Witnessing decarbonisation and innovation within our supply chain.

At the back of 2024, members of the SPI Piling Ltd team took the opportunity to visit ArcelorMittal steel pile production facilities in Luxembourg.

Decarbonisation.

Decarbonisation is the most important aspect facing all industries and sectors, and is of key importance to us, our clients and our supply chain. We are moving, along with our supply chain to align with the UK Government and European objectives and agreements, to reduce emissions, by the implementation of new innovative products, the use of modern plant and equipment, exploring the use of better more sustainable fuels, and by reducing the amount of fuel consumption as a result of our normal business operations.

During our visit we were able to witness first hand ArcelorMittal’s approach to achieving Net Zero, and lead the way in the production of Sustainable Steel Pile Products, through the use of the Electric Arc Furnaces, Recycled Materials, and interesting discussions on Local Power Usage at their facilities during these production activities.

Materials produced through the EAF (Electric Arc Furnace) process, have greatly reduced CO2 emissions typically less than 30% the value of products produced through normal blast furnace processes. As a typical example, previous processes would produce Circa 2.5 tonnes of CO2 – eq per tonne of finished steel, where as the EAF process reduces this to less than 0.5 tonnes of CO2 – eq per tonne of finished product.

Aside this, the materials produced through the EAF process can be produced from 100% recycled materials, as well as the options for these furnaces to be powered from renewable sources.

Steel is a permanent material: never consumed but continuously transformed. The use of natural resources for producing steel the first time is therefore a transformative process, making iron available in a more “practical form” for subsequent uses (life cycles). Steel is actually a resource that can be re-used several times and recycled indefinitely.

ArcelorMittal was the first steel manufacturer to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of its steel sheet piling products and it has also published several Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) highlighting how seriously it takes its environmental responsibilities.

EPD & LCA | ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling

Life Cycle Assessments inform the end users of the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product or service over its life cycle.

This is critically important when a project is considering the impact of their particular scheme. Projects should not merely consider the production aspect, but the whole life cycle of the end asset.

These ArcelorMittal Products are manufactured in Europe and imported into the UK. Other Manufacturers are available but are much further afield globally, and commonly this is “overlooked” when considering the actual environmental impact for individual schemes. The use of these more local suppliers MUST surely be a consideration when assessing environmental impact.

ArcelorMittal Belval and Differdange, along with other Luxembourg sites, are among the first in the world to obtain the ResponsibleSteel™ certification, a global initiative that recognizes adherence to stringent social, environmental, and governance criteria. In addition to quality and health and safety standards, this certification covers climate change, water resources, biodiversity, human and workers’ rights, and business integrity. In 2022, ArcelorMittal Poland also obtained the ResponsibleSteel™ certification.

We therefore wanted to see first-hand that the product offered by the supply chain was indeed implemented ensuring environmental consideration and compliance, fielding the big question “is what we are offering our customers, exactly as described and marketed?”

We were able to witness the complete production of Sheet piles, from recycling plants, recycling process, recycled material uses and implementation, EAF in process resulting in the unique rolling process with its intricate quality management and inspection processes to the finished product exiting to the storage areas at the mill.

This is where most assessments for environmental impacts end, HOWEVER, this is not the case here. We were able to witness the onward process considered in LCA conducted by ArcelorMittal either by way of delivery from Mill or to further fabrication.

More can be read about Arcelor Mittal’s ResponsibleSteel™ certification at Responsible Sourcing | ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling.

Managing Director of SPI, Alan Smith commented “to see the whole production is fascinating to say the least. I was blissfully unaware of just how intricate and at the same time intensive the production of steel sheet piles was. It is also great to see firsthand the processes we explain every day to our clients when choosing these products, being undertaken. This is a huge scale production facility, based in Europe, there was no choreography here, just simply a well-practiced and managed operation of the highest standards. In years gone by, when visiting these facilities, you would be surrounded by black dirt from the furnace processes, not here, and you wouldn’t believe just how CLEAN it is here, clean air, clean land, clean steel a true testament to the carbon reduction process and undeniable evidence”.

Digital Innovation improving end user performance management:

Imagine………….

You’re a client, with a key investment to construct, whether that be a quay wall, a basement structure or simply a retaining wall. This key element requires extensive design consideration, after all it is there to provide a strategic operational function (i.e. a harbour or quay wall), or it is there to provide a facility to a structure above and indeed form the very foundations on which it is built, or as importantly it is there to support adjacent land or structure/ key assets such as roads, buildings or rail embankments.

