The Computer Applications Technology Committee (CATC) met in Detroit, Mich., on Oct. 23–24, 2008. The first day included presentations by EDS on IT architecture, server virtualization and applied technology. The day was topped off with a very interesting tour of GM’s OnStar Command Center. The committee wishes to thank Ray Hiznay of EDS for organizing and hosting the tour. The CATC business meeting took place on the second day, with Andy Szabo, committee chair, welcoming everyone to the meeting. Tom Carr of Siemens volunteered to take the meeting minutes. After the attendees introduced themselves, Patrick Gallagher of Management Science Associates led the discussions for selecting and organizing the sessions for AISTech 2009. The Leadership Development Conference was then discussed. Nominations for the CATC Best Paper Award for 2008 were distributed to a subcommittee consisting of Mr. Gallagher, Mike Dudzic of ArcelorMittal, Alek Fabijanic of Nucor, and Dave Renolds of Gallatin Steel for their review. This subcommittee will choose the best paper and report back to the full committee at the next meeting. The award will be presented to the winner during AISTech 2009. Mr. Dudzic then reported on the condition of AIST from his view as the division’s representative on AIST’s board of directors. He reported that the financial health of the association is excellent, with membership well over 10,000. The committee recognizes the need to meet more frequently, but realizes that travel is limited to many of the participants. Mr. Fabijanic volunteered to organize some webinars on a variety of subjects, including process control system security. Visit the CATC area on the www.AIST.org for the schedule and topics of these webinars. The next CATC meeting will be Feb. 2, in conjunction with the Process Systems Specialty Training Conference being held in Jacksonville, Fla., Feb. 2–5, 2009. Visit www.AIST.org for current information and details.
The Computer Applications Operating Committee (CAOC) met at AISTech 2008 on May 6. The committee chair, Andy Szabo of ArcelorMittal, welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked each of the participants to introduce themselves. Jim Cole of The Timken Co. volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The committee discussed the AISI/AIST committee integration. The CAOC was renamed the Computer Applications Technology Committee and is included in Technology Division VII: Energy and Control. The status of the Process Control Specialty Training Conference was discussed. The program outline was established, and the subcommittee has begun soliciting presenters for the February 2009 conference in Jacksonville, Fla. This conference is a joint collaboration between the Electrical Applications Technology Committee and the Sensor Systems Subcommittee, with Ron Tessendorf as the chair. The election of officers took place. Mr. Szabo was re-elected as chair, Mr. Cole was elected vice chair, and Patrick Gallagher of Management Science Associates papers chair. The committee reviewed its mission statement and changed it slightly to read, “To promote the understanding and advancement of appropriate computer applications and tecnologies for the processing of steel, by providing forums to: (1) learn about best practices, new and current technologies, (2) enable the exchange of problem-solving ideas within the metals processing industry, and with potential suppliers, (3) network with associated disciplines in academia, government, and research.” The committee presented the 2008 Computer Applications Best Paper Award to Sunday Abraham and Shaojie Chen of SSAB IPSCO for their paper entitled, “EAF Energy and Material Balance Modeling.” Mike Dudzic of ArcelorMittal Dofasco, the division’s board of director representative, along with Mr. Cole, presented Mr. Szabo a plaque for his exceptional service and dedication as committee chair for 2007–2008. The next committee meeting date and location will be finalized during the summer. Look for additional information online at www.aist.org.
April 2 , 2008 - The Computer Applications Operating Committee (CAOC) met April 2 on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash. The committee chair, Andy Szabo of ArcelorMittal, opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending. The committee welcomed the newest member, Jason Arzberger of SMS Demag, and the guests in attendance, Darren Martin of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc., Gareth Parfitt of ArcelorMittal Lackawana, Tim Redmond of Management Science Associates and Thomas Whittaken of ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor. The integration of the AISI and AIST committees was discussed, even though there is no corresponding AISI committee. The final coordination for the sessions at AISTech 2008 was completed, and the CAOC’s topics for the 2009 Call for Papers were finalized. The status of the upcoming joint training seminar with the Electrical Engineering Operating Committee was also reviewed. The committee then participated in a three-day Manufacturing Operations Forum sponsored by Microsoft. The forum allowed open discussion between Microsoft, the software partners and the users. Topics such as new products, release dates, patch management, server security and systems management were presented. The CAOC extends its gratitude to Microsoft for their hard work in putting the forum together and their hospitality. The next meeting was held at AISTech 2008 in Pittsburgh. Visit www.aist.org for additional information.
