Optimizing the Chemical Collection Used in Cork Composites Manufacture

Abstract

With global development, companies need to seek opportunities for improvement and act accordingly to ensure the optimization of industrial production processes. Companies also try to ensure the quality of the final product, reducing process costs to increase the company’s sustainability. Many industries are going through restructuring processes and new challenges are emerging. The present investigation respects to the operations of an industrial unit, which produces rubberized cork agglomerates. Cork industry invests in search for new products, increasing its competitiveness in the market, expanding its range of products and promoting a better flow of this limited natural resource. This work identifies the causes behind some problems in terms of the final product quality, allowing the creation of corrective actions and opportunities for improvement in terms of product quality, working conditions and product line optimization. It is known that linear programming can make a strong contribution to the optimization of processes within companies. This work presents the application of linear programming as a tool through which it was possible to optimize the discharge process of chemicals from the production line, reorganizing the locker arrangement, and obtaining a reduction in the time spent in production operations of certain articles.