MTS II_Vikas Rana

To Develop the Quality Management System in Banana Operations at Indapur, Maharashtra.

Author Vikas Rana

Host Organization Unifrutti India (P) Ltd. Indapur, Maharashtra

Faculty Guide

Prof. Bikash Ranjan Dash

“A REPORT SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR MASTERS IN RURAL

MANAGEMENT.”

School of Rural Management Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University

Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. March 2010

Management Traineeship Segment (MTS) II

SCHOOL OF RURAL MANAGEMENT, KIIT UNIVERSITY

Bhubaneswar, Orissa

The MTS Report of Vikas Rana

Candidate for the degree of MBA in Rural Management Is hereby APPROVED

Prof. Bikash Ranjan Dash March 2, 2010

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Executive Summary

The title of the project is to execute the Quality Management System in Banana

Operations at Indapur, Maharashtra. The Host Organization is Unifrutti India (P) Ltd. Unifrutti

was founded in 1983 by De Nadai, headquartered at Italy. Unifrutti exports premium quality

fresh fruit year-round to markets worldwide. The report is an outcome of my field experiences

and the guidance given by my reporting officer Mr. Dattatraya. B. More (Senior Manager-

Operations), Mr. Madananjay Sharma (Associate Manager- Operations) and Prof. A.V. Ramana

Acharyulu (Dean- Academics, School of Rural Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar).

The objectives of the project is to understand the processes along the supply chain i.e.

from procurement to the container dispatching point with respect to the Unifrutti’s Banana

Operations at Indapur and to suggest the measures for effective Quality Control in Banana

Operations. Further, to identify the challenges in the system and contribute with the

corresponding suggestions. Finally, to prepare the Banana Quality Management system manual

in consideration with the above said points. The Methodology for the project was predefined by

the organization i.e. to map the existing procurement and pack house operations and come out

with realistic suggestions and recommendations for effective Quality Management.

The quality of the bananas would be determined by size (length of fingers and thickness),

evenness of ripening, absence of blemishes and defects. The primary objective of the study is to

adopt the integrated quality control management strategies to resolve the prevalent quality

problems in banana operations. The specific objectives are to determine and trace the sources of

main quality defects that are turn-offs to the end users and to derive strategies aimed at either

partially or completely alleviating the identified defects, so as to guarantee the best quality

products to consumers. To determine the foremost defects, 65 export boxes containing 368 hands

were examined according to the ABC fruit evaluation parameters.

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Most of the mechanical defects such as scaring, bruising, neck injury, crown trim, knife

injury, and latex stain were a result of human error. Rough handling of the bananas by both the

harvesting labors as well as pack house labors were all blamed for these defects. To further

control the incidence of these defects in the final packing for export, five quality control points

(QCP’s) were identified. The study examines the implementation of integrated Quality

Management System and the corresponding strategies aimed at resolving endemic problems in

banana operations. Emphasis was laid on traceability of main sources of quality defects and

developing strategies to alleviate them. The results of the study showed that scarring, bruising,

red rusts, nipple like apex, latex stains etc were the major defects found in the final packed

product. On the other hand, over-calibration, grounded fruits, speckling, freckling, maturity

stains, chemical stains and scratches were the principle quality defects coming from the field.

On the basis of the identified challenges in the system, the corresponding suggestions and

recommendations were made to execute the Quality Management System in Banana Operations.

First of all, replacing the crate liner foams, crate matting foams and hand separator foam with

pocket shaped foams in which the banana hands are placed directly after inserting single foam in

between the upper and the lower whorl of banana hands (finger incision foams). It will be of free

size so that hands can be placed in it comfortable irrespective of different shape and size.

Secondly, tracking of vehicles occupied in the process of harvesting and the flow of information

regarding the updates between the procurement executives, pack house executives and the

management is a matter of concern in the ongoing operations. The suggestion is to appoint an

individual whose job is to follow up the harvesting operations on hourly basis at different

locations through telephonic conversations with the harvesting labors or the truck drivers and

disseminate the updated status to all the stakeholders involved in operations. He is also

responsible for managing the situations like vehicle breakdowns, allotment of crates to respective

vehicles, accountability of crates and foam, check on wastage of foams and packaging material

etc. It is observed that there are 2 or 3 executives responsible for the pack house operations. The

nature of business is such that they may be managing the operations even beyond the midnight.

The problem is that all the executives are doing everything and there is no significant division of

task. To handle the operations in a much better manner it is mandatory to distribute the work and

further it can be exchanged between themselves either daily or weekly (depending upon the

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choice).Quality Circle is one of the employee participation methods. It implies the development

of skills, capabilities, confidence and creativity of the people through cumulative process of

education, training, work experience and participation. Quality Circles have emerged as a

mechanism to develop and utilize the tremendous potential of people for improvement in product

quality and productivity. There is a need to closely supervise packers in the pack house, since

they are the last to have direct contact with the product before shipment, so any error at this level

is difficult to correct and consequently becomes a macro problem. Finally, there was a significant

increase in the total quality of fruits processed as a result of the execution of 5 QCP’s and other

suggestions and recommendations.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the School of Rural Management (SRM) for having provided me the opportunity

to take up this project in the Management Traineeship Segment (MTS-II) which provided me

with a scope to work with an organization which is unique in itself.

I am deeply indebted to Prof. L.K.Vaswani; Pro- Vice-Chancellor, SRM and SOM, whose

stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped me all the time. I am grateful to Prof. A.V.R.

Acharyulu for giving me his valuable time for discussions, providing his useful advices and

insights on the project topic. I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of gratitude to my

faculty guide Prof. Bikash Ranjan Dash; Professor, SRM for his valuable guidance provided to

me throughout our study.

I express my gratitude to my reporting officer Mr. Dattatraya. B. More; Senior Manager-

Operations (Banana), Unifrutti India (P) Ltd. for giving me the precious opportunity to work on

this project. I extol my sincere gratitude for devoting the precious time in providing me his

painstaking guidance as well as his abiding inspiration all throughout the project period to

accomplish our work successfully.

My sincere thanks to Mr. Madananjay Sharma for displaying his keen interest in my project and

providing me all the valuable suggestions and information without which my project would not

have taken the present shape.

Finally, I am thankful to all the staff members of Unifutti India (P) Ltd at Indapur and Akluj for

their invaluable cooperation and support extended to me throughout the project period.

