Demurrage cost reduction in cement manufacturing plant

The purpose of this paper is to discover the possible ways to improve material handling which results in the saving of demurrage cost which has to be paid by the cement company as penalty. This paper describes the problems associated with material handling in cement plant which results in increase of demurrage cost. It suggests the possible ways by which the demurrage cost can be minimised resulting in profit to the company. Demurrage cost involved in material handling is a vital part of cement manufacturing process thus its importance cannot be neglected. Process chart was used to analyse the existing procedure of loading cement bags and loading clinker into trains. Queuing theory and layout planning along with process chart have been used in order to improve and reflect on the results obtained before and after improvement in material handling. This paper gives the practical application of tools like process chart and queuing theory in order to reduce the demurrage cost.