Flat steel products, such as sheets, are often delivered to customers as coils. Coils are easier to transport as several hundred metres of steel can be shipped in a relatively compact load. However, steel coils can have isolated quality issues – imperfections – at points along their length. These isolated flaws can disrupt customers’ processes as finished parts containing the imperfections may be rejected during quality control.

As early as the 1990s, steel coil users began expressing their interest in an information tracking mechanism capable of tracing these imperfections. Steel producers have worked together since then to develop a technology that can track coil information with a high degree of precision. This technology is called the Quality Tracking System. The main function of the Quality Tracking System is that it can provide additional information about the coil without requiring changes to any quality standards.

In addition, the Quality Tracking System can also be an enabler for companies that are looking to transition to Industry 4.0.