FODs (Foreign Objects Damage and Debris) in Steel Mills

M

machrk

I am a quality manager at a steel mill

spectro for chemical analysis, mechanical testing, product dimensions, laser inspection of surface quality (aka no FOD) and sometimes ultrasonic testing of internal quality are typical test requirements - surface FOD may affect subsequent customer applications- forming,welding & painting as well as surface appearance - especially for critical structural applications

many steel standards specify that repair (welding and/or grinding) can be carried out at the surface by the supplier - to a maximum specified depth and may need to be negotiated between customer and supplier
cheers
KerrieAnne aka machrk

:agree1:
 
M

machrk

:agree:
Thoughts that come to mind are incoming scrap - contaminated by radiation. Yes, it has happened - very expensive to track down and then decontaminate. Most mills have radiation detectors to check incoming scrap.

An odd one would be workers committing suicide by jumping into a ladle of steel - what do you do with 50 to 250 tons of steel where someone has jumped into it? From what I've heard, it's happened at least once at US Steel well before it became USX. The info I heard said that the heat was pored into ingots and then set aside for a number of years before it was gotten rid of - I did not hear the details of the disposition, but was told it was not burial of 200 + tons of steel.


yep
in EU checks of steel for radiation due to contaminated scrap are emerging

KerrieAnne aka machrk
:agree:
 

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...An odd one would be workers committing suicide by jumping into a ladle of steel - what do you do with 50 to 250 tons of steel where someone has jumped into it? From what I've heard, it's happened at least once at US Steel well before it became USX. The info I heard said that the heat was pored into ingots and then set aside for a number of years before it was gotten rid of - I did not hear the details of the disposition, but was told it was not burial of 200 + tons of steel.

I heard it told that they buried his body weight of steel and shipped the rest! I hope this is an old war story and is not true...
 
J

Joy

Thanks to all who educated me on the subject.Now,I understand that FOD is possibility also in steel rolling mill and this can affect product quality.

The possibility of human FOD may be a good subject in near future under risk management.:tg:
 

Sidney Vianna

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Now,I understand that FOD is possibility also in steel rolling mill and this can affect product quality.
I still believe that FOD (in the context of AS9100) is nonsensical for a steel mill. Wikipedia reference-linkForeign object damagein aviation has a very specific meaning.

Can a steel batch be contaminated by radioactive material? Sure. Do we need to prevent it? Absolutely. Just like we need to prevent the batch from being contaminated with anything that is not supposed to be in the batch.

Will a wrench jammed against rollers create problems? Sure. Is it FOD? Not in the context of AS9100.

Go audit a typical aero supplier and ask about FOD. They will know exactly what you are talking about. Ask the same question to a steel mill QA person and they will have no idea of what you are talking about. There is a reason for that.
 

Sidney Vianna

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The bolt has to be in spec. That includes the steel properties.

Would FOD apply to the manufacturer of the carpet that goes on the floor of the aircraft? Nope.

FOD has a specific meaning and application in the aerospace industry. Trying to apply it where is non-applicable is nonsensical.
 

Al Rosen

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Super Moderator
The bolt has to be in spec. That includes the steel properties.

Would FOD apply to the manufacturer of the carpet that goes on the floor of the aircraft? Nope.

FOD has a specific meaning and application in the aerospace industry. Trying to apply it where is non-applicable is nonsensical.
A product can perform to spec and still have FOD entrapped.
 

Sidney Vianna

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A product can perform to spec and still have FOD entrapped.
OK, Al. So, you believe FOD applies to a steel mill and you might also believe that it could apply to any supplier in the aerospace supply chain, irrespective of the product type. Not sure where you would draw a line, if any.

I differ.

I searched the National Aerospace FOD Prevention, Inc. website and could not see a single mention to FOD in steel mills. Or carpet manufacturer. They might be missing something.

For anyone interested in a good FOD guideline, check the attachment.
 

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