Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) expects to save RUB 6.8 billion by the end of 2025 from the implementation of the first stage of its digitalisation strategy, according to Nikolay Gladkikh, MMK’s Head of Quality and Process Management, during a round table organised by Roskachestvo.

MMK implemented a total of 95 projects between 2020 and 2024. Investments in the first stage of the strategy amounted to RUB 3.9 billion, with an average payback period of 2.4 years. “The biggest savings came from the Optimal Cast Iron system, which is aimed at optimising the sinter–coke–blast furnace production chain, as well as from the introduction of an optimisation-based planning system. Of the 95 completed projects, 51 involved artificial intelligence technologies, reflecting a global trend whereby AI is playing a leading role in the digital transformation of industry. Last year, we decided to merge all of MMK’s centres of excellence dealing with various AI technologies into a single artificial intelligence centre. Established in March 2025, the centre has made the implementation of AI-based projects more efficient and enabled the unification of components across the Company’s digital AI platform,” said Mr Gladkikh.

The Company places particular importance in digitalisation that enhances the quality of its products and processes. For example, it introduced a dynamic process risk management system that identifies abnormal operating modes and production situations involving deviations from process parameters. In the event of a high risk of non-conforming production, the system alerts specialists, automatically generates an interactive process sheet and adjusts the production process. These procedures are carried out with the help of predictive analytics and an adaptive control system. The project has been implemented across all of the plant’s main production streams – from the oxygen converter and electric steelmaking shops to the hot- and cold-rolling mills and coated-metal production facilities.

Another project currently underway is the Digital Quality Analysis initiative, which is aimed at ensuring consistently high product quality. “By 2028, we plan to create a corporate online platform for monitoring production processes and customer service. Its functionality will enable the automatic calculation of key performance metrics and eliminate uncertainty and human error in product quality control and certification,” noted Mr Gladkikh. This platform solution will enable a transition to mandatory monitoring of process compliance and responses to deviations in critical parameters in accordance with individual checklists. The project’s implementation will also enable a shift to dynamic process management and a preventive approach to quality management based on predictive models.

Other standout projects launched in 2025 include Production Culture, which was designed to improve working conditions and engages the plant’s employees in addressing a range of production-related issues. Using a convenient mobile application, shop employees can submit proposals to their managers on ways to improve processes, as well as on issues related to product quality, occupational health and safety, and working conditions in general. The project was piloted at sheet rolling shop No. 11, and plans are in place to roll out the initiative at other shops across the plant.