Q3 INTELLIGENCE

Danieli Automation’s Level 2 System commissioned modules comprises the Production Module, that manages the flow of data from the time billets are charged into the reheat furnace up to the end of the mill lines; the Downtime Module, that tracks and categorizes scheduled and unscheduled downtimes; the Quality Control System Module, that aims to automatically identify the quality level of the rolled products on the basis of measurements collected during the process and the application of a set of pre-defined quality evaluation rules; the Roll Shop Module, that provides regular and timely roll and setup shop management information to operators. Through automated tasks, all this data is centralized into The Q3Intelligence System data warehouse, that thanks to the predefined and built-in interfaces towards Danieli Automation’s Level 2 System, makes it a plug & play application. The software commissioning was carried out throughout different steps by means of several visits on site, in which the integration of new modules and system tuning were performed gradually according to Nucor’s standards. Each phase involved specific Nucor personnel to properly configure the system. Due to the needs to centralize and correlate Danieli’s Level 2 system data with a third-party system (laboratory data), an interface to exchange data was studied and design on site to import the laboratory test results into the Q3Intelligence centralized repository. Finally, the wide usage of the Microsoft SharePoint framework led to the integration of the Q3Intelligence modules into Nucor’s SharePoint portal, leveraging the usage of the centralized data model thanks to its native compatibility with such environment.

Gigabytes of information that were previously stored across several independent relational databases are now inserted into a custom-tailored data warehouse and analysis data models. One-click access to process data which had previously taken hours to track down is now instantly available.

Real-time data visualization tools, showing graphical snapshots and historical trends enabling end users to instantly be informed about the status of both production lines. The web dashboards are fully configurable, allowing to monitor specific production KPI’s and metrics according to single user’s needs. Visualization is enhanced with the adoption of a top down dashboard design that starts with the automatic evaluation of individual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and then tracks down the production to single day/shift details or to production order details, with ready access to specific custom reports.

Analytical data structures and data models are constantly updated with production data, overcoming the need to easily and immediately correlate any information, from timings to quality and process variables, throughout different perspectives, aiding decisionmaking activities. This data structure architecture permits to historize the information, giving the ability to compare production trends and performances over the time as well to correlate the product’s quality to any process of its process variables. All this information can be accessed from the company’s intranet through the ready-to-use Excel dynamic analysis templates or through the SharePoint portal by means of several features such as Excel Web Services.

The need for high level The need for high level restrictions to certain information is easily fulfilled using the Q3Intelligence integrated security functionalities, based on Active Directory. For both systems, the web dashboards and Excel analysis workbooks, it is possible to rapidly set up roles with customizable privileges, thus preventing unauthorized accesses. Finally, any configured security role is automatically inherited by SharePoint, making it simple to handle security accesses.

Nucor Steel Darlington recognizes the additional value Q3Intelligence brings to its users. This is guaranteed thanks to the use of a wide-ranging data analysis platform comprising multiple data analysis tools for different needs, which permits the correct analyses of the data that is gathered. It is a powerful tool for production teams, quality assurers, process engineers and other business process key users, and allows such to focus on the monitoring and analysis of process data, thus reducing the time needed to reveal the underlying reasons for production anomalies.