Thai Industrial Engineering Network Journal

Value Stream Mapping in Long-Lasting Insecticidal Net Production Improvement of Small and Medium Enterprise for Sustainable Manufacturing in Thailand

2024-11-24T10:06:12+07:00

The aim of this study is to examine how to implement lean manufacturing solutions to reduce production waste in long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) production. Data was collected using a mix of literature-based qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The qualitative methodologies include observational and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 22 employees, whereas the quantitative methodologies include a questionnaire. The qualitative methodologies start with a study of the current process as well as customer demand. Value Stream Mapping (VSM) will serve as a tool for the identification of waste by separating value-added activities from non-value activities in the LLIN process. As part of the improvement process, fault tree analysis (FTA) techniques are used to determine the causes, along with the type of lean tools used. The results revealed that, after the proposed improvement, the total lead time decreased by 23.08% and the process step was shortened by 31.03%, which was quite an exceptional outcome. In addition, productivity was able to improve by 9.39%, work-in-process inventory was reduced by 7.46%, production time was reduced by 8.14%, and NVA was lowered by 6.38%. The findings of this study could provide some guidelines for the production manager and the manufacturing organization to deliver successful Sustainable Development Goals and achieve sustainable manufacturing.

Determining the Optimal Parameters of Laser Color Engraving Processing Using Engineering Experimental Design Techniques

2024-10-22T08:37:11+07:00

This study investigates the laser color engraving process on 304 stainless steel using a color fiber laser prototype. The prototype's manufacturer, intending to create an instructional manual for customers, specified an acceptable engraving depth of 10–15 µm. However, after the prototype’s completion, no specific parameters were established for the engraving process. Therefore, the researcher designed an experimental procedure, utilizing the Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology, specifically employing the Central Composite Design (CCD) technique to identify optimal parameters for laser color engraving. The primary parameters evaluated were laser power, ranging from 10 to 30 W, and engraving speed, ranging from 300 to 800 mm/s. The experiment indicated that optimal parameters included a power setting of 17 W and an engraving speed of 500 mm/s, achieving an engraving depth of approximately 13 µm, which met the manufacturer’s specified range. Applying these optimized parameters in practical testing confirmed their effectiveness and facilitated the development of a comprehensive user manual for future customers.

An Application of Solver in Microsoft Excel for Solving Allocation Problem: A Case of the Research Labs Selection of Engineering Students at Mahasarakham University

2024-08-30T10:13:33+07:00

The objective of this study is to present the solution of the research labs selection and allocation problem of manufacturing engineering (MFE) students at Mahasarakham University using Solver in Microsoft Excel and a mathematical model. In the present research lab allocation, the MFE students must contact the head of that lecturer’s research lab. If that research lab is not full, they will be allocated to the research lab that they chose. If it is full, they must contact and ask the other research labs. This method would likely be inefficient and take a long time unnecessarily. Moreover, many groups of students will be allocated to the research lab they don’t want to choose. This would have an effect on students unsatisfied with doing MFE projects. Therefore, this study focuses on applying Solver to analyze the allocation problem of research labs automatically. The researchers assigned the questionnaires to 28 groups of junior students targeted to answer the questions about the top 3 research labs that they want to choose. Then, information about the research labs of the MFE department, allocation, and selection conditions were collected. Next, a mathematical model which took the place of the research lab allocation problem was developed and solved to find the problem’s solution automatically. The result showed that the allocation problem's solution is presented efficiently within 4 seconds while the old method took at least 4 hours, and the answers are found under the conditions of the MFE department research labs allocation.

The Increasing Overall Equipment Effectiveness of High Density Polyethylene Pipe Manufacturing

2024-11-23T10:07:28+07:00

The objective of this research is to enhance the manufacturing process of High-Density Polyethylene pipe to minimize waste during production and enhance Overall Equipment Efficiency. The performance rate has been improved to meet the required amount of raw material for the plastic molding machine. This improvement has been achieved by implementing the DMAIC operational framework, which is based on the Six Sigma theory. In addition to process capability analysis techniques, brainstorming approaches, the use of seven quality tools, and ABC analysis, specific efforts have been made to reduce the loss of raw materials by 1.5 % and enhance Overall Equipment Efficiency by 2.5 % in the target of the case of production lines. The root cause analysis has determined that the installation of machining controller systems for thickness pipe is a mandatory activity in the operation. There has been an encouragement to reduce the amount of raw material being flowed into the hopper, which leads to an increase in machine performance rate and also helps defend against defects in product quality. The improvement technique has utilized a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to regulate the actuator and carry out input data from measuring devices at the rolling piping section in the final process. Consequently, this activity has the potential to significantly decrease the amount of raw material by 2.5% and simultaneously enhance the Overall Equipment Efficiency by 4.4 %. This accomplishment has successfully achieved the objective of enhancing efficiency and productivity in the operations of the sample process case.

