Implementação de um sistema de rastreabilidade no processo produtivo de cerâmicas refratárias

Abstract

The term Industry 4.0 has been used since 2011 to describe in a general way the integration of information and communication systems technologies in industrial manufacturing. The exchange of information between the stages of a process provides a smarter production system, capable of providing problem solutions without human intervention and resulting in increased productivity, quality, cost reduction and decentralization in decision making. The traceability systems allow the analysis of the production chain in real time and, together with MES (Manufacturing Execution System), they document the supply process from the moment it is a raw material to the final product, with the objective of maintaining the visualization of a large part of the process variables. Digitization allows the industry to maintain a more effective control of its production chain, enabling traceability in a more agile way - when compared to manual data search, meeting the needs of the process and minimizing the possibility of error, all with less response time. In addition, the data generated in this digitalization process helps to identify inefficiencies in the process, improvements and also in decision making. The implementation of traceability requires a detailed mapping of all stages of the process, just as it often requires redefinitions in order to minimize human interaction and increase the efficiency of the process. At Saint Gobain Performance Ceramics & Refractories, refractory ceramic materials are manufactured, which have application as a coating in the steel production process. Thus, this work aims to accompany, in terms of process, the implementation of a traceability system as a tool that allows the visualization of various aspects of the refractory production history, with the objective of increasing competitiveness and meeting quality requirements and product reliability and the transparency of the services offered.