Client Overview
Client: Madura Steel Industries Pvt. Ltd.
Industry: Steel Manufacturing
Location: Chennamanayakkanpatti, Settinaickenpatti, Dindigul ,Tamil Nadu 624004
Solution Deployed: Enterprise Energy Management System with Real-Time Heat Cycle Monitoring
Platform: DevsBot Industrial IoT Platform powered by NTS IoT Gateway
Overview
Madura Steel Industries Pvt. Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of high-quality steel castings, where melting furnaces play a critical role in the production process. Monitoring furnace operations and energy consumption is essential to improve production efficiency and control operational costs.
The company operates 450 kW and 600 kW melting furnaces, but monitoring furnace activity, heat cycles, and energy usage manually made it difficult to track production performance and identify operational issues.
To overcome these challenges, Niraltek implemented a Real-Time Heat Cycle Monitoring solution using the DevsBot Industrial IoT Platform powered by the NTS IoT Gateway. The solution automatically detects furnace ON/OFF status, records heat cycle details, measures energy consumption for each production cycle, and displays real-time operational data through a centralized dashboard. This enables operators to monitor furnace performance, improve production planning, identify abnormal operations, and optimize energy utilization.
Heat Cycle Monitoring Objectives
The primary objective of the project was to implement a Real-Time Heat Cycle Monitoring solution that provides complete visibility into furnace operations, production cycles, and energy consumption across the steel manufacturing plant.
The project focused on:
- Monitoring the operational status of 450 kW and 600 kW melting furnaces in real time.
- Automatically detecting furnace ON and OFF conditions.
- Creating and tracking individual heat cycles without manual intervention.
- Recording the start time, end time, and duration of every heat cycle.
- Measuring electricity consumption for each production cycle.
- Providing operators with a centralized dashboard to monitor furnace activity.
- Identifying abnormal furnace operations and unexpected production interruptions.
- Supporting production planning through accurate operational and energy data.
- Improving furnace utilization and reducing unnecessary energy consumption.
Business Challenges
Before implementing Niraltek’s Heat Cycle Monitoring solution, Madura Steel Industries faced several operational and production monitoring challenges.
Limited Visibility into Furnace Operations
The production team had no centralized system to monitor the real-time operating status of both melting furnaces. Identifying whether a furnace was actively running, idle, or stopped required manual verification, making production monitoring inefficient.
Lack of Heat Cycle Tracking
Each production batch, or heat cycle, was a critical part of the manufacturing process. However, the organization lacked an automated solution to record the start time, end time, duration, and completion status of every heat cycle, making production analysis difficult.
Difficulty Monitoring Energy Consumption per Heat Cycle
Although overall electricity consumption was available through energy meters, the company could not determine how much energy was consumed during each individual heat cycle. This limited their ability to compare production batches and identify inefficient furnace operations.
Manual Production Monitoring
Operators depended on manual observations and production records to understand furnace activity. This process was time-consuming, prone to errors, and delayed operational decision-making.
Limited Operational Insights
Without a centralized monitoring platform, management had limited visibility into furnace utilization, production progress, and operational performance. Detecting abnormal furnace behavior or production delays was difficult, reducing opportunities to improve efficiency.
Need for a Digital Production Monitoring Solution
Madura Steel required a centralized Industrial IoT platform capable of automatically monitoring furnace activity, tracking heat cycles, recording operational data, measuring energy consumption, and providing real-time dashboards to support faster and more informed production decisions.
Heat Cycle Monitoring Solution
Niraltek implemented an Enterprise Energy Management System (EMS) integrated with a Real-Time Heat Cycle Monitoring solution using the DevsBot Industrial IoT Platform powered by the NTS IoT Gateway. The solution was designed to provide complete visibility into furnace operations, production cycles, and energy consumption across the manufacturing facility.
The system continuously monitors the 450 kW and 600 kW melting furnaces, automatically detects furnace ON/OFF status, and creates a unique heat cycle for every production batch. Each heat cycle records the Heat Number, start time, end time, operating duration, and energy consumed. This enables operators to accurately monitor furnace performance, track production progress, and compare heat cycle efficiency.
Through the centralized DevsBot dashboard, operators and management teams can monitor real-time furnace activity, analyze energy consumption per heat cycle, identify abnormal furnace operations, and access historical production data. The solution helps improve furnace utilization, optimize energy usage, and support data-driven production planning.
The deployed solution included:
- Real-Time Heat Cycle Monitoring
- Automatic Furnace ON/OFF Detection
- Heat Number Generation
- Heat Cycle Start & End Time Tracking
- Heat Cycle Duration Monitoring
- Energy Consumption per Heat Cycle
- 450 kW & 600 kW Furnace Monitoring
- Furnace Activity Tracking
- Centralized DevsBot Dashboard
- Historical Data Logging
- Energy Trend Analysis
- Automated Reporting & Analytics
The solution enables Madura Steel Industries to monitor production performance in real time, reduce manual monitoring efforts, improve operational visibility, and make faster, data-driven decisions.
DevsBot Dashboard for Real-Time Heat Cycle Monitoring
Figure 1. DevsBot Industrial IoT Platform Dashboard displaying Real-Time Heat Cycle Monitoring, furnace ON/OFF status, Heat Number, start time, end time, duration, and energy consumption for 450 kW and 600 kW melting furnaces.
The DevsBot dashboard provides operators with real-time visibility into furnace operations, Heat Numbers, production progress, and energy consumption. It enables continuous monitoring of 450 kW and 600 kW furnaces, helping identify operational issues, compare heat cycle performance, and improve production efficiency through data-driven insights.
