"In the past, blast furnace inspections were completely manual. Workers needed to use a temperature gun to detect the surface temperature of the furnace, spending a lot of time. Moreover, there were many safety hazards such as gas poisoning and fall injuries. So we have to figure out effective solutions to protect employee health and safety in this dangerous process," said Yin Fengwei, a native of Anshan and the general manager of the Anshan branch of Yutai Security.
The steelmaking process is very complicated. Putting the ore into the furnace to make into iron, and then into a piece of steel, requires dozens of processes. During these processes, regular inspection and maintenance of furnaces is the top priority. In the past, inspectors had to climb tens of meters up each furnace, hourly, and measure its temperature with an infrared thermometer gun to prevent accidents caused by overheating. High temperature, poisonous gas, and splashing iron flowers made this working environment totally unfriendly to them. Once the equipment fails, it will not only cause financial loss, but may also cause casualties.
Some leading enterprises in the steel industry are striving to overcome the challenges and boost a new mode of production. For example, Angang Steel adopted Hikvision's automatic temperature measurement solution to help the workers get further away from accidents and dangers, but closer to efficient and safe working conditions.
"Dedicated doctor" for blast furnaces
Located in the heavy industry base in Northeast China, Angang Steel has a long history and a key role in the industry. In recent years, Angang Steel has actively tried innovative solutions for intelligent manufacturing and to solve problems of health and safety.