Case Study Digitalization Needs Partnership
PSImetals put to use by aluminum producer AMAG Ranshofen.
AMAG, the Austrian aluminum producer, has been pursuing a consistent growth and modernization strategy for several years with its AMAG 2014 and AMAG 2020 investment projects. The developments around Industry 4.0 provide additional impetus and highlight the importance of digitization as part of this strategy.
Therefore, in December 2018, the PSImetals Production, Quality, Logistics, and Automation modules were successfully implemented at the AMAG plant in Ranshofen. PSImetals thus replaced the old system in the existing plant area, establishes standardized and documented processes, and forms a powerful and flexible IT basis at the MES level.
AMAG Austria Metall AG
AMAG, which is based in Ranshofen, Austria, is using the AMAG 2014 and AMAG 2020 investment projects to meet increasing market requirements with the help of complexity and efficiency gains.
In doing so, the intention is to fully exploit the opportunities that modern production plants offer in terms of self-optimization, process feedback messages, process data and communication present. Investment in a new production management system was therefore needed for this purpose. A customized version of the system previously installed supported AMAG in recent years, however, it was not designed to cover future challenges.
Challenges
The new system must therefore align the commercial processes in SAP with the production-related business processes, including rough, detailed, and plant planning through to actual production at the plants. In addition, the new solution is designed to function as a platform to integrate all plants involved in the production process. Maximum flexibility is required from the platform, as not only must existing plants be connected during the initial phase, but all new plants will also be installed one by one as part of AMAG 2020.
But what does AMAG hope to gain from this investment?
Key Challenges
- Integrating PSImetals across approximately 100 production plants posed logistical and operational challenges, requiring a phased rollout strategy to minimize disruptions.
- Coordinating new system deployments alongside existing operations demanded meticulous planning and execution.
- Helping users at plant level to work with two systems in parallel during the transition phase, without needing to deliver too much training to individual users, and with the greatest possible level of user friendliness.
The solutions approach
AMAG implemented PSImetals Production, Quality, Logistics, and Automation modules to achieve comprehensive management of their production operations. This included:
- Implementation of over 80 standardized plant dialogs tailored to individual process requirements.
- Creation of 64 plant interfaces, including nine interfaces to adjacent systems such as the ERP system and six interfaces to different transportation systems.
- Customization of PSImetals' GUI to meet user preferences, enhancing usability and operational flexibility.
Project results
- Operational Efficiency: PSImetals enabled AMAG to streamline production processes, resulting in improved efficiency and reduced downtime.
- Enhanced Data Utilization: Real-time data insights facilitated predictive analytics, enabling proactive process improvements and informed decision-making.
- Strengthened Collaboration: The partnership between AMAG and PSI fostered a collaborative approach to digital transformation, ensuring successful implementation and ongoing support.
The introduction of a new production management system and the uniform connection of all plants and processes involved in production has created the prerequisites to evaluate future data volumes as defined by smart data analytics, on the one hand,for process improvement and, on the other, for predictive analysis as well.
Conclusion and Next Steps
The implementation of PSImetals at AMAG's Ranshofen facility successfully modernized and optimized production processes, enhancing real-time data transparency and operational efficiency.
This project strengthened collaboration between AMAG and PSI, positioning AMAG for continued growth and innovation in the aluminum industry. Future projects have already been defined to further expand and automate areas such as test laboratories or visual failure recording in relation to quality.
