Case study · Mining & Metals
Steel mill delivers $35M in improvements with a new casting strategy
Just out of bankruptcy, a 100-year-old integrated steel producer wanted to capture rising foreign demand. USC helped it run both casters at once, keeping steel flowing and cutting inventory and backlog.
Results
$35M
in implemented improvements
40%
reduction in in-process slab inventory
45%
reduction in steelmaking backlog
Throughput also rose 7%, from running three casting strands at once.
The situation
The company had just emerged from bankruptcy, and new management wanted to take advantage of steel markets lifted by foreign demand.
What the assessment found
- A strategy that held the slab caster in reserve, so only two strands ran at a time though the mill could make 9,000 tons a day
- Ladle steel production not aligned with sales and operations
- No plan for queued steel during unplanned caster delays
How the work was done
Strategy: run three strands
Moved from alternating between casters to a three-strand casting approach that kept steel flowing constantly and eliminated changeover downtime.
7%
increase in throughput
Planning: align steel to sales
Aligned ladle steel production with sales and operations so it ran as a repeatable, predictable process with fewer practices.
40%
reduction in in-process slab inventory
Contingency: plan for delays
Set contingency plans for ladle steel in queue so unplanned delays on either caster were absorbed.
45%
reduction in steelmaking backlog
Support: crews and equipment
Cross-trained crews in the plate and strip mill complex and improved use of mobile equipment and storage of raw materials.
“More importantly, the mill will be more competitive, its customers more satisfied and its future prospects, including those of its union owners, brighter than ever before.”
Lasting impact
More steel flowed through the strip complex as saleable product, crews were consolidated through cross-training, and better equipment use saved capital.
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