Reducing material losses in a blending production line: A case study in an air filter manufacturing company

Oh, Su Ya (2025) Reducing material losses in a blending production line: A case study in an air filter manufacturing company. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

Material losses are a common issue in production lines at manufacturing companies. Even with advanced technology invested in the production line, material losses still occurred due to various factors, such as material handling and transportation. This study was conducted at Factory X, an air filter manufacturing company located in Perak, Malaysia, with the main objective of reducing material losses in the chemical blending production line by 5%. The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) approach was chosen as the primary methodology, supported by on-site examinations, Material Flow Analysis (MFA), the 5 Whys analysis, and Kaizen. A framework was developed to guide the step-by-step implementation in the factory, keeping the project on track and ensuring a systematic improvement process. After measuring and analysing data before and after the test run, the results showed a reduction in material losses, decreasing from 17.86% to 11.97%, representing an improvement of 5.89%. The study demonstrated the success of the framework and proposed several recommendations for future research, including testing the framework in different production lines and industries, applying it to other sections of the same production line, optimising MFA for more accurate measurement, and investigating alternative materials for reducing material losses. Keywords: Blending Production Line; Material Losses; Manufacturing System; Material Flow Analysis (MFA); FESEM Analysis Subject Area: TS155-194

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