The management of steel industry gas products is a continuous process carried out by the operators of the control system. At present the networks are monitored and changes planned and executed manually.

In recent years there has been a considerable increase in network configurations and the frequency of operations required to adapt the gas allocation controls as a result of greater manufacturing flexibility and the attendant fluctuating energy requirements.

The aims of the research are, firstly, to automate the distribution system and, secondly, to improve the continuous monitoring of anomalies in the gas network which may affect the safety of works personnel.

The measures involved in the research and its application can be described as follows, in order of complexity:

a) Measurements and the Transmission of Measurements

- General recommendations on the choice of equipment suitable for the types of gas involved and the on-site needs.
- Recommendations on the measurement of flow rate at the lower end of the scale and of the volume in the gasholders.
- Study of potentially hazardous temporary conditions.
- Maintenance rules, calibrating procedures.
- Procedure for remote control and centralization of controls.

b) Continuous Gas Analysis

- Continuous monitoring of sensor reliability.
- Detection of leaks of incidents affecting subsidiary units of the network.

c) Short-term Forecasts of the Condition of the Gas Distribution System

- on the basis of predicted consumption, manufacturing programmes, and information from workshops, to forecast distribution levels to ensure that the pressure and gas-holder conditions of the network are always safe.

- to provide a very user-friendly prompt function, and eventually an automatic system, for distribution.
- to introduce regulations and adapt activities to network safety.

d) Ergonomics

- Computerized central control and display of measurements and results, automation of repetitive tasks.