Fewer stand changes and production in line with the plan in two section rolling mills

−13.5%

in stand changes per month in the mini-mill’s rolling, in operation (four-month average)

Up to 29.5%

fewer stand changes in a single month, in the same rolling mill

80.5%

of the integrated mill’s production following the volume planned by the twin, over two months

2 mills

with the same sequencing model, on integrated and mini-mill routes

In section rolling, each campaign runs with a set of rolls. Changing section family, campaign, or stand stops the line, and each stop costs hours of production. At the same time, the order book is diverse and section inventory cannot run out:

• Rolls vs. order book. Long campaigns make better use of the rolls, but delay sections from other families.
• Inventory vs. sequence. A sequence that ignores inventory leads to stockouts of sections with open orders.
• Export vs. productivity. Export orders need priority without disrupting the rest of the plan.
• Many rules at once. Families, sizes, roll wear limits, raw material availability, sequencing between material types, and planned stops.

In the mini-mill, rolling followed a fixed sequence of campaigns, and rolling hours were lost to constraints of manual sequencing.

With Enacom’s Planning Digital Twin, the campaign sequence became dynamic, tied to real inventory:

1. Builds campaigns by family

   grouping compatible sections up to the roll wear limit and checking available raw material, minimum duration, and sequencing rules between material types.

2. Sequences and simulates

   weighing stockout risk, export urgency, family priority, and continuity of family and size. The twin simulates each campaign over time, with stand changes, size measurements, and stops, and tracks steel and section inventory.

3. Optimizes the roll shop

   choosing compatible rolls with remaining capacity and the order of use that minimizes changes.

The planner receives the plan as a Gantt chart, the indicators, and the list of campaigns left out, with the reason for each.

In the mini-mill, replacing the fixed sequence with dynamic sequencing reduced stand changes between campaigns by 13.5% per month on average over four months of operation, with a peak of 29.5% in one of the months. Fewer stand changes mean more time rolling.

In the integrated mill, production followed the volume planned by the twin 80.5% of the time over the period measured: 87% in the first month and 75.5% in the second, when there were more unplanned stops. Even with the deviations, actual production followed the trend of the plan, respecting families and roll compatibility.

• More time rolling. Fewer family, campaign, and stand changes free up line hours for production.
• Inventory protected. Stockout risk enters the sequence, instead of being discovered later, when the order is already late.
• Export on time. Export orders gain priority without dismantling the rest of the plan.
• Transparent decisions, with the reason for each campaign left out, in a solution that coexists with the ERP, MES, and APS already in use.

• Your section rolling changes family, campaign, or roll frequently.
• Section stockouts or late export orders are recurring.
• The campaign sequence is fixed or built by hand, by a few specialists.

We start from your data: we customize the twin, validate the result in scenarios and a pilot, and only then scale. The results in this case reflect the conditions of those mills.