CELSA will create a “Digital Twin” to make decisions and correct errors before they occur
- With the virtual factory, based on the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data, the multinational enters Industry 4.0 and will be able to predict production processes
- The IoT4DigitalTwin project is part of the EU Horizon 2020 program and is led by Geprom and Gefasoft
CELSA Group will build a “Digital Twin” with which it will be able to predict the different flows of production processes, make decisions, and correct errors before they happen. This virtual factory will be possible thanks to technologies based on the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity.
In order to continuously promote the modernization of plants, the European Union proposes, within its Horizon 2020 program, the IoT4Industry call, whose main objectives are to increase the productivity, profitability, and innovation capabilities of SMEs by accelerating their access to industry 4.0 and digital transformation. It also seeks to improve market access for new products and services provided by technological SMEs, strengthening their innovation and growth.
For these reasons, the EU finances the IoT4DigitalTwin project, which Geprom Connecting Industries and Gefasoft GmbH are developing for implementation at Celsa, the Spanish private multinational company, a leader in the iron and steel sector and third largest manufacturer of steel products in Europe. The project’s main objective is to facilitate new IoT-based tools to improve and optimize production parameters in the steel industry through implementing a new concept of interconnection and simulation software: digital twin.
Specifically, the project’s scope includes the acquisition of data and production control in real-time through the MES Legato Sapient platform. The “Digital Twin” will be developed with the help of the concrete and truthful information of the assets of the plant and the treatment of the present and past data of the process.
The IoT4DigitalTwin project is scheduled to end in October 2020, with the ultimate goal of providing Celsa with a complete digital twin project. It will contemplate a set of integrated solutions to increase operations’ efficiency and thus advance its firm commitment to Industry 4.0. The IoT4DigitalTwin project has the following benefits:
- Increased efficiency and productivity of different operations.
- Reduction of operating costs.
- Ability to group and display production data in real-time.
- Ability to observe the historical and current profile of the behavior of the process.
- Real-time positioning of operators.
- Real-time monitoring of the production process.
- Virtualization of the process.
- Make decisions avoiding manufacturing stoppages.
- Ability to test modifications without making changes to the plant.
- Optimize logistics and production parameters.
- Reduction in the use of printed documentation.
- Better calculation of KPIs and real-time reporting.
- Continuous improvement of the production process.
What is a Digital Twin?
A “Digital Twin” is a digital representation and simulation of a factory, a virtual factory, built parallel to the existing one, that allows it to predict the different flows of production processes, make decisions, and correct errors before they happen. The main factors necessary for its implementation are the automation of processes, data capture for monitoring and production control, technologies such as Machine Learning or Big Data, and a digital culture with connected people that guarantees the success of this technology 4.0
The concept of “Digital Twin” continues to develop and face the various technological barriers that it encounters, making it challenging to incorporate it easily into the industrial environment. One of the main difficulties that the “Digital Twin” faces is the technical difficulty in massively monitoring all the processes in a factory and all the systems and equipment that follow. This is where the specific project for CELSA and the solutions it provides will be technically very novel and will cover the proposed objectives.
Celsa Group™ is one of Europe’s leading steel mills in long steel products, the most diversified and vertically integrated. The multinational is formed by six large business groups with steel mills, rolling mills, processing plants, distribution companies, services, and recyclers. It is among the first positions in the following four categories: Reinforcing steel, Rods, Structural Sections, and Commercial Bars. It currently generates more than 9,894 direct and indirect jobs worldwide and is industrially present in Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Geprom Connecting Industries is an innovative and dynamic engineering company dedicated to the development and integration of high added value technological solutions in the field of industry 4.0, and industrial automation focused on the areas of production, maintenance, logistics, and quality. Geprom has developed projects in top-10 clients in the automotive sector and other important industries, including food, beverages, pharmaceutical, and chemical industry.
Gefasoft GmbH is a major German software company that works around the concept of “smart production”. Its solutions for the industry seek to provide innovation in continuous growth with the consequent reduction in costs. Its solutions have been already implemented internationally in automotive, pharmaceutical, food and energy industries.
This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No.777455
More information: https://www.iot4industry.eu/
For more information:
Carlos Álvaro – calvaro@atrevia.com
915 07 25 / 638 728 306
