MES Features & Requirements for the Steel Industry

To better understand the design objectives and functional scope of a steel MES System, it is essential to grasp the steel industry's unique characteristics and the specific requirements for a Manufacturing Execution System.

Industry Characteristics & Production Modes

• Process Manufacturing: Steel production is a typical process-manufacturing environment, characterised by capital intensity, equipment intensity and technological complexity. The production process is continuous, with tightly linked operations.
• Products & Scheduling: Product variety is relatively fixed and configurations are simple, but uncertainties in yield and pass rate, along with quality rework, complicate scheduling. An integrated planning approach is required to balance logistics.
• Production Organisation: Typically structured into three layers: corporate production planning, post-steelmaking scheduling and sub-plant operation execution.
• Competition & Challenges: The industry faces fierce competition, requiring enterprises to continuously develop new products, improve efficiency and quality, while ensuring on-time delivery and cost control.

Main MES Requirements Analysis

In the ERP/MES/PCS three-tier architecture, the MES serves as the bridge between ERP and PCS. Core requirements include, but are not limited to:

• Production Management: Implement integrated multi-process production planning (iron-making, steel-making, continuous casting, rolling, etc.), including schedule optimisation, work tracking and performance management. Advanced contract-based scheduling optimisation is critical.
• Quality Management: Establish a unified metallurgical standards framework that automatically converts order requirements into process parameters, covering sampling, inspection and release for full-process quality control.
• Material & Logistics Management: Precisely manage raw materials, intermediate products and finished goods logistics, enabling end-to-end tracking.
• Equipment Management: Monitor equipment status, manage maintenance and repairs, log events and faults, and optimise utilisation.
• Process Tracking & Traceability: Integrate data collection to track production results and material history on a heat-by-heat basis.
• Cost Control: Integrate with production systems to perform dynamic cost accounting and process-level cost control.
• Energy Management: Monitor and manage energy consumption, collecting, analysing and optimising energy data.
• System Integration & Optimisation: Integrate with ERP and PCS systems, using simulation and modelling to optimise production planning and resource utilisation.

Collectively, these features and requirements form the core driving force behind a steel MES System, aiming to address industry pain points through digitalisation and enhance overall operational performance.