How much money is spent for the following 50-120 years of this elements design life in terms of inspections, maintenance visits and or inspections. How many times has an engineer recorded damage to such structure caused by some kind of impact which was never reported or witnessed, such as at the side of a motorway, in an underground car park, or a vessel impact against a quay or berth wall? ………. Often you say………..

And for the owners of such assets who is liable for these damages? You in the end as there is no record of it occurring and so liability is difficult to pass on.

What if there was a simple, cost-effective solution that allowed real time monitoring of such a structure, that in the event of a pre-set trigger being set off, it notified the owner/ user??

Well, THERE IS! We would like to introduce SmartSheetPile.

SmartSheetPile aims to provide infrastructure owners and operators with a digital asset that goes beyond traditional steel sheet piles by integrating sensors for real-time data collection. It enables the continuous monitoring of the structure’s health and general conditions.

Recognizing the challenges of the future, ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling introduces SmartSheetPile, an innovative health monitoring solution designed to make infrastructures safer, digitally self-aware and integrated with their surroundings. These technologies allow to develop digital twins of the infrastructures by seamlessly integrating physical assets with digital tools.

SmartSheetPile is designed to maintain a continuous monitoring, instantly transmitting the structure’s real-time condition data to the cloud. In case of unexpected events such as anchor failure, wall impact, or earthquakes, SmartSheetPile can promptly issue alerts. The solution ensures continuous collection and transmission of high-quality and precise data, enabling informed decision-making. This not only leads to reduced maintenance costs but also optimizes the utilization of structures and extends its lifetime.

Furthermore, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) takes asset management to the next level by enabling predictive maintenance. The vast amount of data collected from sensors is processed and analyzed using advanced AI algorithms. These algorithms identify correlations among monitored characteristics and parameters, enabling the prediction of critical issues and optimizing maintenance plans to prevent potential problems. This proactive approach ensures enhanced efficiency and reliability in asset management.

What does SmartSheetPile measure ?

• Shocks

Detect shocks and collisions to identify point loads that have a negative impact on the remaining service life. Real-time impact tracking enables the identification of the responsible party for damages and helps claiming for compensation.

• Corrosion

Corrosion is one of the most important aspects to monitor for a steel sheet pile, as it is directly related to the remaining service life of the structure. Corrosion sensors provide real-time information on the loss of thickness over time. Several sensor types are available: ER (Electrical Resistance) probes, ultrasonic sensors and corrosion coupons.

• Wall integrity

Monitor the integrity of retaining walls by ensuring that the sheet piles are properly interlocked during the installation process.

• Deformation

Track the tilting of the sheet pile wall and receive alerts from any sudden significant deformation, which may indicate anchoring failure, wall damage, ground movement, etc.

• Strain

Continuous monitoring of strain values on a specific section of the sheet pile wall can be used to track the actual forces affecting the structure: ground pressure, surcharges, tidal activity, etc. Combined with corrosion measurements, strain monitoring allows for a continuous reassessment of the remaining service life.

• Secure your assets

The data transmitted by the SmartSheetPile solution helps prevent irreparable damage to the infrastructures. It detects accidental and weather-induced damage. Real-time monitoring of the infrastructure provides early warning of potential catastrophic structural failure, allowing for preventive action to be taken.

• Minimize downtime

Whether it is a quay wall, a bridge abutment or a dyke, an unscheduled  shutdown can be very disruptive and expensive. It leads to reduced revenue, costly repair work and inconvenience to users. The SmartSheetPile solution provides all the data needed to plan the required maintenance work well in advance, minimizing downtime.

• Achieve preventive maintenance

The availability of accurate data on the structural condition of an infrastructure helps optimise its maintenance. Asset owners know exactly when and where maintenance is needed, eliminating the need for costly inspections and unscheduled repair works.

• Reveal hidden capacities

The collected data provides accurate information on the state of the structure, the forces involved and their impact on the sheet pile walls, allowing for the discovery of any hidden unused capacity. The usage of the structure can be optimised to benefit from its full potential.

• Take on the digital transformation

Digitalisation is a key driver of innovation in design and operation. Live data collected by the SmartSheetPile solution can be integrated into the digital twin of the infrastructure, providing a multidimensional overview of the structure’s design, performance and interactions with the world. It is a single model that brings together all the information needed for effective asset management.

To find out more about this exciting development and how we can integrate this into your next project, please contact us directly, and we will be pleased to take you through this innovative system, and help you remove years of ongoing and unplanned costs.