6 | T T Richard Loader NZ Steel pursuing digital pathway NZ Steel’s Glenbrook plant - the company is one of the leaders in digital transformation across the manufacturing sector. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT NZ Steel For the last two years Stewart McVinnie has led New Zealand Steel’s Digital Transformation team on a voyage of discovery that will deliver benefits in efficiency, productivity, cost savings, and assist decision making. “We don’t innovate and transform just for the sake of it — we do it to respect our past while shaping our tomorrow, that’s the mantra the Digital Transformation team works under. NZ Steel has almost sixty years’ worth of experience and while we’re taking a real step-change by going down the path of digital transformation, we’re also building on the knowledge and experience forged over six decades.” Digital transformation is about integrating digital technologies into all aspects of an organisation, to transform existing processes, systems, responsibilities, and experiences, to meet the changing business and market requirements in this digital age. “There’s a couple of ways that it can be approached. You can do it conservatively by implementing proven technologies, or you can be quite innovative; adapting proven technologies in alternative ways or using cutting edge technologies that are still in development and at that bleeding edge of transformation. We’re using a combination of both innovative approaches.” The Digital Transformation team was formed two years ago when NZ Steel started its journey, aligning with parent company Bluescope Steel’s global strategy of pursuing digital opportunities. “Manufacturing of steel is very cyclical and it’s critical to remain competitive throughout this cycle. This technology can be one of those levers to help us remain competitive and stay ahead. “NZ Steel is now one of the leaders in digital transformation across the manufacturing sector and manufacturing has been identified as a key opportunity for us as a business. We believe what we’re doing is world leading in both steel, and manufacturing in general.” Under the NZ Steel umbrella there are collectively over 100,000 maintainable assets, that can break and need replacing. Assets such as pumps, motors, switches and transformers. Stewart acknowledges that of those 100,000 assets NZ Steel would be lucky to be actively monitoring 10%, although the majority are covered by some kind of time-based inspection. “That means we closely monitor the critical things for safety and operation, while everything else is mopped up with time-based preventative maintenance. The problem with that is that an asset looked at today could break tomorrow. This is where our opportunity lies.” Two years in, Stewart and his team have established a good road map for where NZ Steel is heading with its digital transformation programme. “The piece of work is called Asset Intelligence (AI) — how can we get more intelligence and insights on our assets? We’ve implemented three key technologies as part of AI. The first is our data foundations which consolidate Operational Technology (OT) data. OT data is effectively the asset health that comes from the individual pieces of equipment. Fusion Data Hub is consolidating our OT data into a cloud based location for easy access by digital technologies. The second technology is our Internet of Things (IOT) network to fill data gaps. You need data to understand your assets, but data is expensive to get. Installing a sensor in a plant could take two days and cost $5000. With IOT devices, anyone can do it in five minutes for a few hundred dollars. “Where it all comes together, is AI predictive maintenance. Partnering with Senseye Predictive Maintenance we send Senseye asset data, it learns what normal is and tells us when there’s deviation. We then investigate deviations and take preventative action. This means its plausible to actively monitor all 100,000 of our assets.” For the last three months the team has run a successful ‘minimum viable product’, to prove the platform’s capability, with a site wide roll out targeting the top 20% of assets over the next 18-24 months. Using the Pareto Principle the Team expects to achieve 80% of the target value and deliver a multi-million dollar return on investment. “We’re forecasting a thirty percent reduction in unscheduled equipment delays, a reduction in unplanned and routine maintenance spend, and increasing opportunities for our teams to be proactive. “There’s also an opportunity that comes from insights and improved decision making by having this data at people’s fingertips.”
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