The video summation for chapter 1 from our companion website was entitled, “Computer Integrated Manufacturing (Nucor).” Initially this video seemed dated, but by footage and wardrobe only. In the opening segments, it referred to a steel production facility and organization that was far ahead of their time in both technology and production processes. In relationship to the chapter 1 course material, how the specific processes involved the entire production and supply chain management, and how they are so reliant upon one another.
The video tutorial began with the history of the steel production in the U.S. Midwest, referred to as the “rust belt” and evolved in to the competition between the U.S. and China. This was accomplished through new technology and innovative production processes that revolutionized the steel milling era as we recognize still much of it today. This also included the approach of eliminating labor and bureaucratic inefficiencies which was not common-place as the industry was still growing and labor was a critical component.
The two major production elements addressed were the continuous casting process, aided by the computer integrated manufacturing (CIM). Continuous Casting is the process whereby molten steel is solidified into a slab for subsequent rolling in the finishing mills. Prior to the introduction of Continuous Casting, steel was poured into stationary molds to form "ingots". Since then, the continuous casting process has evolved to achieve improved yield, quality, productivity and efficiency. Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is the use of computer techniques to integrate manufacturing activities. As in the case for Nucor, their CIM programs focused attention on the efficiency in lieu of attempting to develop bigger production facilities.
With respect to the video presentation and associating it to my profession, I found it very interesting that they did not only view the automation