The modern, digital and innovative steel industries require a fully connected ecosystem for improving safety, reliability and productivity in the industry. The coordination between different stakeholders and departments is the ultimate requirement for seamless operations and continued production. Some major requirements of modern large steel industries are:

• Realtime Communication

The requirement of transceiving multimedia messages that enable real-time images, audio, video and file-sharing. Leveraging the speed and capabilities of LTE 4G/ 5G for faster communication is required for quick decision-making among teams resulting in better performance.

• Extensive and Unified Coverage

Various departments in steel plants such as blast furnaces, rolling mills, steel making, etc. have to work together for efficient production. To enable seamless communication between all departments, a unified and extensive network is the most crucial requirement.

• Interdepartmental Connectivity

Operations in large steel plants involve participation from different departments for seamless production. Continued communication between stakeholders is required to enable them to work collaboratively towards a common goal improving decision-making and reducing delays.

• Advanced Control Room Applications

There is a requirement for advanced control room functionalities that are dedicated to large steel plants, catering to their specific needs to improve efficiency and productivity. Modern and advanced control room applications must be able to monitor all relevant departments and provide them with specific assistance when required.

• Suitable Devices for Harsh Conditions

Conditions in steel plants are often harsh due to high temperatures, high ambient noises, corrosive material, dust and vibrations. Therefore, the devices must be able to withstand these extreme conditions for efficient operations,

• Integration of Various Applications

Various applications in steel plants such as IoTs, CCTVs, Vehicular tracking, etc. must be integrated into one platform to provide a one-stop solution for all the applications and smooth the entire process in the steel industry.

• Scalable Solution

The network in the steel plants must be susceptible to scalability according to the current and evolving requirements. As and when the industry grows, the network must be able to accommodate the increasing volume of data and communication traffic.

• Secure and Resilient Communication Network 

Large steel industries always deal with sensitive and confidential information. And critical operations are often interdependent and any interruption could cause significant losses Thus, a secure and resilient communication network is required to protect critical information. 

CONSORT’s MCX ONE mission-critical and business-critical solution is based on 3GPP’s MCX Open industry standards. It helps to provide fast, secure and reliable communication in the industry. The MCX ONE mission-critical solution for Large Steel Industries comprises of :

• MCX ONE Core Edge Server – Provides mission-critical application services for small to medium organizations.  It offers MCPTT, MCDATA and MCVIDEO features over public and private 4G/ 5G / Wi-Fi networks.
• MCX ONE Dispatch Center – MCX ONE Dispatch Center is a next-generation, modern and versatile dispatching solution bracing Voice, Data and Video applications. It provides multiple views for users that include – communication, alerts, locations, recordings, and industry-specific views.
• MCX ONE Mobile Application – Provides users with the speed and reliability of professional radio PTT along with the ability to share voice, data and video. The application facilitates Push-To-Talk, Push-To-Data, and Push-To-Video from Android/ iOS devices.
• MCX ONE Interworking Gateway – Provides integration of Voice and Data services between MCX ONE and narrowband Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems through a standard-based feature called Interworking Function i.e. legacy network can continue to co-exist with MCX ONE.
• MCX ONE LTE Rugged Handset – Provides advanced features and functionalities to deliver MCX services (Audio, Data and Video) to professional users. It provides outstanding audio quality by providing active noise cancellation in a noisy working environment and contains a dedicated Push To Talk button for emergency services.
• MCX ONE Application Integration Server – MCX ONE Application Integration Server allows provisioning of innovative applications relevant to particular industries. Enabling a wide range of applications and solutions for industry 4.0 for future-proof critical communication.

By leveraging advanced technology and deploying MCX ONE mission-critical solutions, steel plants can enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness while ensuring the safety and well-being of workers and various stakeholders. The solution can integrate with various applications and systems such as IoTs, CCTVs, etc. in the steel industry, thus bringing all stakeholders and departments together on one platform.