Metinvest plants in Mariupol increased production efficiency

Over the past year, at the metallurgical plants of Azovstal and Ilyich, which are part of the Metinvest Group, the implementation of workers' proposals for improving production allowed to save over UAH 140 million. The economic effect was achieved thanks to the mobilization of internal reserves.

During 2015, employees of these enterprises submitted twice as many innovative ideas as in the previous year. The factories have long had a system for submitting rationalizations that encourages employees' initiative to improve metallurgical production and related processes, which also helps to develop the potential of their employees.

Thus, at the Azovstal combine in the converter shop, the serial production of melts on a continuous casting machine was increased, achieved by combining the width of the molds. In seven days, this idea allowed the plant to reduce costs by UAH 3 million, since the serial production of melts directly affects the consumption of raw materials and refractory materials, as well as the stability of production. In addition, UAH 7.1 million was saved in half a year. by installing variable frequency drives on converter smoke exhausters.

During 2015, employees of the central laboratory of the Ilyich Steel Works developed a method to reduce the use of expensive niobium in the production of thick plates from S355 steel at LPC-3000. The employees managed to reduce the cost of one ton of products by reducing the amount of the alloying element by an average of 300 hryvnias. During the year, the introduction of the new method provided an economic effect in the amount of UAH 31.2 million. This offer was recognized as the most effective last year.
In 2015, the Mariupol factories rewarded the authors of the rationalization proposals with additional bonuses in the amount of over UAH 2.3 million for their initiative. Introducing the ideas of their own employees, the metallurgical enterprises of Mariupol, without attracting the resources of third-party organizations, reduced costs and expenses, increasing the economic efficiency of production.