Abstract: A facility for hot forging workpieces starting from bars (2), which includes a device (8) for heating the bars (2), a device (3) for longitudinally moving the bars, a shearing machine (9) cutting hot billets to a length l, and a stop (11) for setting the billet length and a device for holding the cut billet. A device is also provided for detecting the ends of the bars (2) and a device (10) for rejecting the billets which have a length shorter than l. The detection device includes at least one sensor (12) of the image of the adjoining or nonadjoining ends of the bars, which device is placed a distance L from the shearing machine (9), and a computer for determining the number n=L/l of billets starting from the detected end wherein the computer is connected, on the one hand, to the sensor and, on the other hand, to a device (5) for measuring the length L.sub.1 of the bars.