On Thursday, Big River Steel attended a summit hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Attendees of the "Artificial Intelligence for American Industry" summit included government officials, technical experts in academia, heads of industrial research labs and business leaders. Big River Steel's chief executive officer Dave Stickler was in attendance as part of the discussions on how industries are adopting AI technologies to benefit their customers, workers and shareholders.
In a press release, Big River Steel said a common theme throughout the summit was how AI and related technologies are creating new types of jobs and demand for new technical skills across industries.
"Steel production used to be 80 percent brawn and 20 percent brains. At Big River, steel production is 90 percent brains and 10 percent brawn," said Stickler. "Our Flex Mill learns from every ton of steel we produce via the data that is collected throughout the production process. Our team has developed the skills needed to work alongside that technology to show the world that the highest quality steels are produced most efficiently in the United States."
Big River has partnered with Noodle.ai and EFT Analytics to introduce machine learning throughout its steel mill in Osceola, Arkansas. Big River's steelmaking technology was primarily supplied by SMS group and was designed to produce niche steels including advanced high strength steels (AHSS) for the automotive and transportation industries as well as electrical steels. Predicting energy consumption and optimizing scheduling are two areas where machine learning models are positively impacting Big River.
"Sitting at the table alongside of Boeing, Facebook, Ford, Pfizer, Walmart and other companies that are leading the way in terms of fully embracing industry 4.0 was an honor," said Stickler. "I was extremely proud to present how we drive machine learning and the use of artificial intelligence throughout our company and learn how others are doing the same. It is a great testament to Big River Steel's employees who work every day to embrace these technologies to produce steel like never before."