ADVANCES IN MODELLING OF THE INTEGRATED PRODUCTION LOGISTICS IN SUGARCANE HARVEST

Abstract

The sugar-energy sector is extremely important to the Brazilian economy, with several other production chains derived from it, generating some of the main products linked to food and energy sources. This study proposes an integration model for sugarcane harvesting logistics processes, focusing on optimisation of industrial plant production capacity. Dynamic modelling has been applied to study a broad range of the productive phases of the sugar-energy chain. This paper proposes indicators to evaluate the degree of efficiency of the production logistics processes. Preliminary results showed that phase times in the production logistics processes can be significantly reduced in the harvest phase. When analysed as a coordination-oriented flow having chained activities, the production logistics processes optimise the speeds and travel times during the harvest phase. The developed model uses data set of the production and logistics processes phases of a sugarcane industry. A future study will focus on more detailed and complex stakeholder behaviours based on the model proposed.