Innovation like imagination has no boundaries. It is often said that "Man is not limited by what he cannot achieve, but by what he cannot imagine". That in fact, was the by-line of Will to Win's Issue 1 -the theme of which was "Dare to be Different". Twenty-five issues and almost seven years later, we come back to the same theme of real-time innovations in Tata Steel.

This time, it involves the continuous measurement of temperature in the converters (steelmaking vessels)

in LD 1. Earlier, the converter shell temperatures used to be measured using a thermography camera as per a schedule, in order to see if there were any vulnerable areas showing high temperature on the shell. The shell temperatures were monitored on a daily basis to optimise the refractory lining life, but a need was felt to monitor the temperatures on a continuous basis, particularly in several vulnerable areas, which were inaccessible to the thermography camera.

The on-line monitoring facility which has now been developed provides continuous monitoring of the converter shell temperature using twelve thermocouples, which indicate the refractory wear profile based on which, on-line modifications of the blow profile, lime addition schedule and slag-wash arrangement can be made. This technique is akin to the stethoscope of a doctor to measure the "pulse" of the patient -if the pulse rate can be monitored, longer and more reliable life can be ensured.