Submitted to the Sloan School of Management in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Management at the Massachusetts

This thesis will evaluate the utilization of process management tools in the implementation of a major engineering project in a steel plant of Gerdau Group in the city of Charqueadas, Brazil. The project consisted of an increase in capacity of the electric arc furnace in order to improve the availability of liquid steel to the subsequent processes in the Melt Shop. The evaluation will be performed according to the Approach to Developing Process Technology Strategy (Beckman, S.L. and Rosenfield, D.B., Operations Leadership Competing in the New Economy, Irwin McGraw Hill, 2007) methodology and it will assess to what degree the company covered the six recommended steps of the methodology: Step 1 Understand the Business Strategy and Competitive Environment Step 2 Understand the Technology Trends in the Industry Step 3 Understand the Internal Capabilities of the Company Step 4 Identify and Assess Process Technology Investment Alternatives Step 5 Develop an Implementation Plan and Implement Step 6 Implement, Assess and Measure Results The evaluation will not prioritize the technical depth of the process technologies analyzed, but rather will focus on the strategic and tactical aspects of the projects' implementation process. The major goal will be to assist the company in improving its engineering projects managerial system. The actual methodology utilized in engineering projects, although covering most of managerial aspects of implementation, does not represent a formal approach to the process technology decisions required. The utilization of process management tools will provide less variability in the achievement of project performance goals, allowing the company to achieve the expected benefits related to its investments in installations and infrastructure quickly and consistently. The conclusions will be used to develop recommendations for the implementation of future projects and the evaluation will also address the organizational aspects for a possible replication of the project in other steel plants outside Brazil. Thesis Supervisor: Donald B. Rosenfield Title: Senior Lecturer/Director, MIT Leaders for Manufacturing Program NOTE ON PROPRIETARY INFORMATION In order to protect Gerdau Group proprietary information, the data presented throughout this thesis has been modified, scaled or minimized and do not represent actual values used by Gerdau Group.