(Vikas Rana)

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Table of Contents

S. No. Contents Page No.

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………… 1

1.1 Background …………………………………………………………….. 1 1.2 About Banana Crop………………………………………………….. 1 1.3 About Unifrutti…………………………………………………………. 2 1.4 Quality Management System …………………………………… 3

2 Objectives of the Study…………………………………………….. 53 Literature review……………………………………………………… 64 Procurement Operations…………………………………………. 8

4.1 Mapping, Field Visits and Selection of Farms………….. 9 4.2 Tagging…………………………………………………………………… 10 4.3 Harvesting……………………………………………………………….. 10

5 Pack House Operations……………………………………………. 14

5.1 Offloading and weighing……………………………….. 15 5.2 Deflowering……………………………………………… 16 5.3 Grading, Sorting and Fruit selection…………………. 16 5.4 Weighment and Crown spray…………………………… 17 5.5 Labeling, Foam insertions and Packaging……………. 18 5.6 Palletization and Container Loading………………….. 20

6 Quality Control in Banana Operations……………………… 21

6.1 Tagging…………………………………………………………………… 24 6.2 Foam instructions while harvesting………………….. 24 6.3 Grading, Sorting and fruit selection in the pack house 24 6.4 Weighment before final packing……………………….. 24

7 Value Chain Costing…………………………………………………. 258 Challenges in the system…………………………………………. 289 Suggestions and Recommendations……………………….. 2910 Summary and Conclusion……………………………………….. 33

References………………………………………………………………. 35

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List of Tables

Table No. Title Page No.Table 1 Criteria for ABC Fruit Evaluation 21Table 2 Defects found in final packing 23Table 3 Value Chain Costing 26

List of Figures

Figure No. Title Page No.Figure 1 Quality Management System 4Figure 2 Handing of Banana hands 11Figure 3 Packing of crates after harvesting for transport to the

pack house 12

Figure 4 Process Flowchart for Export of Banana 13Figure 5 Pack House Operations 15Figure 6 Tip Constriction‐Mokillo 16Figure 7 Banana hands after grading and sorting 17Figure 8 Final Packaging of Banana for Export 19Figure 9 Box Coding 19Figure 10 Cooling Unit of Container 20Figure 11 Neck Injury 22Figure 12 Mechanical Injuries during transit 23Figure 13 Possible F&V Value Chains 26Figure 14 Dummy Pocket shaped foam 29

“Quality Management System in Banana Operations”‐ Unifrutti India (P) Ltd.

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1. Introduction

1.1 Background

Management Traineeship Segment forms an inherent part of the MRM programme at School of

Rural Management, KIIT University. It’s an eleven week programme and a rich learning experience

for every internee. I had an opportunity to work with Unifrutti India (P) Ltd with respect to Quality

Management System in banana operations at Indapur; District Pune, Maharashtra. The report is an

outcome of my field experiences and the guidance given by my reporting officer Mr. Dattatraya. B.

More (Senior Manager- Operations), Mr. Madananjay Sharma (Associate Manager- Operations) and

my faculty guide Prof. A.V. Ramana Acharyulu (Dean- Academics, School of Rural Management,

KIIT University, Bhubaneswar).

1.2 About Banana Crop

Banana is one of the most important crops in the world. Over 10 million ha of bananas are grown,

with a total production of more than 68 million metric tons, from which a little more than 10% is

exported. India is the principal world banana producer (16 million metric tons, 23% of world

production), followed by Ecuador (7.5 million tons, 11% of world production), Brazil (5.7 million

tons, 8.4% of world production), China (5.4 million tons., 7.9% of world production), Philippines

(5.06 million tons., 7.4% of world production), Indonesia (3.6 million tons, 5.2% of world

production), Costa Rica (2.2 million tons, 3.3% of world production), and Mexico (2.0 million tons,

a 2.9% of world production. Bananas tolerate different weather ranges from the Temperate Rain

Forest (12–18 °C, with 1000–1200 mm precipitation), up to the Tropical Dry Forest (more than 24

°C; 400–800 mm precipitation). They are grown in Africa, India, Central and South America under

ideal temperature conditions (25–30 °C). Growth temperature should not be lower than 15 °C and

the highest temperature should not exceed 35 °C.

Availability of wide genetic diversity, varying production systems and its suitability to wide range of

agro climatic conditions are the reasons for wide range adaptability of Banana in India. It is grown as

homestead garden as well as on commercial plantation. Commercial production system is well

irrigated, while subsistence cultivation is under rain fed farming. Due to lack of proper post harvest


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infrastructure bananas have a lower shelf life and up to 30-40 % of the production are lost and many

post harvest diseases also affect the banana fruits. The country losses 3-4 million tons of its produce

due to improper post harvest management. Reduction in such loses in the post-harvest phase is of

utmost importance not only to meet the increasing domestic demands but also to maintain

competitiveness in world trade.

1.3 About Unifrutti

Unifrutti exports premium quality fresh fruit year-round to markets worldwide. It was founded in

1983, by De Nadai (De Nadai International Group), headquartered at Italy. It is one of the largest

producer and exporter of fresh fruit across the globe. Unifrutti stands among top 3 Fruit exporters in

the world - a fully integrated producer/exporter. Unifrutti controls the domain from one end of the

spectrum in terms of R&D leading to actual growing to the other – which is plugging into the supply

chains of retailers across geographies.

Unifrutti started its operations in India with a vision to setup a fully integrated qualitative fruit

supply chain augmented by deeply penetrative distribution network. Just two years later, the

company has emerged a strong performer in the Fresh fruit segment. With a strong direct retail

distribution network operating from 16 locations in the country, it is already feeding more than 35

cities and up-country locations. Within the first year of operations, the company is reckoned as one

of the top importers of Chilean produce which includes Pears, Apples, Grapes, Plums and Kiwifruit.

On the domestic front it has partnered in setting up a world class Apple CA storage for 6500 tons as

well as packing and grading facilities in the Kashmir Region. Coupled with best practices adopted

from its global experiences – from agronomy inputs, harvesting, handling and post harvest practices

- this facility is evolving as the most efficient facility and therefore a boon to the region and trade.

For the first time in the country -the humble banana received a huge makeover through Unifrutti’s

efforts. Large, uniform, unblemished hands ripened scientifically and packed with global experience

find pride of place at F&V counters at modern retail shelves and local shops. Premium quality

produce including Kinnows, Grapes, Pomegranates, Mangoes and Cherries are part of the Unifrutti’s

domestic fruit basket. Unifrutti India, in a short period of time, has set up an efficient supply-chain


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from farm onwards to export quality certified produce to Middle East, Europe & Sri Lanka both as a

Unifrutti offering as well as private label offering. As part of its export initiative, MRL compliant

and Europe GAP certified Grapes, Pomegranates, Mangoes have been much appreciated in the

receiving markets and volume scale up is underway. To facilitate direct consumer connect Unifrutti

has launched several initiatives based on the health and wellness platform. This includes a cut-fruit

buffet at the Indian weddings where premium quality exotic and Indian produce is served in a world-

class setting. Aesthetically put together collection of fruit baskets in various sizes and ethnic design

options add a touch of exceptional class to wedding gifting. It also offers smartly packed corporate

fruit boxes that can be gifted to employees, business partners and friends for all occasions. In order

to extend the reach to the end consumer – for whom “Touch & Feel” is imperative while buying

fruits – Unifrutti India has facilitated the road side retailer to extend his reach and service the

consumer at his doorsteps using this model. Unifrutti India has launched ergonomically designed

tricycle push carts (non motorized) duly branded and fitted with electronic weighing scales to run

through densely populated residential localities and allow the consumer to buy fruit of his choice

from these carts. Through conscientious market practices of supplying uniform quality produce with

consistent weights and counts, Unifrutti has built healthy trade partnerships across all tiers of the

fruit supply chain. Stringent quality control practices ensure that freshness of fruit is maintained

through each leg of the journey its fruit takes from the farm to the market. Backward integration

projects to the farm level are underway to meticulously cover each step of the fruit supply chain. All

these activities and programs are front ended by a passionate team of extremely dedicated 90+

people who have put their best foot forward in commencing this journey to make Unifrutti as the

most recognized and preferred fruit brand in the country.

