BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks in New South Wales, Australia, has upgraded its communications infrastructure with Riedel’s Artist ecosystem, replacing an ageing analogue partyline system in the Hot Mills Department.
Producing more than three million tonnes of steel annually, Port Kembla is Australia’s largest industrial site. Its Hot Strip Mill, dating back to the 1960s, relied on a legacy two-wire system that could no longer meet operational demands. With safety and efficiency at stake, BlueScope selected Riedel’s Artist platform for its scalability, audio clarity and redundancy.
The new system allows flexible call routing between pulpits (control booths), supports partylines, and integrates external hardware. A key improvement has been integration with BlueScope’s Tetra digital radio network through Riedel’s Juggler interface, creating a unified communications framework between elevated pulpits and floor crews.
Artist also links with distributed speaker and microphone systems as well as GPIO-triggered devices, enabling dynamic workflows and emergency override functionality for critical safety announcements.
“Reliability is essential - without comms, the process stops,” said Benjamin Yeatman, Hot Mills electrical engineering team leader at BlueScope. “Riedel’s built-in redundancy and seamless integration have improved communication across the plant.”
The system has also delivered softer benefits in terms of workforce connection. “The audio quality is excellent - loud and robust - but more than that, the comms is bringing the team together,” added Karl Pajkovic, operations manager at BlueScope. “It helps operators in isolated pulpits feel included, which is good for morale.”
Chris Johnson, director Oceania at Riedel Communications, said the project demonstrated how Artist technology, originally designed for broadcast and live production, is increasingly being deployed in heavy industrial environments.