Propuesta de automatización de una planta empacadora de hierbas aromáticas

Abstract

With the growing demand for aromatic plants from markets mainly in the United States and Canada, which is reflected in record figures in 2022 with 49.5 million dollars and a 16% growth in sales compared to the previous year (Forbes Colombia, 2023), the entry of new competitors and in addition to macroeconomic variables such as the exchange rate (Revaluation of the Colombian peso against the US dollar) it becomes important for Agrifresh S.A. to reduce operational costs, in order to be profitable and sustainable over time and in turn gain market share. For this reason, the present work is aimed at the introduction of new technologies in the selection and packaging processes of the company Agrifresh S.A., starting by making a diagnosis of the current method that includes the process flow diagrams, the measurement of times and movements of the activities, the current plant distribution, determining the restrictions and evaluating the capacity of the plant, observing machines, equipment and tools used in the process. This is done with the purpose of identifying improvement opportunities, activities or processes that can be automated. This leads to an automation proposal that improves process times, cycle times, and inventory levels of both raw materials and products in process, which is validated through simulation.