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Liberty Primary Steel (LPS) Whyalla is a producer of high quality semi-finished and finished steel products that find application in Australia as well as export markets internationally.

Project: Rail Finishing End (RFE) yield improvement

Premier's Award category: Innovation and transformation (productivity improvement) - Resources

Liberty Primary Steel produces rail products to support Australia's infrastructure infrastructure development via its rail network. The value process starts from iron ore mining, steel making, continuous casting, hot rolling and rail finishing. To ensure safety of rail passengers and goods, LPS apply strict quality control to scrap defective product as part of the daily routine management protocols thus ensuring that all rail products conform with standards set by the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board.

The RFE project used Six Sigma's Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control (DMAIC) methodology to improve quality and drive the improvement of LPS's processes, decreasing rail yield losses. Data analysis identified three main areas of improvement - rail identification (ID), rolled in scrap, and overall straightness.

More information

Watch Liberty Primary Steel's rail grinding demonstration

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Visit their website:  https://www.libertygfg.com/liberty-primary-steel/