Fertilizer is used around the world to grow crops and other plants. Lean and Six Sigma methodologies help to improve production processes and reduce waste. We’ll look at case studies from Brazil, Indonesia, and India and finish with a video of how organic fertilizer is made.
Lean Manufacturing Applied to Liquid Fertilizer Manufacturing: Brazil
In a paper titled “Lean Production System Applied to a Liquid Fertilizer Industry”
authors Fabrício Gomes Menezes Porto, Marcelo Bacci da Silva, and José Roberto
Delalibera Finzer discusses the use of Lean manufacturing in a Brazilian liquid fertilizer manufacturer.
The paper includes:
- Cause and Effect Diagram for Low Productivity
- Pareto Chart for non-value Added Activities
- Time Formulation Process Before Improvement
- Action Plan
- Time Formulation Process After Improvement
The use of Lean Manufacturing led to a reduction in production time by 33% while doubling the productive capacity.
You can access the paper here.
Using Value Stream Mapping and House of Risk in a Fertilizer Company: Indonesia
In an article titled “Combination of Value Stream Mapping and House of Risk Methods to Eliminate Waste in Productivity Enhancement in Production Area of Fertilizer Company” authors F. Suryanti, A. Sudiarno and A. A. C Sudarni cover the use of Value Stream Mapping and House of Risk to eliminate waste in an Indonesian fertilizer company.
Value Stream Mapping is shown in current and future state maps.
House of Risk calculations includes APR (Aggregate Risk Potential) and ETD (Effectiveness to Difficulty) ratio.
You can read the paper here.
NOTE: The following paper explains the House of Risk approach and associated calculations in detail:
“House of risk: a model for proactive supply chain risk management” by I. Nyoman Pujawan and Laudine H. Geraldin. You can access that paper here.
Using Lean Manufacturing to Improve the Material Handling System in a Fertilizer Company: India
In an article titled “Lean Manufacturing Implementation in Material Handling System of Indian Fertilizer Industry “ authors Bhargav C. Patel , and Bhrugesh Radadiya discuss the use of Value Stream Mapping to reduce the cycle time and cost in a fertilizer material handling system.
Included in the article are:
- Fertilizer Industry Process Map
- Material Handling System Line Diagram
- Current State Map
- Waste Checklist and Area of Improvement
- Future State Map
You can read the article here.
Video of How Organic Fertilizer is Made: The Netherlands
See how Ferm o Feed, a Netherlands manufacturer, makes organic fertilizer.
You can watch the video here.
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