2013
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Zumárraga - Spain
Reheat furnace optimization training
Russula R&D+i experts from the headquarters in A Coruña, Spain gave a reheat furnace optimization refresher course to the operating and maintenance personnel at ArcelorMittal (currently Megasa), Zumárraga plant in Spain.
Training Scope
Russula´s objective was for attendees to understand the behavior of their own furnace and how their reactions in unexpected situations come from their knowledge of the process and not simply a response to an established protocol.
A detailed training program was designed for two different groups, operations and maintenance. The groups were subdivided into different shifts to suit customer needs. The whole training program took place on-site at ArcelorMittal's plant.
The course was designed to provide solutions to meet the real needs of the customer. Although an official course program and training manual were delivered to each group, it just served as a catalyst to open discussions that identified everyday problems in the mill.
Thanks to the open forums, problems were discovered that in many cases were not known by the other departments. With the help of the Russula specialists and the interaction between the different ArcelorMittal management disciplines an action plan was created to improve the efficiency of the reheating furnace control.
“The open discussion forums were a great way to explore the fundamental problems different departments had with the furnace. Identifying the actual problem was the first step to improving current operations.”
The advanced topics of furnace optimization were explored and the best way to achieve energy savings while ensuring the highest quality in the final product. During the training course, process control upgrades and modifications were made on the existing reheating furnace control programs. A simulator was provided to allow the operations and maintenance groups to explore the control principles behind the presented techniques. After the training course, certificates of attendance and completion were delivered.
Results
ArcelorMittal was fully satisfied with the outcome of the two week training course. A clear takeway from the course was when the different departments discovered the need to create multidisciplinary working groups that meet regularly to discuss the reheat furnace problems.
