Influence of Lean Automation on Resource Wastage in Sugar Industries: Case in Kenya

Abstract

Sustainability of resource utilization in local sugar industries is on a decline due to the adoption of obsolete technology, among other factors. In this regard, there is a need for an advanced manufacturing approach to address resource wastages in the local industries. Resource utilization efficiency of a sugar cane industry can be varied through combinations of energy consumption, setup time, and cycle time. However, this depends on manufacturing technology used by the industry that is embodied in different levels of automation. Thus, this study carried out an analysis of the different levels of automation at different stages of the pre-milling process of sugarcane in the case industry to determine the optimum automation level for efficient resource utilization. A randomized block experiment was adopted, and for each indicator under investigation, seven replicates were conducted for the reliability of results. It was found that the rate of power consumption employing LoA 4 (conventional automation) was relatively higher with a total of 45044 kW compared to when LoA 5 (SCADA) or LoA 6 (DCS) was used with a total power consumption of 42058 kW and 42008 kW respectively. Similarly, LoA 5 and 6 have virtually negligible setup and cycle times involved except when it is after a general plant overhaul. This is as a result of minimum variations in the process parameters due to their real-time monitoring and control. Therefore, lean automation proves to be the ultimate technique that should be adopted in our sugar industries.