Nucor, North America’s largest steel producer, has set up a Verizon Private Wireless Network (PWN) on its 8,000-acre facility in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The facility has 27 miles of railroad track and manages 400 to 500 railcars every day. Previously, the location experienced issues with wireless connectivity, affecting both operations and worker safety.
Nucor’s Network Manager, Brandon Hulse, indicated that safety is the company’s first priority. Nucor personnel wear images of their families on their hard hats as a reminder to be safe. Paul Godolphin, a Nucor Network Engineer, underlined the company’s commitment to safety.
The former wireless system at the Berkeley location had approximately 65 access points and covered only 50-60% of the outside space. This left some locations without coverage, making it difficult to connect mobile devices and creating safety risks. For example, a safety requirement forbids employees from riding in rail cars, necessitating the use of dependable video feeds from train cameras. The outdated Wi-Fi system could not provide the required video quality, compromising worker safety and productivity.
Connectivity failures might halt production, costing up to $500,000 per hour and occasionally resulting in a full day of lost output. Maintenance personnel had difficulty locating equipment, and emergency responders struggled to coordinate in remote areas of the plant.
To address these issues, Nucor collaborated with Verizon to build a private cellular network utilizing Nokia LTE technology. Installation took less than three weeks. Verizon engineers examined the area and installed LTE radios on existing tall structures, such as water towers and a 220-foot galvanizing line, to boost coverage. The new network enables Nucor to continue safe operations by allowing for dependable, low-latency video transmission from railcar cameras.
