A Simulation of Facility Layout Improvement at Local Food Industry

As Salaiport become well known recently, demand for their product keep increasing. However, no proper layout of the workstation and the manual production process tend to reduce the production process and cause ergonomics problems. Simulation is a problem solving methodology for the solution of many real world problems, including to determine an effective layout for the workers in order to improve the productivity and efficiency of the production. The main aims of this study is to proposed a layout for Erul Food Industry that optimize processing time and minimize the cost in view of ergonomics. The Sketchup software is used to design the production line layout and the FlexSim software is used to identify the best design based on time and cost of processing. Based on the simulation results, Design 2 is the best design as it has minimum processing time and cost. It can be concluded that the shorter total running time of production, the lower cost of production

A Simulation of Facility Layout Improvement at Local Food Industry

As Salaiport become well known recently, demand for their product keep increasing. However, no proper layout of the workstation and the manual production process tend to reduce the production process and cause ergonomics problems. Simulation is a problem solving methodology for the solution of many real world problems, including to determine an effective layout for the workers in order to improve the productivity and efficiency of the production. The main aims of this study is to proposed a layout for Erul Food Industry that optimize processing time and minimize the cost in view of ergonomics. The Sketchup software is used to design the production line layout and the FlexSim software is used to identify the best design based on time and cost of processing. Based on the simulation results, Design 2 is the best design as it has minimum processing time and cost. It can be concluded that the shorter total running time of production, the lower cost of production

Ergonomic posture assessment of butchers: a small enterprise study in Malaysia food industry

The development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is crucial for improving the economy of a rural area. However, this can cause working posture problems, such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs). This is especially true for butchers, who work in SMEs that still depend on manual handling processes without standard operating procedures. Posture analysis evaluations using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) tools have been used to analyse the working postures of butchers working in SMEs. The aim of this study was to identify butchers’ risks of working posture problems, and to propose an ergonomic workstation designed to reduce MSDs and CTDs. This study was focused on smoked meat preparation. The butchers there spend 5–8 hours a day cutting and trimming meat. The assessment was conducted using RULA and REBA worksheets. The RULA score for the meat trimming process was 7, with a score of 6 for the meat cutting process. As for REBA, the score was 5 for both the meat trimming and meat cutting processes. Based on these scores, the butchers were at higher risks for MSDs and CTDs. Therefore, a new ergonomic workstation design was proposed based on the principles of motion economy

Review on methodology for life cycle costing of membrane system for wastewater filtration

In a competitive environment, manufacturers have to come out with innovative solution to market their product, including implementation of life cycle engineering concept. Life cycle costing (LCC) is one of the aspects that need to be considered when adapting this concept. In addition, costing is another important aspect that needs to be considered carefully. In order to perform LCC analysis, cost estimation is an essential step. Cost estimation model should not only consider pre-production and production cost, design, manufacturing, and assembly, but also postproduction, customer use and end of life. Development of cost estimation model or methodology is needed to simplify the LCC analysis so that it can produce more accurate results in shorter time. This paper reviewed on LCC, cost estimation techniques and several developed cost estimation models in order to determine research gap and research direction on developing a methodology to assess LCC of membrane system for wastewater filtration

Application of activity-based costing in estimating the costs of manufacturing process

Membrane technologies are known as one of the sustainable solutions in treating wastewater from the manufacturing industry to maintain an ecosystem for the future generation. Various studies had explored this technology in terms of the economic aspects, mainly focusing on a certain process and/or only costs such as investment cost, energy cost, and operation cost. This study concentrates on developing a methodology for estimating the total cost of the manufacturing process for the hollow fiber membrane module (HFMM) by using activity-based costing (ABC) technique. ABC was used due to its capability to calculate the overhead cost and generate the information that contributes to improving the overall production activity. Based on the ABC analysis, the overhead cost is RM0.49, while labour and material costs are RM222.97 and RM0.63, respectively. The analysis revealed that extrusion is the highest cost activity and space is the highest resource consumed. Pareto chart and value analysis were employed to determine the areas that need improvement to increase production effectiveness and reduce the total cost further. The research findings conclude that the cost to produce a HFMM is consider cheap, but it can further reduce by eliminating some unnecessary activities