Assessment and Warehouse Management of Automotive Parts Manufacturers

2024-09-03T13:42:57+07:00

The objective of this research is to improve and reduce the time in the storage and picking process according to the product sheet and to evaluate the efficiency of warehouse management before and after the improvement of the warehouse of the automotive parts manufacturing company by analyzing the warehouse problem using the fishbone diagram, ABC analysis, and the evaluation of warehouse management efficiency (Industrial logistics performance index: ILPI) to propose an efficient and cost-effective operation approach. The initial research study and analysis of the current condition of the warehouse, adjusting the product placement, and trying to collect the picking time of the original placement to compare with the newly made placement by rearranging the placement to make the work faster result in lower costs. By randomly selecting the product sheet to experiment with the picking method and collecting time data to compare and find the best time, it was found that the picking time could be reduced by 366 seconds or 49.51 percent, and the average storage time of finished goods was reduced by 10 days. The inventory accuracy rate increased by 99.2 percent, making the warehouse management system and product picking more efficient.

Production Planning and Management of Paper Bag Packaging Using Mathematical Scheduling Models

2024-09-06T16:15:24+07:00

The purpose of this research is to create a paper bag production plan to increase profit by using a mathematical model, a linear project for planning the production of 4-size paper bags based on sales data and customer demand for phase 2.The past year and the ability to predict production planning that needs to be made and how much data is to be used is analyzed by using Solver, an add-in tool that is built in Microsoft Excel 2019.

The results summary shows the highest level of profitability in the year. The manufacturer has increased its ability to handle all orders and has adopted a policy of hiring third parties to help them in production. Even though hiring other manufacturers to produce goods has increased costs, it also prevents manufacturers from losing market shares and also contributes to the sale of mathematical models. It is used to calculate paper bag production for 12 months. The highest profit was 10,116,713 baht, an increase of approximately 874,810.74 baht or 9.47 percent

Reducing Search Time for Quality Documents Using ECRS Techniques and Developing a Systematic Document Storage Database

2024-11-23T10:53:26+07:00

This research aims to reduce the search time for quality documents in the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) and develop a systematic document storage database in an automotive manufacturing company using ECRS engineering techniques (Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, Simplify). The study found that the current document storage method takes an average of 44.96 minutes per search due to the large volume of documents stored in limited space, making the search process time-consuming and storage space inadequate. To address this issue, the researchers developed a VBA program in Excel to manage the database and assist in document searches. The research results showed that the search time was reduced to just 6.26 minutes per search, a decrease of 38.70 minutes. Additionally, this approach improved the efficiency of document storage and retrieval, making the PPAP process faster and more accurate.

Production Sequencing and Scheduling for Coil Assembly of Air Conditioner

2024-08-30T10:18:25+07:00

This research presents a study on job sequencing and production scheduling for coil components of the air conditioner production process. The problem structure is characterized as a hybrid flow shop with two stages. Each set of orders consists of N jobs that must go through station 1 with 3 parallel machines before proceeding to a single machine at station 2 under a condition of sequence-dependent setup times. The objective is to reduce overtime costs that are needed to avoid job tardiness. The TSP-AH heuristic is proposed utilizing the concept of the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) to sequence all jobs before assigning them to machines at stations 1 and 2 to minimize overtime. The TSP-AH was applied to 10 job sets and compared with the existing MinSetup method. The result indicated that the TPS-AH led to an average, of each order set, reduction of makespan from 143 to 131.7 hours. The number of job tardiness decreased from 9.5 to 7 jobs. Subsequently, overtime costs decreased significantly from 32,031.3 to 12,846.8 baht, or a 59.9% reduction of the existing method. The findings demonstrate that the TSP-AH effectively improves job sequencing and production scheduling for the 2-stages hybrid flow shop problems, leading to better on-time deliveries and substantial cost savings.

The Development of a Laying Duck Smart Farm Based on Internet of Things

2024-11-24T12:05:21+07:00

A Study was conducted to develop an environmental control system for egg duck farmhouses using Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The objective was to design a smart agricultural innovation to monitor and control environmental conditions, specifically temperature and relative humidity, within the farmhouses. Additionally, a technology transfer manual was developed to assist duck farmers in implementing the IoT based system. The results showed that the environmental conditions in the farmhouse, designed using IoT device connectivity diagrams with Node MCU integrated with Arduino boards enabled the sensor system to automatically activate the fan when the temperature exceeded 32°C, the relative humidity was maintained below 85%. Applications were developed to connect IoT devices with mobile phones, allowing seamless monitoring and management. Expert evaluations of the egg duck farm management application indicated its suitability in five areas: 1) Alignment with user requirements 2) Program functionality 3) Usability 4) Security 5) Clarity of the user manual The overall Content Validity Index (CVI) of the application was 0.89. The technology transfer manual for the IoT-based environmental control system included operational principles, component descriptions, and on-site display interfaces with text and images corresponding to real-world farm conditions.