1.4 Quality Management System

A quality management system (QMS) for banana operations can be expressed as the procedures,

processes and resources needed to implement quality management. Quality management can be

considered to have three main components: quality control, quality assurance and quality

improvement. Quality management is focused not only on product quality, but also the means to

achieve it. Quality management therefore uses quality assurance and control of processes as well as

products to achieve more consistent quality. This manual describes the Quality Management System,


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delineates authorities, inter relationships and responsibilities of the personnel responsible for

performing within the system. The manual also provides procedures or references for all activities

comprising the Quality Management System for banana operations to ensure compliance to the

necessary requirements of the standard.

This manual is used internally to guide the company’s employees through the various requirements

of the standards that must be met and maintained in order to ensure customer satisfaction, continuous

improvement and provide the necessary instructions that create an empowered work force. It is used

externally to introduce our Quality Management System in banana operations to the customers and

other external organizations or individuals. The manual is used to familiarize them with the controls

that have been implemented to assure them that the integrity of the Quality Management System is

maintained and focused on customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.

Fig. 1 Quality Management System


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2. Objectives of the Study

The key objectives of the study are as follows:

1. To understand the processes along the supply chain i.e. from procurement to the container

dispatching point with respect to the Unifrutti’s Banana Operations at Indapur, Maharashtra.

2. To map the existing procurement and pack house operations. Further, the suggestions for

improvement.

3. To suggest the measures for effective Quality Control in Banana Operations.

4. To calculate the Value chain costing in Banana operations of Unifrutti India at Indapur from

procurement till the container stuffing point.

5. To identify the challenges in the system and contribute with the corresponding suggestions.

6. To prepare the Banana Quality Management system manual in consideration with the above said

points.


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3. Literature Review

There are several factors that influence the post harvest quality management of fresh fruits and

vegetables. Apart from the pre-harvest factors such as pre-planting and in- field production practices,

harvesting is an important key point that dictates the ultimate post harvest quality management.

Other factors include physical, pathological, physiological and mechanical parameters. Proper

harvesting and apposite handling can minimize post harvest deterioration of fresh produce. In

general, the post harvest quality of fruits can be minimized through proper control of temperature,

humidity and environmental conditions. The storage life can be extended through proper cleaning,

sanitation and chemical treatments (Post harvest fact sheet; Post harvest and food technology Unit,

Brunei Agricultural Research Centre). Bananas are living organs subject to continuous changes after

harvesting. The major problems affecting banana quality are physical damage, decay and uneven and

unpredictable ripening. To control the banana quality, knowledge and understanding of involving

physical, chemical, biological and environmental factors are necessary. Over the past few years the

mechanism of fruit evolution are often clarified. The concept of quality has changed in recent years.

Standards define the requirements in quality assurance and banana production will comply with

these standards (J. Marchal: An overview of post-harvest aspects of banana; ISHS Acta

Horticulturae: International Symposium on Banana in the Subtropics). Banana ripens in three to

five days after harvesting. Ripening during the long distance transport and export, results in huge

post harvest losses. To delay ripening of fruits, vacuum packaging is one of the methods, where the

matured banana hands are packaged and prevented from contact with air/ oxygen. Using a simple

gadget for vacuum packaging, banana can be stored under vacuum. This delays ripening upto 21

days and further ripening is completed within one week after opening the package (Agricultural

Engineering College & Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University; Coimbatore). Cold

chain is essential during the transport of export quality commodity all the way from the farm to the

customer. This helps in maintaining the temperature inside the box at the same low level as in the

cold storage.


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Most of the mechanical defects such as scaring, bruising, neck injury, crown trim, knife injury, and

latex stain were a result of human error. Rough handling of the bananas by both the harvesting labors

as well as pack house labors were all blamed for these defects. The other left over defects are either

physiological, due to some insect/pest, bacterial or fungal etc (Fonsah, E.G. – “Integrated Quality

Control Management strategies in banana production, packaging and marketing)”.


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4. Procurement Operations

Structure

• Mapping, Field Visits and Selection of Farms

• Tagging

• Harvesting

Purchase (procurement) is as important function as production in contributing to profit and other

objectives of an organization. It deserves all the skills and knowledge of modern professional

management. The importance of procurement function in agro-business is even more since (1) cost

of raw material constitutes a very high percentage of the total cost of processed products; (2) it

involves operations under highly fluctuating markets, and (3) it affects the economy of large number

of producers (farmers) often inviting government intervention. The importance of agro processing is

increasing in view of the expected large growth of demand for processed products for internal

consumption and exports, Entry of a number of large national and multinational corporations in

organized retailing of processed agro-based products, fresh fruits and vegetables and other

agricultural commodities has further created demand for professional procurement managers.

Agricultural commodities are organic matter. Their procurement is affected due to their perishable

nature, seasonality of production, production density, degree of freedom in quality control, etc. All

these individually and interactively, influence organizational pattern and management structure of

procurement system as well as processing operations.

Procurement managers of companies involved in buying commodities for processing and exports

often list the problems that they face in getting the material of right quality, in the right quantity, at

the right time and at the right price, caused by small and varied offerings of individual producers.

Agricultural export business has been particularly affected by this, since exporters have to function

in markets which are competitive in terms of quality, quantity, time and price.


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To sum up, a procurement manager starts the process of buying after learning the needs of the

company (in terms of quantity, quality, price, time and location), locates and selects the farmers,

negotiates the price and other terms related to handling, packing, transport, prepares a procurement

schedule, and ensures delivery at the agreed upon date and place. In this module, the procurement

processes are discussed in brief.

