Cost and benefit analysis of implementing TFMEA in tea industry: a case study

Abstract

Tea is an aromatic drink commonly consumed by the people worldwide. Tea manufacturers face a serious threat in controlling the failures in its manufacturing process. Failures in the manufacturing process affect the quality of the tea produced. The cost of the tea varies with the quality of the tea. The tea manufacturers are more concerned about the internal failure cost incurred in its manufacturing process as it determines the cost and quality of the tea. In this background, a new approach namely cost-based total failure mode and effect analysis (CTFMEA) was applied in the research reported in this paper. In this research, a maiden attempt is made to implement this new approach by conducting a case study in tea manufacturing company. After implementing TFMEA technique its cost benefit analysis was conducted. The outcome of this research indicated that through the application of CTFMEA, the quality of the tea could be improved by reducing the failures thereby assuring cost benefits to the tea manufacturers.