Simulation based process improvement in palm oil industry: A case study at palm kernel department

Abstract

Palm oil industry contributes significantly to Malaysian economy. However, there seem to be very few studies conducted on improving the palm oil production process. Specifically, there is seemed to be lacked of studies on the application of simulation modelling in improvement activities conducted on palm oil mills. This study addressed this gap by demonstrating the application of simulation modelling in improving or evaluating potential improvements before the improvements are being carried out in the palm oil mill. In order to conduct this research, a palm kernel plant production process in a local palm oil mill had been studied. Two models representing the existing and improved process had been developed and compared. The comparison indicated that the new improved model of the kernel plant does increase the system throughput by 26.7%.