Innovation? We have!
At Vallourec, technology is a great ally and contributes a lot to making our processes safer, more standardized and efficient. And the latest news is that two months ago, at RK Laminação of the Barreiro plant, the first robot 100% produced by Vallourec came into operation. A work carried out by the IoT (Internet of Things) team in Portuguese that has revolutionized the deburring work* of the adjusted pipes in the area.
The project is pure innovation and improves not only our service, but also increases the quality of the product that reaches the end customer. Just to give you an idea, before the implantation, the work was done manually by a professional in the sector, who had direct contact with the pipe, which could generate accidents, putting the operator in a real risk situation.
Now, with our robot, this employee could be leveraged in other more strategic functions within the Company. This is because, in addition to no longer having to go down to the production line to carry out the deburring of the pipe, it also does not have to operate the new technology. The robot, through artificial intelligence, does all the work itself.
“The initiative came from a Cartesian robot concept created by engineer Rômulo Castro, who realized the bottleneck in the sector and promptly started the project with our team. The improvement in process security was the main focus, but in addition, the project also increased productivity in the sector, considerably decreased the costs of the activity and standardized an essential process within our production chain“, explains Diego Melo, IoT area manager.
According to Diego, teamwork was essential to make it work. “Romulo was the one who took the initiative, but we only achieved the expected results because a whole team worked hard to deliver the best. For this reason, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the project, but especially Ricardo Barbosa Cristelli and Maurício Cláudio Santos. They were key pieces for the success of the project”, says Diego.
The robot worked so well that there are already three projects to replicate it in other sectors of the Company that also deburr pipes. It is our team increasingly qualifying our processes and innovating activities, always with the customer’s focus.
* Process that removes the protrusions or rough edges of the tubes, avoiding future cracks and fissures and giving the product a perfect finish.
