Optimizing the production process of a metal producer : A case study of how to develop an IT-application intended to improve the Return of Investment

Abstract: Due to increasing competitiveness, manufacturing industries are facing a great amountof pressure to optimize their production. One of the first sectors affected by thisphenomenon is the metal industry, which has undergone multiple developments in theprocess of finding optimal solutions to this challenge. Examples for these solutions arefrequently found in IT-applications that optimize the technique of cutting and slittingthe produced metal. Research has namely proven that by generating an optimizedsolution with an IT-application, the scrap created in the metal production can beminimized. In the longer term, this can minimize costs and thereby improve thereturn of investment of organizations. However, an obstacle lies in the fact that auniversal, one-size-fits-all, solution has not been developed yet. Hence, for eachparticular case, a new optimization application needs to be developed according tothe respective metal producer's conditions and goals. The purpose of this paper is todemonstrate how the above-mentioned optimization can be developed and madepossible. This has been executed by performing a case study of an actual project of aleading Swedish metal producer who has ordered this kind of IT-application. Whiledoing so, an understanding of the dynamics of the optimization process has beenobtained. This has been done by executing and applying iterative and progressingmethods. In order to give a brief overview of this procedure, the mentioned methodscan be summarized in few simple steps. Primarily, qualitative and action researchinterviews have been held in a specification phase in order to clarify the company'sexact specifications. Thereafter, these specifications have been used as the main datain a configuration phase where progressing methods have been used. This has later onresulted in an optimized system. Finally, an evaluation of this optimization method hasbeen done which demonstrates that the used methods were efficient in the sense ofextracting an optimized IT-application.