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SPECIAL
ALUMINIUM SMELTING INDUSTRY
Keops Technologies deploys a new
standard aluminium smelter MES solution
Keops Technologies, Inc. is currently deploying
a new standard aluminium MES
(Manufacturing Execution System) solution
for the Ma’aden/Alcoa joint venture.
Encompassing the electrode, general
plant, and casthouse areas, the deployed
functionalities will enhance the ability of
the site to manage its production.
After months developing a standard MES application
based on Alcoa smelter and casthouse
functionalities, Keops Technologies – a leading
provider of MES systems serving the aluminium
industry – is presently on site, deploying
process and production control applications
with planning and scheduling functionalities
for managing daily operations.
The Ma’aden project represents specific
challenges given the integration with the rolling
mill and high quantity of daily metal production.
This increases the complexity of the
casthouse scheduling system that Keops has
designed, having to respond to a very shortterm
demand. The coordination between upstream
molten metal flows from the potline
and downstream remelt and cold scrap management
from the rolling mill has been modelled
to sequence all operations: pot tapping,
trip scheduling of crucibles to the casthouse
and shipments of casthouse products to the
rolling mill, while respecting quality, equipment
and process constraints.
In addition, the MES tool supports managers,
supervisors and engineers to optimise
their business processes by providing timely
information directly collected from the many
equipment and systems from the port to the
casthouse, through the carbon and reduction
areas. Connecting to PLC and external systems
– for example the LIMS – through proprietary
interfaces, the Keops MES solution provides
an integrated view of production information
to support critical decision-making processes.
The detailed execution plan or process data is
then interfaced in two directions: either downward
to the production systems with production
and process parameters, or upward towards
the ERP or rolling mill MES. Production
information is also fed to the manufacturing
infrastructure, which plant personnel can use
as needed to monitor production performance
and to drill down into detailed data.
The deployment is concentrated over a
short period of time by taking advantage of
Keops’ experience in greenfield and brownfield
projects, and its agility in quickly providing
a wide range of subject matter experts
for each of the sectors and subsystems. Keops
also benefits from its large library of interfaces
with third-party applications, accumulated
with various industry vendors during its
over-30 years of experience in the aluminium
industry.
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