Energy Management Architecture
The Enterprise Energy Management System is built on a scalable Industrial IoT architecture that collects, processes, and visualizes real-time production and energy data.
Energy Data Acquisition Layer
Smart energy meters continuously collect electrical parameters and operational data from the 450 kW and 600 kW melting furnaces, enabling accurate Real-Time Furnace Energy Monitoring throughout every production cycle.
Edge Data Collection Layer
The NTS IoT Gateway securely gathers data from connected devices and transmits it to the DevsBot platform, ensuring reliable communication and uninterrupted data collection.
Central Energy Management Platform
The DevsBot Industrial IoT Platform automatically processes incoming data to generate heat cycles, record furnace ON/OFF events, calculate heat cycle duration and energy consumption, and securely store historical production data.
Business Intelligence Layer
Interactive dashboards provide real-time visibility into furnace status, production progress, heat cycle performance, and energy consumption. These insights help operators identify abnormal operations, compare production batches, and improve operational efficiency.
Key Energy Management Capabilities
Real-Time Heat Cycle Monitoring
Automatically detects furnace ON/OFF conditions and generates individual heat cycles by recording the Heat Number, start time, end time, operating duration, and energy consumed for every production batch.
Furnace Activity Tracking
Continuously monitors the operational status of the 450 kW and 600 kW melting furnaces, providing complete visibility into furnace performance and production progress.
Heat Cycle Energy Analysis
Measures energy consumption for each heat cycle, enabling operators to compare production batches, identify abnormal energy usage, and optimize furnace efficiency.
Historical Data & Trend Analysis
Stores historical furnace and energy data to analyze production trends, compare heat cycle performance, and support continuous operational improvement.
Centralized Dashboard & Reporting
The DevsBot dashboard provides real-time monitoring, historical reports, and analytical insights, helping management make informed production and energy management decisions.
Implementation
The Heat Cycle Monitoring solution was deployed using a structured implementation approach to ensure seamless integration with the existing manufacturing process without interrupting production.
Phase 1 – Requirement Analysis
Niraltek analyzed the plant’s production workflow, furnace operations, and energy consumption patterns to identify key monitoring requirements for the 450 kW and 600 kW melting furnaces.
Phase 2 – Device Installation & Data Collection
Smart energy meters and the NTS IoT Gateway were installed to collect real-time operational and energy data from the furnaces. The system was configured to automatically detect furnace ON/OFF status and capture production data.
Phase 3 – Platform Integration
The collected data was integrated with the DevsBot Industrial IoT Platform, where heat cycles were automatically generated. The platform recorded the Heat Number, start time, end time, duration, and energy consumed for each production cycle while displaying the information through a centralized dashboard.
Phase 4 – Monitoring & Optimization
The solution continuously monitors furnace activity, production progress, and energy consumption per heat cycle, enabling operators to identify abnormal operations, compare production batches, and improve furnace utilization through data-driven insights.
Business Outcomes
Following the implementation of the Enterprise Energy Management System with Real-Time Heat Cycle Monitoring, Madura Steel Industries achieved improved production visibility and operational efficiency.
Key Outcomes
- Real-time monitoring of 450 kW and 600 kW melting furnaces
- Automatic Heat Number generation for every production cycle
- Improved visibility into furnace ON/OFF status and production progress
- Accurate measurement of energy consumption for each heat cycle
- Faster identification of abnormal furnace operations
- Improved production planning through centralized dashboards
- Better furnace utilization and operational efficiency
- Reduced manual monitoring and reporting efforts
- Enhanced data-driven decision-making
Before vs After Heat Cycle Monitoring
| Before Implementation | After Implementation |
| Manual furnace monitoring | Real-time furnace monitoring through DevsBot |
| No automatic heat cycle tracking | Automatic Heat Number generation and tracking |
| Limited visibility into furnace operations | Live production and furnace activity monitoring |
| Manual recording of production data | Automated heat cycle records and reports |
| Difficult to analyze energy per production cycle | Energy consumption measured for every heat cycle |
| Delayed operational decisions | Real-time insights for faster decision-making |
Key Business Benefits
The implementation of Niraltek’s Heat Cycle Monitoring solution with the Enterprise Energy Management System transformed the way Madura Steel Industries monitors furnace operations and production performance.
Major Business Benefits
- Real-time visibility into furnace operations and production cycles
- Automatic Heat Cycle Monitoring without manual intervention
- Accurate tracking of furnace ON/OFF status and production progress
- Better control over energy consumption for every heat cycle
- Improved furnace utilization and operational efficiency
- Reduced manual monitoring and reporting
- Faster identification of production abnormalities
- Data-driven production planning and operational decision-making
- Scalable Industrial IoT platform for future digital manufacturing initiatives
Conclusion
Niraltek’s Enterprise Energy Management System, powered by the NTS IoT Gateway and integrated with the DevsBot Industrial IoT Platform, enabled Madura Steel Industries to transform furnace monitoring through Real-Time Heat Cycle Monitoring.
The solution automatically detects furnace ON/OFF status, generates individual Heat Numbers, records Heat Cycle Monitoring start and end times, calculates operating duration, and measures energy consumption for each production cycle. With a centralized dashboard providing real-time visibility into furnace activity, production progress, and operational performance, the company can make faster, data-driven decisions, improve furnace utilization, optimize energy consumption, and strengthen its digital manufacturing capabilities.
The solution provides Madura Steel Industries with a scalable digital foundation for improving production efficiency, optimizing energy consumption, and supporting future smart manufacturing initiatives.