4.1 Mapping, Field Visits and Selection of Farms

The system established for farm mapping and farm selection is to ensure uniform availability of

specified export quality fruits & its procurement. The process of procurement starts from the farm

mapping itself. Mapping, in general, gives us the projection of the availability of raw material. Farm

mapping followed by field inspection and technical harvesting will complete the procurement

process. Mapping activity will be based on the pack house location and its peripheral coverage of the

surrounding area. Growers will be visited by introducing Unifrutti to them and their farm detail will

be taken. Farm details basically includes name of the farmer, his contact number, land holding under

banana (in acres), numbers of plants, variety sown and expected yield etc. Practically mapping is

done through farmer to farmer contacts. Based on the mapping activity as well as the existing

grower’s detail, field visit schedule will be planned. This schedule has to be validated & approved by

the operation manager. After completing the weekly visit schedule, procurement executive will visit

the farm along with the field inspection format on which the field inspection parameters are

mentioned and the farm has to be appraised on these parameters only. Field inspection report will be

shared with team as well as with the operation manager and a collective decision will be taken for

tagging. Before tagging, negotiation with the farmer is done on the grounds of mode of payment,

weight of Stalks, current local price and finally the price for procurement is decided. Based on the

availability and the proposed expected price by the growers, we will have an option to negotiate with

the farmers based on MIS of different grades of produce from the competitors and the available

expected price of the growers. The derived price will be discussed with the management and final

targeted price will be taken from them. If there is a difference between the derived price and the

targeted price then price renegotiation will happen with the grower. Based on the finally agreed price

a Purchase Order will be given to the farmer in which the estimated harvestable plants and quantity

will be mentioned.


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4.2 Tagging

After the terms and conditions are finalized with the farmer, tagging is done with a colored thread. A

vibrant color is used which is in contrast with green color so that it can be easily identifiable in the

field. Tagging team should tag the looms one day in advance of the harvesting plan. No malformed

bunches, overcall, bunches with defects to be tagged. Tagging team should submit the report of

tagged bunches to harvesting in charge. Tagging basically is the selection of banana looms in the

farmer’s field which are of export quality. The looms are checked thoroughly before tagging on the

validation of second hand- middle finger calibration with a caliper. The appraisal of looms is being

done on some other parameters as well viz. occurrence of any pest or disease, connectivity through

road, over or under calibration, loading points in the field, non- permissible defects etc. At last,

Number of tags determines the expected realization of raw material from a particular plot. After

tagging, procurement executive will prepare the harvest plan, and at least two days in advance, for

further confirmation with the operation manager. Procurement executives will also prepare the

Harvest Check List to ensure the perfect execution of the harvest plan.

4.3 Harvesting

The harvesting plan was prepared by the procurement executive one day prior to harvesting. The

harvesting plan also takes into consideration the allocation of vehicles, crates and foams to the

respective harvesting teams.

As per the approved harvest plan, harvesting of banana will be done by trained group of harvester

either self managed or provided by Service provider. Ideally, a harvesting team of 6 persons consists

of 1 cutter, 1 hand catcher, 1 foam inserter, 1 crate packer and 2 crate carriers. For harvesting of 10

MT of Banana minimum 3 teams are needed and so on. Procurement executive along with one team

leader will coordinate this activity. The course of action for harvesting is divided in several phases:

1. Cutting of hands from the looms on the tree itself, through a nylon thread, by making a notch

around the banana hand.

2. Cutter should start de-handing from bottom to top.

3. Immediately after de-handing, the hand catcher should catch the hand and should not allow

it to get it damaged.


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4. The hands are kept in the shade on the leaves (cutted down from the harvested plant).

5. Crate packer will pack these hands with proper placement of crown protection, crate liner

foam and crate matting foam.

6. Finger separator foams are inserted in between the hands of banana to avoid point scars.

7. To avoid latex stain on the fruits, it is advisable to deflower at pack house and not in the

farm.

8. The periphery foams and matting foams are placed in the crates and the hands are placed one

by one through inserting the hand separator foams in between.

9. Crates are tightly packed as single layer only. No double layer is allowed.

10. All the hands are to be packed in vertical position (crown down) inside the crate.

11. Finally, the crates are loaded into the trucks one by one.

12. Proper locking of the crates should be monitored to avoid crate collapse and fruit damage.

13. Harvesting supervisor has to maintain record of the number of bunches harvested and should

collect 6 stalks (2 long, 2 medium and 2 short) as a representative sample for calculation of

stalk's weight.

14. Harvesting supervisor should hand over a trip ticket to the driver mentioning the number of

crates loaded, farmer name and the time of dispatch of truck with his name and signature.

Fig.2 De- handing of Banana hands


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Note:

Tools for Harvesting: Nylon cutting thread properly attached to wooden piece, harvesting crates of

600X400X325mm size, foam inserts of 12”X6” size, crown protector foam of 18”X9” size, crate

liner foam, crate matting foam, hand separator foams, finger incision foams, dial caliper and length

measuring tape.

Fig.3 Packing of crates after harvesting for transport to the pack house

There is a target for each harvesting team on the basis of number of tags in the respective plot,

distance from the pack house, availability of empty crates in the pack house etc. The harvesting labor

is being paid on per kilogram basis. So, the challenge is to maintain equilibrium between the rapidity

of harvesting and following the protocol consciously; as the labor is more inclined to give more

weight per day so as to increase their income. In this respect, Supervision/Monitoring yields good

results regarding the following of protocol while harvesting. It is observed that if the foam

instructions are followed as per the protocols, it can save scaring and bruising to great extent from

the point of harvesting to the pack house.


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Fig.4 Process Flowchart for Export of Banana

1. Harvest Plan

2. Harvesting of Fruits

3. Place the Fruits in crates

4. Load crates on truck

5. Transport to Pack House

6. Offloading

7. Weighing

8. Deflowering

9. Grading/Sorting

10. Weighing

11. Packing

12. Coding

13. Palletize

14. Code Pallets

Sample taking for QC

16. Quality Control Sampling 15. Container Loading

Intake Sheet

Incoming Material QC

Outgoing Material QC

Production Record

Dispatch Record

Empty Crates Removal

Crates Stacking

Waste Removal & weighing

Salvaging documentation

Waste Disposal

• Cutting • Foam Instructions

Processes prior to Harvest plan: • Mapping • Field Selection • Negotiation with Farmer • Tagging

Stickers and Pea Foams

Collection of Foams


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5. Pack House Operations

Structure

• Offloading and weighing

• Deflowering

• Grading, Sorting and Fruit selection

• Weighment and Crown spray

• Labeling, Foam insertions and Packaging

• Palletization and Container Loading

A pack house is a place where products are brought after harvesting, to prepare them as per the

market requirements in terms of washing, cleaning, any other chemical treatment grading, packing,

cooling, storage and transportation. Pack house has facilities for performing these functions in such a

manner that products are prepared with utmost care and perfection to avoid injury or bruising of the

products. At this place, value addition is done without modifying the ultimate shape and utility of the

product. Not only is the cosmetic appearance of the produce enhanced, but also various fungicides

etc. are used. The shelf life of the product is also enhanced considerably. Similarly, packaging is also

done which is safe for the produce to be transported over long distance and to attract the consumer.

