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Feasibility Study on Implementation of Lean Manufacturing in Sugar Industry:

A Case Study

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 ELK Asia Pacific Journals – 978-93-85537-06-6
ARIMPIE -2017

Feasibility Study on Implementation of Lean

Manufacturing in Sugar Industry: A Case Study
Indukuri Manoj Varma, Utkarsh Chaudhary,
Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering,
Amity School of Engineering, Amity School of Engineering,
Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India
manojvarma66@gmail.com, utkarshchaudhary911@gmail.com

Shubham Gupta, Dr. Ravinder Kumar

*Department
Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, of Mechanical and Automation Engineering,
Amity School of Engineering, Amity School of Engineering,
Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India
shubham_gup@yahoo.co.in, ravinderkumar.ap@gmail.com

Abstract: Lean manufacturing is an applied phenomenon of manufacturing have substantial cost and quality advantage
objective, scientific methods that cause work tasks in a over those who still practice traditional mass production.
procedure to be achieved with a minimum of non-value adding Sugar which is consumed on daily basis by everyone is
activities resulting in major reduction of Waiting time, Takt produced by sugarcane which is available for around 4-5
time and bottleneck. The mediocre time between the start of
months and so sugar mill operate during this period. For this
production of one unit and start of production of another unit
is known as takt time. Machine remains idle for certain amount reason, they have to utilise this time at its best and produce
of time which is known as waiting time. Limited capacity of one sufficient amount of sugar which they can consume for the
process reduces the capacity of whole chain termed as whole year. So, it is important to implement lean
bottleneck. Value stream mapping is the tool of lean manufacturing is sugar industries.
manufacturing process in which the current state of the So, int this paper our main aim is to study the feasibility of
processes is explored while on the other hand future state can lean manufacturing in sugar industry using value stream
be designed too.In the present research work, a case study of mapping as a tool and plot the current state map and future
sugar industry has been done successfully. Based on Takt time state map of ABC pvt.limited sugar Mill.
for various parts, the production flow in the factory process
was optimized thus minimizing several non-value added
activities/times such as bottleneck time, waiting time, material 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
handling time, etc. value stream mapping is used here for both Lean manufacturing was introduced by Toyota production
states of the processes, and is successfully designed accordingly. system in 1950s. It basically means to make more out of
This case study can be found useful in developing a more less. In this increasingly global market many US industries
standard approach to design production and processes in lean have tries to adopt the concept of lean manufacturing in
environment in the factory. order to remain competitive. Due to several limitations
Keywords: Lean Manufacturing, Value stream Mapping, Takt concepts of lean manufacturing have been frequently used in
time. discrete manufacturing industries as compared to
continuous/process sector [4]. In automotive and electronics
1. INTODUCTION industries supply chain management have made substantial
Lean Manufacturing now a days have not only been applied impacts since 1970s. Many sugar industries have tried to
to manufacturing industries but also to service industries as improve their supply chain from field to mill but till date the
lean manufacturing helps in arrangement for effective flow number that have been successful have been limited [5]. In
of goods, services and technology from trader to order to increase customer value through cost reduction or
consumers.In a recent survey it was found that through provision of additional value enhanced services it is
approximately 39% of manufacturing industries in India necessary for food industries to implement the concept of
have implemented lean manufacturing or are in the process lean manufacturing. Pull production is the core concept of
of implementing lean [1]. Concepts of lean manufacturing lean manufacturing. The goal of pull marketing is to get the
are not same for every industry, Industries have to apply customers to come to you, hence the term pull, where
appropriate concepts in a correct manner, otherwise the salespersons are struggling to pull customers in. Common
concepts could be disruptive. Lean production uses less of sales tactics used for pull marketing include mass media
almost everything such as human effort, inventory timing, promotions, word-of-mouth referrals and advertised sales
production hours required to produce new products etc[2]. promotions.There are various tools used in lean
Lean manufacturing helps to eliminate 7 types of wastes manufacturing such as pace maker process, kanban, just in
such as 1)overproduction 2)inventory 3)waiting 4)motion time(JIT), cellular manufacturing, Value stream mapping,
5)transportation 6)rework and 7) overprocessing [3]. Kaizen, Total preventive maintainance etc. But the
Industries that have applied the concepts of lean possibilities of cost reduction and stimulating companies to
 ELK Asia Pacific Journals – 978-93-85537-06-6
ARIMPIE -2017

