The Analysis Of Productivity In Soap Manufacture With Particular Reference To Tee Needs Of Sudan

The analysis of soap manufacturing in Sudan revealed that the industry faces major problems. These problems turned the industry into a losing business. Cotton seed oil is the main raw material for laundry soap manufacturing. The shortage of cotton seed led to a lot of idle capacities in soap factories. Semi-boiled process system of soap manufacturing is widely used in Sudan. The analysis of this system showed that : a) It gives poor quality of soap. b) It has high rate of waste and scrap. c) It does not allow recovery of glycerol. dg) It has high operating costs due to the high labour requirements. e) It causes a low morale in the labour force due to the high rate of injury. The analysis of the system represented by Factory "X" showed that reprocessing soap scrap causes an annual loss of L.S 63000 (L.S = Sudanese pound). It also showed that cotton seed oil is no longer an economic oil to use for soap manufacture. It is more expensive compared to its substitutes, Palm kernal, oil palm and soya bean oils can be good replacements. Soya bean oil gives the highest revenue per ton. At present there are two alternative systems of soap processing. These alternatives are : 1. Full-boiled process which is a batch process in the saponification stage. 2. Continuous saponification process. The analysis showed that both systems can give better results compared to the existing system. This mainly because they avoid the manual operations, can recover glycerol and purify the soap. The continuous saponification process gives the best results compared to the full-boiled process. A further analysis of alternative systems of continuous sponification is carried out. These systems are DeLaval, Meccaniche Moderne and Mazzoni. The capital appraisal of these systems showed that the Mazzoni system gives the best results. It's capital outlay can be offset over the shortest period of time compared to the other two alternatives. Also it gives the highest rate of return on its initial capital outlay. Therefore it is suggested that the existing system should be replaced by a continuous saponification Mazzoni system. This can improve the overall economy of the industry.