Work study on cocoyam and plantain flour production for fufu flour production

Abstract

Work study involves identifying effective way of doing work, thus a means to increase productivity in manufacturing environments. In view of this, a work study assessment using the time study option was carried out by Food Technology Research Division of CSIR-Food Research Institute, Ghana. This activity was carried on 15th March, 2017 and 18th April, 2017 for plantain (Musa spp.) and cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta) respectively at the processing laboratory, CSIR-Food Research Institute. The aim of this assessment was to identify the time taken as well as provide the work rate for each stage within the production chain. The processing unitd of operation within the production chain involved sorting, peeling, washing, slicing and blanching for both samples (cocoyam and plantain). Among the various stages of production, blanching recorded the highest work rate with peeling and slicing accounting for relatively higher amount of time spent. Low number of employees at any stage results in high work rate. Further, unproductivity activities during processing and absence of appropriate technology result in higher amount of time for completing any particular stage of processing