BOSS

Metals

The Challenge

In the metals industry, a small change can make a big difference in terms of costs. Trouble is, you might have to consider thousands of constraints across hundreds of heats. So how does a company determine how a change in any one constraint might affect costs?

One company turned to MSA for answers.

What Did MSA Do

MSA’s Metals and Advanced Manufacturing division recommended that the client use our Blending Optimization Software Suite™, BOSS™. BOSS determines the least-cost combination of raw materials needed to produce a given heat, line-up, or production schedule, taking into account all of a company’s various operating and quality constraints.

BOSS considers the current inventory, available market materials, material chemistry information, and the chemical and physical constraints to calculate the least expensive mixture of materials to meet a product specification.

This particular client was using BOSS to schedule a week’s worth of heats at a time, but they wanted a special sensitivity analysis report, summarizing the costs of each constraint considered while calculating the charges for hundreds of heats. We’re talking constraints in the thousands.

MSA prepared the special analysis report, and in reviewing, the client found an elemental maximum constraint on one standard grade that showed a cost of $14,000.

The Results

  • Data-Driven Insight Identified: The BOSS report revealed that increasing a specific element by one pound in a 200,000-pound heat would generate significant cost savings.
  • Measurable Cost Reduction: The adjustment delivered approximately $14,000 in savings per standard-grade production run.
  • Cross-Functional Alignment: Quality, operations, and sales teams all approved the change, ensuring seamless implementation.
  • Sustained Financial Impact: The client realized substantial, ongoing savings while maintaining product quality and operational efficiency.

MSA’s solutions transform complex challenges into measurable results through real-world client success stories.

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