work on further development projects are supported by commission for uniform methods of sugar analysis)
value stream mapping[6]. Value stream mapping tool helps (30).
to see and recognize the course of material and information  In 2016, 100.98 lakh quintal sugarcane was
as a product or service makes its way through the value crushed. But this year 140 lakh quintal is expected.
stream. A value stream map takes into account not only the  This year the mill has created 140 purchasing
product, but the management and information system that centers.
supports the basic process. Improved productivity leads to  Main consumers – Pepsi, Nestle, Dabur, godrej and
leaner operations, which in turn helps to expose further coca cola
waste and quality problems in the system. Value stream We visited ABC sugar mill and studied the whole process.
mapping uses the predefined set of standardised icons. The According to our study we have divided the whole process
first step in the process of creating a value stream map is in 3 cycles.
identification of product or product family where
improvements have to be made. Then there is the need to II. Incoming of raw material and payment to farmers –
study the current process and understand the current process. At the outset, Government decides the reserved area.
Then begin to observe process. It starts with the end of Reserved area is not the exact circle; it is basically the area
process, with the last process closer to the customer. Then divided by the government. All the sugarcane produced in
begin to plot the current state map from beginning to end. the reserved area is supplied to the reserved area. This
Then implement the concepts of lean manufacturing and reserved area is decided each year by cane commissioner at
create a future state map. it differs from the process mapping both district and state level. They also monitor the amount
of Six Sigma in four ways: of cane crushed per year by the reserved factory.
1) It gathers and ceremonies a far broader range of Buying and managing of sugarcane is done in 2 major ways
information than a typical process map. –
2) It tends to be at a higher level (5-10 boxes) than many 1) Gate – (Direct entry) – Farmers residing in the
process maps. neighboring areas generally 5 – 7 Kms from Sugar Mill can
3) It tends to be used at a larger level, i.e. from delivery of directly come and deal with factory.
raw material to delivery of finished goods. 2) Purchasing center –temporary dealing centers (above 7
4) It tends to be used to identify where to focus future kms but strictly in their reserved areas.)
projects, subprojects, and/or kaizen events. Currently, ABC sugar mill have 140 purchasing centers
operating in the reserved areas.
3. FEASIBILITY STUDY There is a mediator between the mill and the farmer known
The mill is certified with ISO 22000: 2005 and this given by as cane society. It is responsible for sale and payment to
food safety management of India. ABC even have a farmers. It is also responsible for details regarding the total
collaboration with Tate and Lyle (UK) which brings out the land owned and amount of sugarcane sown by each and
best technology of the sugar and make the life sweeter. every farmer in the reserved area. They also have data of
This even takes care of workers and officers who work in plant (first sown sugarcane every year) and ratoon (after
the mill. The workers are divided into two categories they the plant when farmers sown the sugarcane again) type of
are as follows – sugarcane Order of preference of purchase of sugar cane -
Temporary workers 1) Early Ratoon
Permanent workers 2) Middle ratoon
ABC mill not only produces sugar but also deals in the 3) Early plant
selling of press mud which can be utilized as fertilizer. Also, 4) Middle plant
distillation of C grade (B- heavy) sugar takes place which These types of sugarcane are bought with a certain price that
results in formation of Ethanol. is decided by the central government, this year the price was
Bagasse which is obtained in the mill is used as a feed for decided at INR325 per quintal. Extra compensation is given
boilers in order to produce electricity which can be used if necessary to the farmers directly whether by the state
within the mill and sometimes this electricity is also sold for government or by the central govt. Allocated area is the sum
domestic purposes. The left over bagasse is sold to paper of reserve area and additional area given to the factory or
industry or it generates the electricity and sells it to the state mill.
government depending on the greater income on which the System of Procurement – it is the act of obtaining the
industry gets. Press mud obtained is sold to the farmers at a materials from the farmers and cane society, it is generally
reasonable cost so they use it in the fields as an organic seen and observed that around 15% of the sugarcane
matter which helps the crop as well. obtained is used again for sowing while 15-20% is termed as
I. Basic Information of company – extra usage (home usage, selling for jiggery and other
products) rest 65-70% is available for crushing for sugar
 1 lakh quintal sugarcane is crushed per day i.e. 12 industry. Coding is given as per the total sugarcane is
lakh kg Sugar per day. available and accordingly the mode of transport the farmers
 Whole process takes place in 32 hours. have, the bonding policy is decided by the state government
 Standard of sugar is maintained by ISS (Indian accordingly. Before start of crushing season or the working
standard sugar) (31) and ICUMSA (international
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ARIMPIE -2017

