Development of a Bulk Tea Packaging System

Bulk tea export is one of the major contributors to the Ceylon Tea export market. Cost of production (COP) for Ceylon Tea is the highest in the world according to 2019 statistics, and one of the significant contributors to the COP is the labour cost. The industry is also affected by high labour turn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2020 From Innovation to Impact (FITI) Vol. 1; pp. 1 - 6
Main Authors Wanniarachchi, D N, Gunawardhana, S D, Gawarammana, M B M L B, Punchihewa, H K G, Ranaweera, R K P S, Mangala, K H J
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 15.12.2020
Subjects
Bulk Tea Packaging
Ceylon Tea
Ergonomics
Industries
Packaging
Pricing
Productivity
Technological innovation
Weight measurement
Work-study
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Summary:Bulk tea export is one of the major contributors to the Ceylon Tea export market. Cost of production (COP) for Ceylon Tea is the highest in the world according to 2019 statistics, and one of the significant contributors to the COP is the labour cost. The industry is also affected by high labour turnover. Bulk tea packaging is one of the most labour-intensive operations affected by low labour availability. This paper explores solutions to overcome labour shortage and introduces a mechanisation-based technological solution to reduce the labour cost while increasing the productivity and efficiency of the process, using a case study in a medium scale tea factory. A work-study was carried out to understand the labour requirement status quo, ergonomics at work, and COP. A machine was then designed and constructed, to determine the capabilities, limitations, and productivity of the proposed system. The machine performs the filling, weighing, and palletizing steps in the packaging process, and helps to reduce labour requirement and packaging time by 50% and 75% respectively. Other labour-intensive processes can also be integrated with the developed automated system to gain further economic returns.
DOI:10.1109/FITI52050.2020.9424885