OREANDA-NEWS. August 28, 2014. Diego Cuena won the “Cesar Fraga” technological creativity award, a competition launched by the department of social welfare of the Aviles City Council and ArcelorMittal’s global research and development (R&D) centre in Asturias, for the students of the vocational training centres of Aviles.

Cuena, student of regulation and control of industrial systems training programme in the CIFP (integrated vocational training centre) of Aviles, presented a project entitled “System to prevent the formation of domes at the coal hoppers of the coke oven batteries”. The aim of this project is to avoid the accumulation of coal on the walls of the coke oven batteries’ hoppers, thus preventing clogging and maximising the use of coal.

Diego will be hired as an intern and will have the opportunity to implement his project at the ArcelorMittal’s global R&D centre in Asturias.

Two honourable mentions
Furthermore, the judges awarded an honourable mention to the “Data acquisition clothing, machinery operation and start-up device” project. The project’s creators Daniel Font, Santiago Marin and Pablo Menendez are automatic regulation and control systems programme students.

Their entry highlighted a series of improvements in  occupational health and safety, including work clothing with temperature sensors, gas detectors, noise level detectors; displays and mobile phone apps that outline the steps to be taken should an emergency situation arise in the workplace; and a system that analyses the exhaled air and prevents heavy machinery – such as trucks or cranes – from starting up if the operator is under the influence of alcohol.

Another honourable mention was awarded to the project entitled “3D Steel” by Paloma Diez, multiplatform applications development student. This entry explored the production of small metal parts from steel powder using 3D printers.

Since the projects that were awarded the two honourable mentions are potentially viable, their creators will continue with their implementation at the Aviles facilities of the ArcelorMittal’s global R&D centre.

The judging panel consisted of representatives from the Aviles City Council, the teachers’ centre of Aviles-Western Asturias and the ArcelorMittal’s global R&D centre in Asturias. They commented on the number of high quality competition entries received. They also highlighted the need to increase the visibility of vocational training education since it enables students to access the labour market while having the qualifications required to carry out technical work associated with each training speciality.

The town councillor for education, Yolanda Alonso, said that the award-winning young men and women “have shown their creative abilities and talent, thus revealing the transformative potential of vocational training and its importance within the education system of Asturias, a system committed to innovation in the learning process and that places training as the key added-value factor of the production system”. Alonso was keen to point out that “the  improvements in vocational training education, not only due to the increase in the number of students over the last few years, but also because the presence of women is already becoming noticeable in highly male-dominated training specialities, such as those related to the metal industry”. She also added: “I am especially pleased that an honourable mention has been awarded to the project of Paloma Diez”.

Nicolas de Abajo, head of the ArcelorMittal’s global R&D centre in Asturias, highlighted the “originality and quality of many of the projects submitted to this competition, which are characteristics linked to the high educational level of the vocational training courses provided in the town. An R&D centre needs talented, skilled and creative people since a large part of our work consists in finding innovative solutions to highly complex problems, which – in addition to constant efforts – requires increased imagination in order to give a quick response”.

Representatives of the Aviles City Council and ArcelorMittal will hand over the awards during a ceremony to be held in September at the facilities of the ArcelorMittal’s R&D centre.

The Cesar Fraga awards are named after a young researcher of the R&D centre who died in 2012 and who, in spite of his youth, had a brilliant and innovative career creating unique solutions to improve steel production. The aim of the awards is to foster the creativity of the students who attend the public vocational training centres in Aviles. The topics of the projects should be related to technology and steelmaking, considering both from a broad perspective. The panel has taken into account the viability of the proposals received, their potential implementation, and their innovative nature and found a winner in Diego Cuena.