Packaging also helps in branding the commodity, which gives long term benefits.

Post-harvest technology is the fundamental for the preservation of quality and the reduction of

damage and wastage in the movement of banana from the grower to the consumer and covers all

those processes that fresh produce may undergo throughout this journey. Post- Harvest Technology

must be centered on a well organized pack-house that has been designed to meet the needs of the

produce being handled and of the customer, if a cost-effective and efficient operation is to be

established. The Objective of this module is to outline method of pack house procedures for export

quality Banana. To achieve the objective all pack house personnel must work together and see to it


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that only the fruits that pass Unifrutti Quality Standards should be packed in the box. The pack house

operations include the following processes:

5.1 Offloading and weighing- Crates received from the farm should be unloaded carefully to avoid

the physical damage to produce. Foam placement, foam insertion, crate packing and fruit

quality1 on arrival is to be checked. For this, minimum 5 crate per truck needs to be checked

based on the ABC Quality Specifications. It gives us the projection of the approximate Export

Quality realization. Quality feedback should be passed on to harvesting team immediately for

corrective action, if necessary. Each and every crate is weighed and a weighment sheet is

prepared separately mentioning farmer name, truck number, date and number of crates received

etc. It should be monitored that the labors indulged in un-loading crates should not use any iron

hook for moving the staked crates from the truck. Crates after weighing should be handled

gently and put on the conveyor to reach the deflowering line. Prevent crates to hit each other

while moving them on conveyer. Once the receiving is complete, triplicate copy of the

weighment sheet cum goods received note (GRN) will be prepared.

Fig.5 Pack House Operations

1 Inward Quality Check


16

5.2 Deflowering- Hands should be taken out of the crates very carefully to avoid neck injuries. The

foams and liners should be collected in an organized manner and kept in empty crates for re-use.

The empty crates along with foams should be stacked properly (not to be thrown). The crate liner

foams (periphery foams) should be collected separately and tied in a group of 100 units with a

thread to maintain better accountability. Reason being, these foams plays a critical role in

controlling scaring, bruising and scratches while transportation of raw bananas. The platform at

which banana hands are kept after taking out from the crates should be covered by a sheet of

foam to prevent scratches and bruising. At this point cleaning and dirt removal is to be done by

removing the flowers from the fingers along with any other trash or dirt. Soon after cleaning and

deflowering, the hands are to be slowly dropped in the selection tank to avoid physical injuries.

Utmost care should be taken to avoid falling of hands one over the other in the selection tank.

5.3 Grading, Sorting and Fruit selection- It is one of the most important operation in the pack

house. If done appropriately, good selection ensures consistent fruit quality and good quality

export realization.

Tools and materials: Sharp Selector’s knife, sharpening stone, fixed caliper (minimum and

maximum calibration), length measuring tape, sponge and detergent.

Fig.6 Tip Constriction- Mokillo


17

Things to remember:

• Selector’s knife should be as per the standard shape and design and properly

sharpened. Selectors should cut the crown of each hand in crescent shape with smooth

cut and thoroughly scrutinize each hand.

• Remove dirt, dust and chemical stains with detergent, if necessary.

• Calibrate the middle outer fingers for 39 to 43 for small hands and 43 to 48 for large

hands. Also measure the length of small hands minimum upto 6.4”. De-fingering

from the sides can be done, if necessary.

• The adjacent fingers in the same line should not be removed. Otherwise, the hand

should be discarded for export quality.

• It is necessary to remove the defects like fused fingers, mutilated fingers, malformed

fingers, multi-layered hands etc while selection of hands.

Fig.7 Banana hands after grading and sorting

After this, selected hand should be gently places in the flotation tank containing alum for de-

latexing. Care should be taken to avoid tumbling of hands one above the other to prevent scaring.

5.4 Weighment and Crown spray- Weighing also plays a critical role for the assurance of quality as

well as of quantity. It has to be taken care that the fruits on tray are within the range of 13.2 to

13.4 Kg for export box and 20.2 to 20.4 Kg for domestic crates. Overweighing of boxes may


18

cause high packs, side bulging, bruises and mutilated fingers where as underweight will root

complaints from market. The labor responsible for weighing is supposed to weigh the hands on

tray in 4 basic categories for export viz. 4 hands (4H), 5 hands (5H), 6 hands (6H) and 7 hands

(7H) respectively. Hands having less than 12 fingers are not considered for export unless and

until they are made partner with other hand having same shape and size. Again it should be taken

care that partner hands are considered only for packing of 4H and 5H boxes and not in 6H and

7H boxes. After the export quality hands are segregated and weighed, the left over hands are

realized for domestic packing. For domestic, again the banana hands are segregated in 5 different

categories based on size and quality, namely, Premium large, premium small, large, small and

cluster. Basically, premium is of Grade ‘A’ and rest three is of Grade ‘B’.

Soon after weighing, the crown of the banana hands is sprayed with a solution of Benomil

(fungicide) and Alum2. The hand spray of sponge is used for application of fungicidal

solution manually. After that, trays containing the weighed fruit should be moved slowly on

the conveyor towards the packing line.

5.5 Labeling, Foam insertions and Packaging- Labeling and foam insertions are done on the

conveyors in between the weighing line and the packing line. Care should be taken that there

should be sufficient time for air drying of the fruit prior to final packaging. The Unifrutti labels

are pressed with thumb onto designated fingers 3in such a way that they should be properly

adhered to the banana fingers. The pea foams are inserted in between the inner and outer whorl

of banana hands to avoid friction while final packing. The fruit is finally packed in corrugated

boxes according to the Unifrutti specifications for materials to use and packing styles. The fruit

should not be forced into the box as this caused neck injuries. See to it that the foams are used

properly to avoid crown ride and tip bruising. High packs and side bulging of the fruits into the

box should be taken care of. For long distances vacuum packs are preferred to avoid bruises in

transit, but for short distances like overnight journey, poly packs (perforated liner bags) are

preferred. The packer should indicate the line number and packer number on the box so that it

2 Alum solution should be prepared 12 hours before the application. About 314 gm alum is used to prepare 50 lit of alum solution and is sufficient for one container load. Add 3gm of Benomil powder per 50 lit of water for effective fungicidal effect. Thoroughly mix the Benomil into alum solution. 3 Small hands: 3 labels per hand, Large hands: 1 label on every alternate finger.


19

can be traceable at the time of QC. The packer should also mark the hand count stamp on two

sides of the top cover of to segregate the boxes as per hands count. After packing, the boxes

should be pushed gently on the conveyor for stacking.

