Steel is a widely used alloy which consists of iron together with an alloying material such as carbon or another alloying element. Carbon is normally used as it is inexpensive; however manganese, chronium, vanadium and tungsten can all be used as well. The production process of steel has changed quite a lot since the initial known use of the substance way back in 1400 BC in East Africa. Methods of steel production before the Renaissance were very inefficient by the standards of today, and efficiency has increased even more in recent years due to the role of computers in the production process. While the modern era of steel making began back in 1858 with the introduction of the Bessemer process, the introduction of computers in the later part of the 20th century has made this process more refined and accurate.

Computers are used primarily in the steel production process as a way to control, measure and analyse the process; both in real time and after the fact. While computers are very powerful at these jobs, the act of actually producing the steel has been going on a long time before the computer age. The blast furnaces that start of the steel process have been in use for two millennium to produce the substance known as pig iron. This intermediate substance has a high carbon content which makes it very brittle and of little practical use as itself. In order to produce true high-grade steel (Edelstahlrohr), other parts of the process have to be carried out. A lot of modern production plants use basic oxygen steel making to turn this carbon rich iron material into the steel that is seen everywhere today.

The basic oxygen steel making process is highly industrial and dependent on a number of conditions. Temperatures of various components and substances needs to be tightly measured and controlled, and this is where computers can add value to this process. From the charging of the furnace to the blowing of the oxygen onto the steel and iron, computer software has been specifically programmed to refine this process and make it faster and more efficient for larger amounts. The programming of these applications is specialised work that will normally be developed by someone who is educated about exactly what the program needs to achieve. The production of steel to fit exact size and weight requirements is a lot easier since the advent of computers into the process. It is now possible for precise measurements to be made and small steel objects and components such as elbow fittings (Rohrbögen) to be made with ease.

Steel production and use has a long history that is intertwined with the evolution of society. This production is entirely possible without computers or the Internet, although probably not on such a large scale as it is being carried out today. The history of steel production has been about improvements regarding efficiency and cost, and the computer has added to these improvements. Modern computer technology does not manufacture steel itself, but it certainly aids the process. Through the control of machinery, the measurement of temperatures and weights and the keeping of records; the computer makes steel processing faster, more efficient and a lot easier.