Prospects of diffusion as a Six-Sigma automation in enhancing continuous improvement of cane juice extraction in Kenya

Continuous improvement encompasses identification of threats and opportunities, proposal and implementation of the solutions, and lastly monitoring and evaluation of sugar production. Cane juice extraction in Sugar production is achieved through two techniques namely milling tandem or diffuser. In Kenya, out of the 12 sugar industries available, the means of juice extraction in 11 industries is by milling tandems. Only one industries has both diffuser and milling tandems with conventional automation. However, sugar productivity from these industries is 85% which is lower than 92% recommended worldwide. The cost of production of 46,000/MT is twice that of small economy countries like Swaziland and Uganda. This can be attributed to the type of juice extraction technique which will determine the rate of sugar production. It is therefore aimed to assess the impact of a diffuser which employs Six-Sigma automation on the improvement of the production. A case company having both diffusion and milling was selected and operations compared. It was found that 98.5% of sugar extraction from diffuser with 6-sigma automation can be achieved compared to 80% in mills and a production rate of 360 T/h compared to 100 T/h in mills. However, extensive cane preparation has to be achieved.