Approach for Implementing Industry 4.0 Framework in the Steel Industry

The advancements of the Steel Industry require a fully integrated manufacturing and business system for real-time decision making. The main challenge in the Steel Industry is the disconnection between the shop floor systems such as Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and business systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). The production process of Steel Industries requires visibility of operations, planning and scheduling, lead times, quality management, machine health, maintenance planning, to name but a few aspects. This study investigates current technologies and investments employed by steel companies and how to leverage these existing investments to attain a smart enterprise and subsequently manage current and future steel demands efficiently. Industry 4.0 simplifies the approach to implement complex systems in a structured and logical manner in manufacturing organisations. This paper deliberates the Industry 4.0 framework and the path to implement Industry 4.0 in the steel sector.