of factory in full-fledged way, they send their requirements generate electricity which is used by factory so that there is
to the cane society which is called as INDENT. no need to purchase electricity by ABC mill at higher cost.
Around 10k ton of sugarcane is crushed per day which Remaining baggase is sold to paper industries at a rate of
generates about 1200 ton of sugar per day. 2.5Rs per Kg. Amount of baggase sold to paper industries
A token or slip is given to the farmers with 3 days’ prior and amount of baggase used to generate electricity is
notice to supply the amount of sugarcane to the factory, in decided as per from which source the industry will generate
case if he fails to do so on that particular day that slip is maximum revenue.
valid for 3 days after that date too.
For sugar the maximum amount of Sulphur content is The Juice obtained after cane milling will then go through
70ppm but in ABC mill this content is kept as low as 22ppm juice clarification. Initially there are 4 steps known as
only. screening, weighing, holding and pumping respectively.
Steps for Payment – As per the rule declared by the state After which the juice is heated at 70 degrees Celsius at
government the factory has to give the payment to farmers constant mode without altering its temperature at any
within a span of 14 days. The factory gives payment directly interval. Then, Juice sulphitation takes place in a juice
to cane society. No farmer is directly included in payment. sulphitor. Juice sulphitation is a process in which milk of
III. production cycle (from sugarcane to sugar) – lime and Sulphur is added to the juice alternatively. Sulphur
The cycle starts with the cane receiving at cane yard. Before is added in such a way that it does not cross the limitations
using the cane for further processes cane weighment takes of Sulphur which are set by the government. After this final
place. Weight of vehicle with cane and without cane is taken juice heating takes place in a juice heater at 102-105 degrees
after which weight of cane is calculated. After that the Celsius and pH maintained is 7. Through this we obtain
sugarcane is unloaded from the vehicle and placed on a clear juice which is send for clear juice screening which is
conveyer belt. the process of observation of juice and press mud which acts
After unloading the cane from vehicle and placing on as manure in farms.
conveyer belt next step is cane preparation. This process is The syrup obtained is then gone through sulphitation process
the first mechanical process of direct contact of sugarcane (pH – 4.8/4.9). The sulphite syrup is then stored in an
with the machines, it consists of 4 processes and major inventory. Then comes the crystallization process in which
machines. Chopper, leveler, cutter and shredder. Cane the liquid or syrup is converted into crystals. Crystallization
preparation takes place in around 9.53 minutes. These takes place in a PAN at 60- 65 degrees Celsius. The sugar
machines cut the sugarcane in fine parts so that for further then goes to pan for drying.
processes the work becomes easier. After that these fine Finally, it goes to crystallizer and crystals are formed.
parts of sugar cane is passed through Magnetic separator. Grading according to crystal size i.e. Large, Medium and
The next step is Cane milling. It is the process of taking out Small after which bagging of 3 types of sugar takes place
the juice from the sugarcane which is obtained after cane and then it is stored in an Inventory for sale throughout the
preparation methods. In this process juice is extracted in 5 year. Molasses of sugar left at last is then stored in a
steps, in 3rd step of cane milling hot water is added and then separate area which is sold and goes to distillery producing
squeezed so that maximum amount of sugar is extracted. In alcohol (ethanol).
this process the remaining wastage is called baggase. This As, a result there is no wastage of any product in ABC mill
baggase is used as a feed for boilers which produces high during production of sugar from sugar cane and the whole
pressure steam which is used in power turbines in order to process takes place around 32 hours.

