On May 8th, 2018 the team formed by Corporate Engineering, IT and IPPC reached an important milestone in the launch of a system-assisted crane in the Port of Indiana. The system is fully operational while the storage area is being rearranged. Once completed, IPPC will be able to store 30% to 50% more steel in the same area, reduce the number of crane movements and improve safety by not having personnel on the floor.
The system uses laser beams to track the location of inventory with a margin of error under 1/16” in, a remote controlled coil grabber and connectivity with the Feralloy ERP system.
Currently, the coil storage layout is pre-determined by engineering based on historic inventories by size. The next challenge is to create a dynamic layout that optimizes space and movements furthermore with artificial intelligence as the system learns the optimal configuration based on future demand.
