliminating the need for drawing up hand-written reports.

• Immediate visibility of stocks of finished and unfinished products on all office PCs, providing a  backup for sales, production planning and despatch.

• Computerized daily, weekly and monthly inventory.

• Computerization of the transport management process, giving immediate visibility of lorry/train loading status and full despatch details.

• Improved standard of safety at the production plant thanks to vehicle monitoring and tracking.

• Automatic compiling of packing-lists using wireless handheld terminals linked to the server that can read the barcode/RFID associated with each bundle of finished product. This prevents the loading of material that does not comply with the despatch order or is not Quality-approved for despatch.

• Greater efficiency in procuring packing-lists for use with each means of transport, thereby reducing the risk of error during loading and weighing procedures.

• Verification of compatibility between the amount of material loaded on a lorry or train and the quantity ordered by the customer. This provides the storemen with immediate details of any abnormalities (non-conformities, material not complying with the order, etc.), leading to a reduction in customer claims and claim management times.

• Crosschecks at the weighbridge of the measured weight and the sum of the tagged weights of the bundles loaded on the vehicle, thus preventing errors and customer claims.

• Fewer errors when transcribing heat data from the packing-lists to the transport document and automatic issuance of quality certificates consistent with the material loaded.