Fig.8 Final Packaging of Banana for Export

Before stacking, the boxes are coded by an 8 digit number which serves as a production

record. For e.g. The box is coded as 28322545.

Fig.9 Box Coding


20

After coding is done, 5 sample boxes are inspected for Quality Control as per ABC

specifications.

5.6 Palletization and Container Loading- Palletization is the method of storing and transporting

goods stacked on a pallet4, and shipped as a unit load. It permits standardized ways of handling

loads with common mechanical equipment such as pallet jack. In 40 Feet container we can load

18 pallets and one pallet can hold 70 boxes (10 floors and 7 boxes in one floor). Thus, a

container can accommodate 1260 boxes. Last 4 pallets need to be clubbed with strapping to

avoid falling in transit. Each pallet need to have 4 side corner posts and 5 strapping at 1,3,5,8 and

10th layer. Only last two pallets need to have top line corner posts and double vertical strapping

as well. Before loading last pallet, we need to start temperature data logger and fix it to the roof

of the container. Immediately after locking the door, start the generator by setting temperature of

the cooling unit of container at 13.5 degree Celsius.

Fig. 10 Cooling Unit of Container

4 A pallet is a flat wooden transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, front loader or other jacking device.


21

6 Quality Control in Banana Operations

Structure

• Criteria for ABC Fruit Evaluation

• Quality control points (QCP’s)

Consumers demand high quality of the fruit they consume and they are interested in the taste,

appearance or shape of bananas. Consumers want to be informed about the fruit they are consuming

through appropriate labeling, tracking and traceability. The quality of the bananas would be

determined by size (length of fingers and thickness), evenness of ripening, absence of blemishes and

defects. Quality standards may vary in the different markets. There are 79 defects found in post

harvest banana fruit worldwide out of which around 30 are most critical in the Indian context for

export. We are going to confer in this section about those decisive defects and their tolerance levels

on the basis of ABC Quality specifications.

Table 1: Criteria for ABC Fruit Evaluation

Quality Defects Specification DEFECTS Code Measure A B C

Bruising BR Area Clean Clean Affects the Pulp of the

Fruits

Chemical Injury / Burn CI/ CB Area Clean 1.5 Label > 1.5 Label

Corky Scab CS Area 1.5 Label 1.5-2 Label > 2 Label Flowers FL Finger Clean 1 or 2 per Hand 3 or > 3 per Hand Gel Latex LG Area 1.5 Label 1.5-2 Label > 2 Label Harvesting Knife Cut KT Finger Clean Clean No Tolerance Latex Stain New LSN Area 1.5 Label 1.5-2 Label > 2 Label Latex Stain Old LSO Area 1.5 Label 1.5-2 Label > 2 Label Leaf Scar LF Area 1.5 Label 1.5-2 Label > 2 Label Malformed Finger MFF Finger Clean 1 Finger 2 or More Malformed Hand MFH Area Maturity Stain MS Area 1.5 Label 1.5-3 Label > 3 Label Mutilated Finger MF Finger Clean Clean No Tolerance Neck Injury NI Finger Clean Clean No Tolerance Neck Stump NS Finger Clean Clean No Tolerance


22

Nipple Like NL Finger Clean 1-49% >49 % Over Cal OC Finger Clean Clean >48 P House Knife Cut CT Finger Clean Clean No Tolerance

Scarring New / Old SRN / SRO Area 1.5 Label 1.5-2 Label > 2 Label

Speckling SK Area 1.5 Label 1.5-2 Label > 2 Label Split Peel / Split Finger SP Finger Clean Clean No Tolerance Sunburn SU Area Clean Clean No Tolerance Tip Constriction/ Mokillo TC

Finger Clean Clean No Tolerance Too Few Fingers TF Finger Clean Clean No Tolerance Too Short TS Finger Clean Clean <6.5 inch Under Cal UC Finger Clean Clean <39 Yellow Blossom End YB Finger Clean Clean No Tolerance

.

The primary objective of this module is to adopt the integrated quality control management

strategies to resolve the prevalent quality problems in banana operations. The specific objectives are

to determine and trace the sources of main quality defects that are turn-offs to the end users and to

derive strategies aimed at either partially or completely alleviating the identified defects, so as to

guarantee the best quality products to consumers.

Fig.11 Neck Injury


23

To determine the foremost defects, 65 export boxes containing 368 hands were examined according

to the ABC fruit evaluation parameters. The results are as follows:

Table 2: Defects found in final packing

Neck Injury NI Count 25Over OC Count 11

Bruising BR Count 8Mutilated finger MF Count 5

Scaring New SRN Count 23Too Short TS Count 10

Mutilated Hand MH Count 2Scaring Old SRO Count 6

Maturity Stain MS Count 3Corky Scab CS Count 5Speckling SPK Count 11Red Rust RR count 4Mokillo TC Count 4

Total 117

Most of the mechanical defects such as scaring, bruising, neck injury, crown trim, knife injury, and

latex stain were a result of human error. Rough handling of the bananas by both the harvesting labors

as well as pack house labors were all blamed for these defects. The other left over defects are either

physiological, due to some insect/pest, bacterial or fungal etc. But, they are not supposed to come

out in the final packing.

Fig. 12 Mechanical Injuries during transit


24

To further control the incidence of these defects in the final packing for export, five quality control

points (QCP’s) were identified, namely;

1. Tagging.

2. Foam instructions while harvesting.

3. Grading, Sorting and fruit selection in the pack house.

4. Weighment before final packing.

5. Packaging.

6.1 Tagging is the initial stage from where the company is bind to take the fruit from the field. If the

tagging was not done conscientiously, it would result in the low export quality realization and thus

brings turn-offs for the management. The appraisal of looms is being done only after satisfying on

some parameters like occurrence of any pest or disease, connectivity through road, over or under

calibration, loading points in the field, non- permissible defects (ABC fruit evaluation criteria5) etc.

6.2 Foam instructions are the most critical point for preventing the defects such as bruising and

scaring during loading-unloading and transit. Proper foam instructions at the harvesting point will

hedge against the mechanical damages like exposure to compression, hard and rough surfaces etc.

6.3 Grading, Sorting and fruit selection is one of the most important operation in the pack house. If

done appropriately, good selection ensures consistent fruit quality and superior export quality

realization.

6.4 Weighment before final packing is critical because of the fact that every hand of banana passes

through the labor involved in weighing before it was finally packed for export. Simultaneously, there

is a need to closely supervise packers, since they are the last to have direct contact with the product

before shipment, so any error at this level is difficult to correct and consequently become a macro-

problem.

5 Refer to the Chapter “Quality Control in Banana Operations.”


25

7 Value Chain Costing

Value chain costing is the activity-based cost model that contains all of the activities in the value

chain (procurement, produce, processing, inbound logistics etc) of an organization. The goal of these

activities is to offer the customer a level of value that exceeds the cost of the activities, thereby

resulting in a profit margin. The primary value chain activities in our context are:

• Inbound Logistics: the receiving of raw materials.

