Digital transformation of production

Interpipe has been engaged in digital transformation of its processes for more than 10 years already and has been investing a lot in Industry 4.0 technologies. The key goal of this activity is to efficiently use resources, meet customer requirements, and compete successfully at export markets. 

All the assets of the Company have a unified ERP system to manage production, sales, finance, personnel, equipment repairs and maintenance, and procurement. 

 

Unified financial system and corporate treasury: 

 

• Consolidation and centralization of accounting; 
• Management of cash flows and accounts payable; 
• Transaction-based accounting of the actual costs for primary and auxiliary production; 
• Calculation of the cost of each technological operation; 
• Combination of industrial assets, centralized services, and international sales offices; 
• A single payment factory for all financial, commodity, and production operations; and 
• Machine learning allows the system to automatically generate the outgoing documents. 

 

Traceability, production planning and control: 

 

• A unified register of orders for end-to-end work with each order and for reducing the time for their processing; 
• 100% online accounting of the steel billet and pipe output at the pilot production sites; 
• Complete online index of tubular goods’ work-in-progress at the pilot production sites; 
• Optimization of production schedules and reduction of the equipment downtime; and 
• Automation of planning enables an effective control of the timing at all stages of production. 

Predictive equipment maintenance: 

 

• New approach to equipment maintenance according to Predictive Maintenance and RCM (Reliability Centered Maintenance) methodology; 
• Complete electronic catalogue of equipment;  
• Predictive diagnostics of the equipment; 
• Big Data analysis for planning repairs, equipment maintenance, and spare parts’ procurement; and
• Introduction of the Smart.EAM Mobile App for organizing walk-downs and examinations and generation of requests. 

Warehouse management system: 

 

• Unified database of finished products at the implemented sites; 
• Unified system of storage bins (cradles); 
• Automatic formation of transfer batches; 
• IIoT technologies for prompt shipment; and 
• Reduction of the truck downtime by 3 times. 

Logistics digitalization: 

 

• Information about order and transportation vehicles in a single system; 
• Control of the time spent by a truck at the production facility’s territory; 
• GPS monitoring system along the entire traffic route; 
• Timely re-approval of the shipment time with the customer in case of a schedule delay / time lead; 
• "Manual" control of only those trucks that are critically late in terms of their shipment time; 
• Decrease in the volume of operational work of the Logistics Department; and  
• The use of the electronic tender platform facilitates the choice of a carrier. 

Electronic document management: 

 

• 100% online tendering procedures; 
• Some of the documents have already been translated into electronic format with the EDS; 
• Automatic generation of documents in the ERP system; and 
• External online document flow with contractors and suppliers using the Signy.Online module.