STiR coffee and tea magazine

32 STiR coffee and tea | 2023 Issue 4 (August / September) promulgated at Toyota, Motorola, and Tata. He keeps it simple, however. "The biggest thing you will see is that Bor Noi runs with a minimum of minute-to-minute instruc- tions. I describe it as 'playing in the position.' Each person knows what they need to deliver," Hazarika said. "Every morning at 6 a.m., I write the param- eters we expect to see during the day on the three whiteboards. The workers arrive, stop at the white- board first and know what they have to do." Staff at the factory told STiR that solutions using new equipment and digital apps have made their work easier. They spoke with pride about their facility's modernity, cleanliness, and corpo- rate-level standards. Logging on One of the first investments was for a wi-fi tower to ensure that everyone at the factory has internet access. Bor Noi commissioned development of a user-friendly mobile app to record production, procurement, and processing data in a flexible way. Using the app, staff track ambient tempera- tures at different times of day, withering data, fer- mentation temperatures, grades of tea being made, and so on. The app saves time and hassles. Its cost was moderate. Tech has improved efficiencies in processing. Bor Noi has collaborated with Robo6 Labs, a Hy- derabad-based start-up working on robotics-based solutions for agriculture. The company developed automatic switches with 19 settings that have im- proved consistency, reduced use of energy, and increased productivity. Previously, workers had to intervene every 20 minutes when a new batch was processed. Now the system takes care of it. The technology has helped improve the criti- cal withering stage, for example. Bor Noi's troughs can hold up to 20,000 kilograms of leaves at a time. Temperature and moisture are adjusted with with- ering fans that need constant monitoring. Now the automatic switches control the fans for bet- ter results. The switches are also used in the mist chamber, where the CFM, or continuous ferment- ing machine, must maintain humidity at 97–99% to enable the right conditions for oxidation. The mist chamber uses big volumes of wa- ter, releasing a large stream of wastewater. Staff brainstormed a way to channel the excess water into a collection tank for reuse. Their solution uses two pumps that are small enough to avoid overheating the chamber. The Robo6 automatic switches run the pumps at half-hour intervals, reducing heat accumulation so as not to impact withering. It saves nearly 1,600 liters of water per day. Successful discoveries like this have prompted staff to keep thinking. Another technology that helps ensure quality is a thermal camera that monitors the CTC ma- chinery. The camera checks the CTC rollers, de- tecting discrepancies in heat zones, indicating in- consistencies that need to be corrected. Hazarika has decades of experience as a pro- fessional taster, yet he believes even tasting can be done by tech. Staff use a digital device that mea- sures the density of a tea. The data helps them de- cide whether the product needs to be improved for strength, which is critical in CTC tea manufacture. Tech and data have also helped Bor Noi work more smoothly with growers. Green leaf prices are announced at the beginning of the week, so growers know what to expect. In season, farmers arrive two or three times a day to drop off leaves. To make the process easier, the team built a trolley and lift to transport the tea quickly to the troughs. Trolley and lift ease the handling of green leaf at the factory. Farmers are encouraged to taste what they grow.

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