Inability to accurately track lance operations resulting in production delays

In steel manufacturing a long, tube-like tool called a lance is used to blow oxygen or other gases into molten metal. This process helps refine the steel by burning off impurities and controlling the temperature, ensuring the steel has the right composition and quality. Lance operations are a backup to other standard procedure methods, therefore lances need to be changed at an optimal time in order to avoid production delays caused by the changing process. The time to change a lance isn’t standardised and there are numerous factors involved that need to be closely monitored. Although the team at ArcelorMittal would document when a lance would be used, the operations involved various complexities that could not be tracked manually. Inability to accurately identify the optimal time a lance had to be changed led to significant production delays resulting in lost output and huge costs for the manufacturer. When a lance broke during production, broken shards would contaminate the mixes, leading to additional clean up costs as well.