• Operations: the processes of transforming inputs into finished products.

• Outbound Logistics: the warehousing and distribution of finished goods.

• Marketing & Sales: the identification of customer needs and the generation of sales.

These primary activities are supported by:

• The infrastructure of the firm: organizational structure, control systems, company culture,

etc.

• Human resource management: employee recruiting, hiring, training, development and

compensation.

• Technology development: technologies to support value-creating activities.

• Procurement: purchasing inputs such as materials, supplies, and equipment.

The firm's margin or profit then depends on its effectiveness in performing these activities

efficiently, so that the amount that the customer is willing to pay for the products exceeds the cost of

the activities in the value chain. It is in these activities that a firm has the opportunity to generate

superior value. A competitive advantage may be achieved by reconfiguring the value chain to

provide lower cost or better differentiation.


26

Fig. 13 Possible F&V Value Chains

As of now, it is required to analyze the value chain costing of the packed produce till the container

stuffing point. The cost per box is calculated starting from procurement to the final packaging of the

banana fruit at Indapur pack house {Unifrutti India (P) Ltd.}. The analysis is done with the total raw

material procured in a month i.e. 1st Non’09 to 30th Nov’09. The total number of boxes processed in

the above mentioned time frame is 11485. The detailed value chain costing is as follows:

Table 3: Value Chain Costing

Particulars Rate Unit Material Unit Amount (Rs)Fruit Purchase Rs 7.75 per kg 281,745.02 Kg 2,182,267.51 Farm Wastage (Stalk) 25,466.71 Kg Into Pack House 256,278.31 Kg Total Dispatch ( Export) 13.30 Kg x 11485 boxes 152,750.50 Kg Pack house Wastage 37235.10 Kg Realization ( Local Sales) Rs 3.87 per kg 37235.10 Kg 144100.17A Grade ( Domestic) Rs 8.77 per kg 43,447.25 Kg 380941.10B Grade ( Domestic) Rs 7.01 per kg 20,166.85 Kg 141420.73Dump 2,678.61 Kg


27

Product Cost 1,515,805.50 Harvesting labor Re. 0.30 256,278.31 Kg 76883.4924 Primary Transport 113304.22Diesel 71704.22Rent 41600 Pack House 98950Labor 100 Rs 462.00 F Lab. 46,200.00 150 Rs 285.00 M Lab. 42,750.00 88950Diesel Generator6 36.12 Rs 276.854928 Liters 10000 . Packaging 766738.6Box Rs 50.52 per box 580222.2Foam Rs 10.22 per box 117376.7Liner Rs 4.57 per box 52486.45Glue Re 0.41 per box 4708.85Rubber Re 0.34 per box 3904.9Gluing Labor Re 0.70 per box 8039.5

Total Expense upto this point is Rs.2571681.82.

Hence, the cost per box = Total Expenses/ Total Number of Boxes = 2571681/ 11485= Rs. 223.92.

Thus, the cost per Kg. is = 223.92/ 13.30 = Rs. 16.836

6 Electricity Charges are not included in the Value Chain Costing.


28

8 Challenges in the system

There are various burning challenges in the system which we need to overcome to execute a robust

Quality Management System. The foremost challenges are listed below:

1. To check the mechanical injuries to the banana fruit from harvesting procedures.

2. Lack of implementation of protocols deliberately by the laborers.

3. Lack of effective monitoring, especially for the Harvesting laborers.

4. Grooming the skills of laborers by repetitive orientation is lacking.

5. Flow of information between the procurement team, pack house team and management

during the ongoing operations is a matter of concern.

6. The procedures of performance tracking of both the executives as well as laborers concerned

in the system and the corresponding reinforcement is very pathetic.

7. Management of Inventory like foams and crates etc.

8. There are various time costs and the corresponding financial costs involved in the system

which must be taken seriously while planning for the procurement or pack house operations.

Some of the instances are as follows:

a) Switching from one plot to another on the same day during the harvesting operations.

b) The distance of the plot is far away from the pack house.

c) Offloading of the filled crates from the vehicles and loading of empty crates in the

pack house.

d) Idle time during the operations with both the harvesting as well as pack house labors.

e) Vehicle breakdowns, if any.

f) Shortage of Harvesting crates.

g) Shortage of foams, especially crate liner foams.

h) Longer loading distances in the plot due to a single loading point in the farmer’s field.

i) Allocation of crates to the respective harvesting laborers team.

j) Local labor versus in- house labor versus Contract Labor.

k) Disagreements with farmers on the earlier negotiated price for procurement.


29

9. Suggestions and Recommendations

On the basis of the identified challenges in the system, the following are corresponding suggestions

and recommendations to execute the Quality Management System in Banana Operations:

i. Pocket shaped foams- Replacing the crate liner foams, crate matting foams and hand

separator foam with pocket shaped foams in which the banana hands are placed directly after

inserting single foam in between the upper and the lower whorl of banana hands (finger

incision foams). It will be of free size so that hands can be placed in it comfortable

irrespective of different shape and size. On an average, a crate can occupy 5-6 hands so the

same number of pocket sized foams are required to fill a crate load. Thus we can derive that a

truck load of raw material (126 crates) requires around 695 pocket shaped foams. Though it

will roughly incur around 1.2 times more cost than the ongoing practice of foam instructions

but on the other hand it will be much safer for the raw material and significantly reduce the

cases of mechanical injuries during transit. Besides this, during the process of harvesting it

will save significant time in packing of crates. The immediate challenge in following this

method is to trace a service provider who can fulfill our requirement judiciously.

Fig. 14 Dummy Pocket shaped foam

ii. Tracking of vehicles and flow of information- Tracking of vehicles occupied in the process

of harvesting and the flow of information regarding the updates between the procurement


30

executives, pack house executives and the management is a matter of concern in the ongoing

operations. The suggestion is to appoint an individual whose job is to follow up the

harvesting operations on hourly basis at different locations through telephonic conversations

with the harvesting labors or the truck drivers and disseminate the updated status to all the

stakeholders involved in operations. He is also responsible for managing the situations like

vehicle breakdowns, allotment of crates to respective vehicles, accountability of crates and

foam, check on wastage of foams and packaging material etc. This will help the management

in taking quick decisions and provides hedging against many of the pitfalls in the daily

operations.

iii. Division of task to increase efficiency of pack house executives- It is observed that there

are 2 or 3 executives responsible for the pack house operations. The nature of business is

such that they may be managing the operations even beyond the midnight. The problem is

that all the executives are doing everything and there is no significant division of task. To

handle the operations in a much better manner it is mandatory to distribute the work and

further it can be exchanged between themselves either daily or weekly (depending upon the

choice).

