Abstract: A method and system that provides the functions to search for material that would fit an order or search for order that a piece of material would fit. For that, the system considers the technical specification defined in the processing route assigned to the orders, domain-expert knowledge for check for feasible matches, and a flexible plant model to specify valid feasible stock areas for searching. This system allows complete visibility of all material in a plant and its suitability to be applied to the customer orders. A second aspect of this invention is a material re-allocation method and system. In accordance with this system, each coil to be processed by the finishing area receives a surface defect map. This map indicates the location of the defects and their characteristics.

Abstract: A computer readable medium with executable instructions, includes instructions to process metadata associated with a set of report templates. A subset of report templates is selected from the set of report templates using the metadata. The subset of report templates maximizes a reporting objective subject to a selection rule as specified by the metadata. The subset of report templates is returned.

Abstract: A method and system that provides the functions to search for material that would fit an order or search for order that a piece of material would fit. For that, the system considers the technical specification defined in the processing route assigned to the orders, domain-expert knowledge for check for feasible matches, and a flexible plant model to specify valid feasible stock areas for searching. This system allows complete visibility of all material in a plant and its suitability to be applied to the customer orders. A second aspect of this invention is a material re-allocation method and system. In accordance with this system, each coil to be processed by the finishing area receives a surface defect map. This map indicates the location of the defects and their characteristics.

Abstract: In a first aspect, the present invention provides a unique algorithm that interactively takes into consideration the melt shot (MS) and the hot strip mill (HSM) constraints such that a balanced and feasible solution is reached for the whole Primary Area (MS and HSM) at once. In a second aspect, the invention takes a set of orders defined to be produced next in the Melt Shop area in a steel mill and groups them in small sets of orders with similar characteristics, called heats. Each order belongs to a heat. The system defines the precise moment that each heat has to be processed in each of its steps. In another aspect, the invention uses an event-driven based algorithm as a general approach for scheduling all the processing units with their specific constraints and the metallic units from hot coils to the finished products at the shipping areas.

Abstract: In a first aspect, the present invention provides a unique algorithm that interactively takes into consideration the melt shot (MS) and the hot strip mill (HSM) constraints such that a balanced and feasible solution is reached for the whole Primary Area (MS and HSM) at once. In a second aspect, the invention takes a set of orders defined to be produced next in the Melt Shop area in a steel mill and groups them in small sets of orders with similar characteristics, called heats. Each order belongs to a heat. The system defines the precise moment that each heat has to be processed in each of its steps. In another aspect, the invention uses an event-driven based algorithm as a general approach for scheduling all the processing units with their specific constraints and the metallic units from hot coils to the finished products at the shipping areas.

Abstract: A method and system for generating a production sequence for the resources of a manufacturing plant. This method comprises the steps of identifying the total amount of each product that the plant has to produce in one period of time, identifying the operation route and productivity for each product on each available resource, and identifying setup constraints. The method includes the further steps of identifying delivery dates already committed, and identifying the minimum and maximum stock levels for each resource. The identified factors are then used to generate a production sequence for each resource of the plant with a granularity of a defined time period.

Abstract: A method and system for generating a production sequence for the resources of a manufacturing plant. This method comprises the steps of identifying the total amount of each product that the plant has to produce in one period of time, identifying the operation route and productivity for each product on each available resource, and identifying setup constraints. The method includes the further steps of identifying delivery dates already committed, and identifying the minimum and maximum stock levels for each resource. The identified factors are then used to generate a production sequence for each resource of the plant with a granularity of a defined time period.