Digitalization represents a paramount process started some decades ago, but which received a strong acceleration by Industry 4.0 and now directly impacts all the process and manufacturing sectors. It is expected to allow the European industry to increase its production efficiency and its sustainability. In particular, in the energy-intensive industries, such as the steel industry, digitalization concerns the application of the related technologies to the production processes, focusing on two main often overlapping directions: Advanced tools for the optimization of the production chain and specific technologies for low-carbon and sustainable production. Furthermore, the rapid evolution of the technologies in the steel sector require the continuous update of the skills of the industrial workforce. The present review paper, resulting from a recent study developed inside a Blueprint European project, introduces the context of digitalization and some important definitions in both the European industry and the European iron and steel sector. The current technological transformation is depicted, and the main developments funded by European Research Programs are analyzed. Moreover, the impact of digitalization on the steel industry workforce are considered together with the foreseen economic developments.

In high technological complexity industrial systems, the operators' role is more and more critical. They need deeper and deeper specialization and a continuous monitoring of both process and plant to achieve high efficiency and proper working. That requires a continuous training and upgrading of the operator knowledge to react promptly and properly to the different plant/process situation to manage. Furthermore the process complexity, like in a steel plant, requires the workers at any level have a global vision of the various factory indicators ( technical and economical) for a complete understanding of their role and the relationships with the other factory departments. The paper describes an intelligent Web-reporting system with e-training capabilities based on a new information management. The system is able to support workers in daily operational jobs by the availability of an updated knowledge base and to capitalize the company know-how making it available at different professional levels.