Increasing Efficiency of the Tapioca Starch Production Process using Clean Technology Concept: A Case study of J. Charoen Marketing Company Limited

Abstract

This research on increasing the efficiency of the tapioca starch production process using the concept of clean technology was conducted with the aim of improving the whole production process and reducing losses. The study was carried out via the following steps: 1) an investigation into the general conditions of the production processes; 2) a preliminary assessment; 3) a detailed assessment; 4) a feasibility study; and 5) a practical trial. According to the results for the new model of rasper, whilst the average starch lost in the pulp was 483.30 tons/month, by changing the frequency of blade replacement from 5 to 8 times/month, the milling efficiency increased from 75.44% to 82.80%, representing a difference of 965,050 Baht/month. For the existing machine, the average starch lost in the pulp was 222.05 tons/month, and by replacing the blades from 3 to 4 times/month, the milling efficiency increased from 51.04% to 55.11%, representing a difference of 196,575 Baht/month. A comparison based on the engineering economic criteria of machine price, cassava price, blade price, wage, electricity cost, maintenance cost, scrap value, benefit-cost ratio, and useful life, it was demonstrated that the new model is more economical than the existing machine, with a net present value of 2,385,932.38 Baht, a benefit-cost ratio of 1.00, an internal rate of return of 21.29%, and a payback period of 1.14 years. To reduce waste motion in the packing process, an improvement was carried out via rearrangement and adjustment eliminating an unnecessary carrying step, resulting in a decrease in the total steps from 13 to 12, (-7.69%). A repositioning of the machinery and equipment, and a re-design of the conveyor belt for packed sacks facilitated operations and decreased the total production process distance from 14.98 meters to 7.68 meters (-48.73%). The duration of the packing process was reduced from 121.13 seconds to 90.00 seconds (-25.69%), whilst manpower was reduced from 12 persons to 9 persons (-25.00%).