Leave a better legacy for future engineers
Cradle to Grave traceability (Part 1)
The traceability of steel products is crucial. That’s why in this series we are looking at the Cradle to Grave traceability of steel. In this article, you will read more about the legacy of future engineers, and the impact that traceability will have on the world.
The modern-day engineer working as an archeologist
The current way of tracing steel is no longer in line with what we should want. Because today’s engineer sometimes looks more like an archaeologist. Papers are lost, completely unknown projects are found underground, and tracing the associated documents takes valuable time.
And all this while the ability to trace materials and their properties are crucial to the work of an engineer. Because as the next generations of engineers inherit their projects, more and more annoying effects of the lack of traceability become visible. And that is what no sensible engineer wants.
Engineers want to leave a legacy
Engineers are proud people. And rightly so, because they made the world as it is today. Still, something gnaws at engineers. Because if you are proud of your work, you don’t want anyone to experience problems 20 years later because of your project. The legacy that engineers are so keen to leave behind, by creating a positive impact, sometimes seems more of a curse than a blessing to future generations of engineers.
For example, it is no longer possible to find out which chemical composition was used for the steel. This makes it extremely difficult to reuse, resell, or recycle. The decrypting of paper documents – if they can be found at all – is not only annoying but also puts a brake on new inventions and innovations.
So how can we create a better future?
Tracking every piece of steel on the planet may seem unfeasible and a lot of work. The opposite is true. With current technologies, it is even more efficient and faster than the current way of working.
Because by already using QR codes linked to a product during the production of steel, this product can be tracked forever. In addition, the composition of the material is also clear. As a result, the products can be traced anywhere, even if a project is handed over to a future generation of engineers.
So that they can work with reliable materials, the properties of which can be found forever in an online database. In this way, all information is always available in real-time, in an orderly and structured manner.
SteelTrace
SteelTrace firmly believes in the legacy of the engineer. We want to rekindle and breathe new life into the pride of this group of professionals. Because without engineers, our world would look completely different.
To achieve this, we have created an online platform that shows the properties of your steel products anytime, anywhere. Helped by blockchain technology and with a few enthusiastic major players in the oil and gas industry, we are going to make sure that engineers can move forward again at full speed. Ready to design the world of tomorrow.
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Improve the value of assets. Cradle to Grave traceability (Part 2)
The value of an asset is directly related to the information that is known about its history. That's why traceability is so incredibly important within the oil and gas industry. Assets not only need to function properly, but they also need to be financially viable. Especially now.
Reduction of insurance costs
When things go wrong in the oil and gas industry, the consequences are often disastrous. Not merely financially, but also for the environment. And despite the fact that the industry has been pushing its own standards of safety for decades, better-monitored safety margins are a welcome addition in order to continue pushing those standards in the years to come.
Life extension of assets in the oil and gas industry
Suppose you buy an asset with hundreds of individual steel parts that should last for about ten years. Say, for example, a platform. Then those ten years are the guaranteed lifespan of your asset and the parts it consists of. But what if some parts could last longer? Through controlled use, reduced use or by finding out that the product hasn't worn out yet?
5 ways to find out if an MTC (Material Test Certificate) is fake
We all find it annoying, but we know they exist: fakers in the steel industry. Counterfeiters of certificates not only undermine confidence in the steel supply chain, they sometimes even contribute to failures and errors within a project.