Figure1 - Value Stream Map for the current state

 ELK Asia Pacific Journals – 978-93-85537-06-6
ARIMPIE -2017

IV. Marketing – Kgs for institutional buyers and in the packaging of 1, 5, 10,
Marketing is done directly with other industries and as well and 25 Kgs for trade. In case of trade loose sugar is also sold
as open markets. Special team of sales is present to sale the as per demand by the consumer.
products and taking maximum amount of profits. The sugar is given accordingly to the institutional buyers
They are also having knowledge of production of total sugar and the requirements, accordingly the sugar type is produced
and the total requirements of the industries requiring sugar in factory to fulfil the requirement of the buyers.
as them by product. In trade
There are 2 types of buyers- Payment –
Institutional Buyer In Case of institutional buyers mostly the payment is done
Trade (Wholesale). hand to hand at the time of deal made by the sales
Institutional buyers are the big industries which uses sugar department and the institution while in the case of trade
in bulk and produce their own goods and products. payment may be done hand to hand and credit is also
While trade market is the area of open market or wholesale provided for 7-10 days.
areas. The total revenue and profits till 31 march 2016 were-
The major focus is to sell the sugar to institutional buyers #total revenue-14941.87 million INR
rather than trade buyers. #net profit- 22.14 million
Sales Department directly approaches to institutional buyers Sugar produced in 2015-16 was 2.37 lakh Metric ton
whereas trade takes place in open market in which anyone
can directly approach to company and buy sugar in
wholesale. Some of the institutional buyers are nestle, Coca-
Cola, Godrej, Dabur etc. In ABC sugar mill 2 types of
sugars are sold Sulphated and refined in the packaging of 50

Figure 2 - Value Stream map for future state

4. CONCLUSION surveillance for direct gate entries for the day and estimate
According to working processes of ABC sugar Mill we have accordingly, they can have 3 conveyer belts instead of 2 for
plotted the value stream mapping for current state and we fast processing of sugarcane, to avoid fluctuation in daily
have identified the following limitations 1) Cane Society supply we can set a safe house before cane preparation with
distribute slips(parchis) to farmers 3 days before they have a capacity of 50 quintal sugarcane, they can use a jet of hot
to supply sugarcane. 2) Amount of sugarcane supplied daily water to remove excess dirt from sugarcane before cane
is not constant. 3) They currently use just 2 conveyer belts preparation, They can have a safe house to where they can
between cane unloading and cane preparation. 4) They store baggase which could be used as a feed for boiler
instantly wholesale excess baggase to paper industries. 5) anytime, Sugar can also be manufactured without Sulphur
They use SO2 in sugar production process which is known as refined sugar and they can have a supermarket
sometimes harmful for human health. which can store all 3 types of crystals i.e. large, medium and
After identifying the following limitations we have small discretely.
suggested some changes such as instead of distributing
slips(parchis) they can send SMS to farmers informing them
to deliver sugarcane, They can install CCTV camera to keep
 ELK Asia Pacific Journals – 978-93-85537-06-6
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