Efficiency improvement of sugarcane harvesting and loading activities at X sugar factory using linear programming scheduling optimization model.

Optimizing harvest costs inherently influences the efficiency and profitability of the sugar processing industry. Therefore, planning the schedule by considering various variables is necessary to achieve maximum efficiency in harvest and load activities at the sugar factory. This research conducted a case study at X Factory in Jatiroto, Lumajang Regency, Indonesia, focusing on optimizing sugarcane harvesting and loading schedules with a Linear Programming model. The objective of this research is to design a Linear Programming mathematical model that minimizes sugarcane harvesting and loading costs at X Sugar Factory, with the objective function being the minimization of total costs. The constraints include land area, milling capacity, transportation capacity, and harvesting cost. Scheduling was performed over five milling months, aligned with X Sugar Factory's actual milling period (150 days). The Linear Programming optimal result reveals a significant 6.653% total cost saving, approximately Rp 7.5 billion, compared to the actual costs at X Sugar Factory. Conversely, the optimal model result also reduces land area usage by 550.474 hectares, representing 4.612% of the current areas. Moreover, the harvested sugarcane meets the daily minimum milling target criteria of 6,400 tons/day. The model result additionally provides a sophisticated schedule table for each harvest period and land area, offering valuable insights into land use and sugarcane production estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]