Kvaliteedi optimeerimine salati pakendamisliinil ettevõtte X näitel

Lõputöös uuriti, kuidas ja millisel põhjusel tekib majoneesipõhjaliste salatite pakendamisliinil praak ning leida vaatluse tulemusel üles võimalikud kitsaskohad ja seejärel teha ettevõttele X parendusettepanekuid. Ettevõttes X läbi viidud 14 päevase vaatlusperioodi tulemusena selgus, et pakendatavate salatikarpide kogumahust tekib praaki 2,67%. Analüüsi tulemusena selgus, et külma köögi majoneesipõhjaliste salatite pakendamisliinil tekib arvuliselt ning protsentuaalselt suurimas koguses mitte realiseeritavaid salatikarpe pakendamisliini täitmisahela doseerimiskolu puhastusmeetodina kasutusel oleva üleminekusalatite ja alamõõduliste lõppsalatite pakendamise tõttu.

Uuritud ja vaadeldud pakendamisprotsess pakendamisliinil oli produktiivne, ettevõtte ootused kvaliteedile on kõrged ning antud pakendamisliin suudab need ka täita, kuna pakendatud salatikarpe, mis olid praagid pakendamisliinil tekkinud vea tõttu, oli 14 päevase uurimisperioodi jooksul pigem vähe.

Lõputöö uurimisküsimusele, „Kuidas vähendada salati pakendamisliinil olemasolevat praagi teket?“, pakkus töö autor välja lahenduse, mida antud edukas toiduainetööstus võiks tulevikus kaaluda, et viia praagi ja vigade tekkepõhjused miinimumini. Pakutava lahendusena on toodud välja salatite säilivusaja pikendamine, mis võimaldaks salatikarpe pakendada ettevõtte planeeringu järgi. Seejärel ladustada salatid kohapeal või kasutada ühe meetodina ladustamist ning ka turustada kauplustes.

Analüüsist võib järeldada, et pakutavad idee tasandil muudatused võiksid tuua ettevõttele pikemas perspektiivis majanduslikku kasumlikkust ning pakutavad ideed on reaalselt rakendatavad salati pakendamisliini parendamiseks kvaliteedi osas.

The aim of the bachelor’s thesis „Optimizing Quality on the Salad Packaging Line on the Example of Company X” is to determine the bottlenecks of the new packaging line and their improvement opportunities. In 2020, the company acquired a new packaging line, Grunwald Rotary 12 000, to package mayonnaise-based salads. Previously the company used the packaging line Speedy. The data observed and analyzed were the types of waste generated on the packaging line, which were: transitional salads, label errors, film errors, lid errors, undersized salads.

Method used for the thesis is action research. The action research started with the author observing and analyzing the new packaging line, then analyzing the measurement results and afterwards identifying and analyzing the bottlenecks. Finally, the author provided recommendations on how to improve the identified bottlenecks.

The bachelor’s thesis is composed of three chapters, where the first chapter is the theoretical part, the second chapter is the description of the method of the thesis and the third chapter is the empirical part of the thesis. Both the first and the third chapter are subdivided into specific chapters to look more into the various topics covered in the thesis. The theoretical part is introductory and describes food processing and preservation, the history of packaging lines, the overview of packaging materials used for food packaging and their requirements. The theoretical part also includes the application of nanotechnology in food packaging and its advantages and possible risks in the food industry, along with explanation of the packaging line functions and optimization possibilities. The empirical part of the thesis looks briefly into the company, what are the characteristics of the company, how did the packaging room and packaging line looks like and how was the packaging of mayonnaise-based salads done. The empirical part also offers an overview of the observation, measurement results, bottlenecks and suggestions for improvement.

On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that the change of the packaging line has been useful, as the percentage and quantity of the waste has notably decreased compared to the previous packaging line. Transitional salads and undersized salads create the most waste in the new packaging line. In order to reduce transitional salads, the author suggests extending the shelf life of salads by adding acetic acid to the salads, changing the packaging to a more systematic process, where certain types of salads are packed on a specific selected day of the week based on the demand. This would also reduce the number of intermediate washes.