October 4-5 , 2007 - The Computer Applications Operating Committee (CAOC) met in Burlington, Ont., Canada, on Oct. 4–5. Chair Andy Szabo of ArcelorMittal opened the meeting. Terry Fearn, of The Timken Co., announced that this would be his last meeting, as he will be retiring at the end of the year. The committee thanked Mr. Fearn for his service over the years and wished him luck in his retirement. Abstract selection for AISTech 2008 was then led by Jim Cole of The Timken Co. The committee chose a number of the same abstracts as the Iron Producing Operating Committee and will consider a joint session with them. The committee is also looking into a joint Specialty Conference with the Electrical Engineering Operating Committee and the Sensors and Instrumentation Operating Committee for the fall of 2008. Charlie Sheets of Matrix Technologies Inc. and Paul Martin of Dofasco will lead the planning. To conclude the meeting, Mr. Martin hosted a tour of Dofasco’s No. 2 CPCM. The next meeting is scheduled to be held at Nucor Steel’s Berkeley facility near Charlestown, S.C., Feb. 21–22, 2008.
May 9, 2007 - The Computer Applications Operating Committee (CAOC) met in Indianapolis, Ind., on May 9, 2007, during the AISTech 2007 Conference. Charlie Sheets of Matrix Technologies welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for participating. The 2006 Computer Applications Best Paper Award was accepted on behalf of Matthew Rosato by a representative of JNE Consulting. The CAOC reviewed their mission statement and approved it without modification as: “To promote the understanding and advancement of appropriate automation applications and technologies for the processing of steel, by providing forums to: (1) learn about best practices, new and current technologies; (2) enable the exchange of problem-solving ideas within the metals processing industry, and with potential suppliers; and (3) network with associated disciplines in academia, government and research.” The new CAOC officers for 2007–2008 were elected: Andy Szabo of ArcelorMittal – Cleveland is the new chair, Alex Fabijanic of Nucor Steel–Berkeley is the new vice chair, and James Cole of The Timken Co. is the new papers chair. The committee presented Charlie Sheets a plaque in appreciation of his leadership and service to the committee as chair this past year. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for the beginning of October 2007 in Hamilton, Ont., Canada, including a tour of Dofasco Inc.
February 23, 2007 - The Computer Applications Operating Committee (CAOC) met in Hammond, Ind., on Feb. 23, 2007. Charlie Sheets of Matrix Technologies Inc., the chair of this committee, thanked everyone for attending. A review of the webinar held in December 2006 was given by Mr. Sheets. Because webinars are a viable concept, Patrick Gallagher volunteered to deal with the logistics and future topics. There were discussions concerning a joint training conference with the Electrical Engineering Operating Committee about process control for the steel industry. The plan is to create a “teaser” program in the form of the round table at AISTech 2008, with the actual conference to be held in the fall of 2008. Mike Dudzic of Dofasco Inc. was elected to represent the Process Control and Automation Technology Division on the AIST board of directors beginning in May. Mr. Dudzic gave a summary of the Leadership Conference that was held in San Antonio, Texas, on Feb. 9–10, 2007. The next meeting will be at AISTech 2007 on May 9. The agenda will include the election of officers and the presentation of the Best Paper Award for a paper presented at AISTech 2006.
February 22, 2007 - The Electrical Engineering Operating Committee (EEOC) and Computer Applications Operating Committee (CAOC) met on Feb. 22, 2007, for a tour of Purdue University Calumet, hosted by Professor Chenn Zhou and Professor Harvey Abramowitz, as well as Mittal Steel’s East Chicago Research Lab, hosted by Hal Long. Dr. Zhou began the presentations at Purdue with, “Overview of Steel Research Activities at PUC,” followed by five other more specific presentations by other professors and students of research being carried out on campus. A tour of the campus facilities followed. Professor Zhou and all the participants were thanked for their time and efforts, not only for the presentations and interesting tour, but also for their work for the industry as a whole. The committee then traveled to Mittal East Chicago Reasearch Lab. Hal Long offered an enlightening overview of the company and the research lab itself. The group was then split into two and toured specific areas within the facility, such as the electron microscope, welding lab, customer interface and the dent lab. The committee thanked Hal Long for hosting a very interesting tour.
September 27 - 28, 2006 - On Sept. 27–28, the Computer Applications Operating Committee held their fall meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. On Sept. 27, the committee convened for technical presentations about the rebirth of the Mittal Steel USA – Cleveland steelmaking facility. A large portion of the presentations were dedicated to the installation of new automation, models and PLCs, as well as the updating of existing equipment that could still be used. Following lunch, the members toured the Mittal Steel 84-inch hot strip mill and the newly converted hot-dip galvanizing line, which was formerly the continuous anneal line. On Sept. 28, the committee reconvened for the business portion of the meeting. The papers chair provided an update on the abstracts available for AISTech 2007 and asked members to provide feedback on abstract selection and session construction. Volunteers were also taken to serve as session chairs. The meeting then focused on the long-term plans of the Operating Committee. The committee will keep the one-and-a-half-day format of a tour, technical discussion and business meeting. The committee will also begin developing a process control training seminar, to be held in 2008. The next committee meeting will be held Feb. 22–23, 2007, in Hammond, Ind., and will include a tour of the computer modeling facility at Purdue University–Calumet.
