TMK optimizes control and counting of products at the Seversky Pipe Plant using machine vision

2022: Introduction of machine vision technology at CTO

On November 29, 2022, the Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) announced the introduction of machine vision technologies at the Seversky Pipe Plant (STZ), which is part of TMK, for monitoring movement and for calculating finished pipe products. Digital solutions improve accuracy and speed up control operations, and automate data collection.

Machine Vision Technologies

The projects were implemented in cooperation with the Scientific and Technical Center (NTC) of TMK in Moscow, where a competence center for digitalization was formed. The machine vision algorithm is used in the pipe welding shop when calculating pipes in packages formed for shipment to the customer. The decision replaced the time-consuming manual counting of products by delivery sorters. The "Machine Vision" program is installed on the employee's smartphone, which analyzes photos of the ends of packages with pipes and displays the result on the screen. Two photos are enough for the system to count, the algorithm allows you to recognize pipes both in the shadow and in lighter areas.

Seversky Pipe Plant

Another solution is implemented in the STZ pipe rolling workshop and is used to track the movements of pipe packages when shipping finished products to wagons. Images of product packages are captured by video cameras installed on cranes at pipe shipping sites and transmitted to the database. This information is used to automatically generate a package of documents and quality certificates of ready-to-ship products. Control over the movement of the order until loading into the car eliminates the influence of the human factor.

"TMK enterprises are systematically introducing digital technologies to increase the efficiency of production processes. Thanks to the use of machine vision, employees handed over labor-intensive routine tasks to the computer and increased the accuracy of operations. Additional digital control during shipment gave us the opportunity to even better control the process and automate the collection of necessary information. In general, these solutions help save time for employees, increase our awareness of the technological process and strengthen the image of the enterprise as a reliable and responsible supplier, "said Dmitry Markov, Managing Director of STZ.