Let us suppose that there are 2 executives responsible for managing the pack house

operations. So, the task can be divided into 2 parts namely, Quality control and other

operations like loading- unloading of vehicles, managing the labors on respective lines,

stacking of boxes, counting of inventory, issuing delivery challan (DC) and gate pass etc.

Thus, one executive is strictly responsible for maintaining quality till from offloading cum

weighing to the final packaging while other is responsible for handling the above said

operations. It will make the work easier and more accountability can be maintained.

It was mentioned earlier that there are 5 basic quality control points (QCP’s) from where we

can keep a check on the quality issues; out of the 5, 3 are within the pack house. The

executive responsible for Quality control in the pack house should monitor those QCP’s

conscientiously and try to identify the root cause of the defects, so that, corrective action can

be taken, if possible.


31

iv. Reward and punishment system- Rewards cause a positive attitude of labors towards an

organization. On the other hand, punishments have an aim to eliminate negative behaviors

inconsistent with organization's expectations.

In our context, harvesting labor should be given incentives on the basis of inward QC. The

parameters for inward QC will be fruit quality, percentage of injuries, packing of crates and

foam instructions etc. There should be the provision for appraisal like labor of the month and

team of the month for pack house and harvesting labors respectively. If caught red-handed in

any misconduct or substandard performance, punishment is mandatory. But, it should be

calculative and same for all. For example, deduction of Rs 10 from the daily wages etc.

Punishment can be effective in stopping undesirable workers behaviors such as tardiness,

absenteeism or substandard work performance.

v. Execution of Quality Circles- People are the greatest assets of an organization, because,

through people all other resources are converted into utilities. Quality Circle is one of the

employee participation methods. It implies the development of skills, capabilities, confidence

and creativity of the people through cumulative process of education, training, work

experience and participation. Quality Circles have emerged as a mechanism to develop and

utilize the tremendous potential of people for improvement in product quality and

productivity. Quality Circle is a small group of 6 to 12 employees doing similar work who

voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to identify improvements in their respective work

areas using proven techniques for analyzing and solving work related problems coming in the

way of achieving and sustaining excellence leading to mutual upliftment of employees as

well as the organization. It is "a way of capturing the creative and innovative power that lies

within the work force". The major prerequisite for initiating Quality Circles in any

organization is the total understanding of, as well as complete conviction and faith in the

participative philosophy, on the part of the top and senior management. The Quality Circles

also are expected to develop internal leadership, reinforce worker morale and motivation, and

encourage a strong sense of teamwork in an organization. A variety of benefits have been

attributed to Quality Circles, including higher quality, improved productivity, greater upward


32

flow of information, broader improved worker attitudes, job enrichment, and greater

teamwork.


33

10. Summary and Conclusion

Consumers demand high quality of the fruit they consume and they are interested in the taste,

appearance or shape of bananas. Consumers want to be informed about the fruit they are consuming

through appropriate labeling, tracking and traceability. The quality of the bananas would be

determined by size (length of fingers and thickness), evenness of ripening, absence of blemishes and

defects. The primary objective of the study is to adopt the integrated quality control management

strategies to resolve the prevalent quality problems in banana operations. The specific objectives are

to determine and trace the sources of main quality defects that are turn-offs to the end users and to

derive strategies aimed at either partially or completely alleviating the identified defects, so as to

guarantee the best quality products to consumers. To determine the foremost defects, 65 export

boxes containing 368 hands were examined according to the ABC fruit evaluation parameters. Most

of the mechanical defects such as scaring, bruising, neck injury, crown trim, knife injury, and latex

stain were a result of human error. Rough handling of the bananas by both the harvesting labors as

well as pack house labors were all blamed for these defects. To further control the incidence of these

defects in the final packing for export, five quality control points (QCP’s) were identified.

The study examines the implementation of integrated Quality Management System and the

corresponding strategies aimed at resolving endemic problems in banana operations. Emphasis was

laid on traceability of main sources of quality defects and developing strategies to alleviate them.

The results of the study showed that scarring, bruising, red rusts, nipple like apex, latex stains etc

were the major defects found in the final packed product. On the other hand, over-calibration,

grounded fruits, speckling, freckling, maturity stains, chemical stains and scratches were the

principle quality defects coming from the field.

On the basis of the identified challenges in the system, the corresponding suggestions and

recommendations were made to execute the Quality Management System in Banana Operations.

First of all, replacing the crate liner foams, crate matting foams and hand separator foam with pocket

shaped foams in which the banana hands are placed directly after inserting single foam in between

the upper and the lower whorl of banana hands (finger incision foams). It will be of free size so that

hands can be placed in it comfortable irrespective of different shape and size.


34

Secondly, tracking of vehicles occupied in the process of harvesting and the flow of information

regarding the updates between the procurement executives, pack house executives and the

management is a matter of concern in the ongoing operations. The suggestion is to appoint an

individual whose job is to follow up the harvesting operations on hourly basis at different locations

through telephonic conversations with the harvesting labors or the truck drivers and disseminate the

updated status to all the stakeholders involved in operations. He is also responsible for managing the

situations like vehicle breakdowns, allotment of crates to respective vehicles, accountability of crates

and foam, check on wastage of foams and packaging material etc.

It is observed that there are 2 or 3 executives responsible for the pack house operations. The nature

of business is such that they may be managing the operations even beyond the midnight. The

problem is that all the executives are doing everything and there is no significant division of task. To

handle the operations in a much better manner it is mandatory to distribute the work and further it

can be exchanged between themselves either daily or weekly (depending upon the choice).Quality

Circle is one of the employee participation methods. It implies the development of skills,

capabilities, confidence and creativity of the people through cumulative process of education,

training, work experience and participation. Quality Circles have emerged as a mechanism to

develop and utilize the tremendous potential of people for improvement in product quality and

productivity.

There is a need to closely supervise packers in the pack house, since they are the last to have direct

contact with the product before shipment, so any error at this level is difficult to correct and

consequently becomes a macro problem. Finally, there was a significant increase in the total quality

of fruits processed as a result of the execution of 5 QCP’s and other suggestions and

recommendations.


35

References

i. Bradbury, G.K. - “The management of crop production to meet demands of volume and

quality.” CTA proceedings: 215-218. Arnhem, Neitherlands.

ii. Fonsah, E.G. – “Integrated Quality Control Management strategies in banana production,

packaging and marketing.”

iii. FAO, 2008. Banana Statistics.

iv. Fonsah, E.G. & S.N.D. Chidebelu 1995- “Economics of banana production and marketing in

the tropics.”

v. Proctor, F.J. 1993 – “Horticulture Crop Management within the production and marketing

system: Demands and constraints on quality assurance.”

vi. Annual Reports 1993-1997 Chiquita Brands International, Dole Food Company.

Documents

MTS II_Vikas Rana