May 3, 2006 - The Computer Applications Operating Committee met in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on May 3. The committee nominated and appointed its 2006–2007 officers. The Computer Applications Best Paper Award was given to the authors of “Evaluation of Internal Conditions in a Blast Furnace Using a 3-D CFD Model,” which was presented at AISTech 2005. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for September 2006.
March 16 - 17, 2006 - The Computer Applications Operating Committee convened in Maumee, Ohio, on March 16–17, 2006. The meeting, which was hosted by Matrix Technologies, included technical presentations by Matrix and tours of Matrix and the Daimler Chrysler AG Toledo North plant. Mike Schalk presented, “Product Applications in the Food Industry,” and Les Haman provided an overview on “Computer Integration at an Automotive Assembly Plant.” The tour of Daimler Chrysler featured more than 300 robots used in the production and assembly of the Jeep Liberty. The committee reviewed their programs for AISTech 2006: three technical sessions and a panel discussion on disaster recovery planning and practices. Members selected the winner of the 2005 Computer Applications Best Paper Award, which will be presented at the upcoming committee meeting in Cleveland, Ohio.
November 7 - 8, 2006 - The
Computer Applications Operating Committee conducted their fall
meeting on Nov. 7–8, 2005, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The first day focused on operating system architecture in the
steel industry. The morning consisted of presentations by IBM,
Microsoft and Hewlett Packard, highlighting the respective product
lines and capabilities. The afternoon featured benchmarking presentations
by Timken, AK Steel, Dofasco and Allegheny Ludlum. The day concluded
with a general discussion from additional steel producers and
suppliers. On the second day, the committee reviewed its plans
for AISTech 2006 and the general layout of technical sessions
for the conference. Committee members discussed the requirements
for finalizing the Computer Applications Best Paper Award. The
next committee meeting will be held in the early spring of 2006.
May 9, 2005 - The
Computer Applications Operating Committee met during AISTech 2005
on May 9 at the Charlotte Convention Center. The members
reviewed and discussed the content of the technical session presentations.
The criteria and nomination process for the Computer Applications
Best Paper Award were reviewed. The next committee meeting will
feature a round table discussion on operating systems. Members
agreed to hold the meeting near Orlando, Fla., in November 2005.
April 5, 2005 - The
Computer Applications Operating Committee met April 5 in Cleveland,
Ohio. Members held elections for the 2005–2006 Operating
Committee officers. Paul Martin was nominated Chair,
Charlie Sheets was nominated Vice Chair and Laura Maxwell was
nominated Papers Chair. All three nominations were unanimously
passed by the committee. The AISTech 2005 technical sessions were
reviewed, and the committee planned to host sessions on Monday
through Wednesday at the conference. The committee agreed to sponsor
a Best Paper Award from the papers presented within these sessions.
Members discussed featuring round table discussions at future
committee meetings, with “Operating System Perspectives”
as one of the possible topics. The meeting concluded on April
6 after a tour of the ISG Cleveland Inc. facilities. The following
meeting was held May 9 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte,
N.C.
September 16, 2004 - The
Computer Applications Operating Committee assembled on Sept. 16
at AISTech 2004 — The Iron & Steel Technology Conference
and Exposition in Nashville, Tenn. Ideas for the Operating
Committee mission statement were presented. Members were asked
to review the mission statements and provide feedback in order
to finalize the statement at the next meeting. The committee discussed
programming for AISTech 2005, which will be held in Charlotte,
N.C. on May 9–13. The activities of the Computer Applications
Operating Committee were discussed, along with topics of interest
for upcoming committee meetings. Members agreed to have their
next meeting in January or February 2005, with tour and vendor
presentations scheduled.
April 26-27, 2004 - The
Computer Applications Operating Committee meeting was held April
26–27 in Hamilton, Ont., Canada. The operating
committee reviewed and discussed the AISTech 2004 technical sessions,
as well as training symposia that may be of interest in the future.
Dofasco employees provided a presentation of the Dofasco hot mill
followed by a tour of the facility. The following day featured
technical presentations on some of the latest technology currently
being employed by Dofasco. The next committee meeting will be
held in conjunction with AISTech 2004 on Sept. 15.
