Continuous Quality Improvement by Statistical Process Control Implementation in Cocoa Agroindustry

Abstract

Downstream sector development for agricultural commodities will encourage agroindustry, increase added value and farmers' income. The development of small-medium cocoa agroindustry is one of the downstream sector development strategies for cocoa. Product quality is one of the problems affecting the performance of cocoa-based agroindustry. Chocolate products face obstacles to meet the quality. Besides, consumers want organoleptic tests related to aroma and flavor as an additional requirement. Statistical Quality Control (SQC) is a method that could maintain production quality at a minimum cost level and achieve efficiency. SQC can see the defect in the production and trend of increasing or decreasing to make improvements. This study aims to analyse the quality of cocoa products with the application of SQC as a continuous improvement strategy. The research method uses a case study. The research phase includes observations, interviews, documentation, measurements, and literature studies. Implementing SQC used check sheets, histograms, Pareto diagrams, and cause-and-effect diagrams related to the product of chocolate by sensory evaluation. Control is carried out in the conching and tempering. Based on a simple SQC, the small-medium cocoa agroindustry can obtain alternative production improvements to increase the final product quality.