Theses and Dissertation

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Open Access
The Effect of Total Quality Management on the Quality of Locally Processed Rice in Southwestern Nigeria
(2015-09-30) Ige, Meshach Morakinyo
This study examined quality of rice varieties, factors responsible for poor quality and appraised the total quality management (TQM) practices of rice farmers and millers in the rice producing communities of Osun and Ekiti States. This was with a view to developing a Total Quality Management framework for rice processing in the study area. The research instruments used included questionnaire, interview schedule and observation. Twenty five paddy farmers and 25 rice millers patronizing the farmers were purposively selected through the extension workers of Agricultural Development Projects. Two hundred rice wholesalers and retailers and 300 rice consumers were randomly selected from the study area. Four types of questionnaire were designed according to functions performed by the stakeholders in rice processing and marketing chain. The first questionnaire for the paddy farmers elicited information on socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, varieties of rice planted and rice processing practices. The second questionnaire (complemented with interview schedule administered on the rice millers) elicited information on quality problems during processing, current processing techniques and quality management practices. The third questionnaire for wholesaler and retailers elicited information on varieties sold, specific quality attributes of the rice varieties (both imported and local), quality management during storage and transportation. The questionnaire for the rice consumers elicited information on customer satisfaction and quality preferences among others. Both local and imported rice samples were subjected to physicochemical analyzes and organoleptic tests using standard methods. The data generated were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that there was no significant difference in moisture (F = 2.7, p>0.05), protein (F = 1.9, p>0.05) and crude fibre (F = 1.5, p>0.05) of the local rice samples. However, there were significant differences in their ash contents (F = 10.2, p<0.05) and carbohydrate contensts (F = 8.8, p<0.05). The grain sizes of the rice varieties were mainly long and medium except Osu, Erinmo stainless and Erinmo max varieties which were short. The 1000-grain weights and bulk densities of the various rice varieties ranged from 19.52 to 33.10 g and 0.57 to 0.66 g/ml, respectively. The water absorption capacities of the samples also ranged between 2.90 and 3.60 ml/g, respectively. The content analysis of the cause and effect relationships showed that poor operations management practices were responsible for low quality of rice such as high percentage of broken grains (12.62 – 38.06%), dockage (16.67 – 36.02%) and spotted grains (23.47 – 35.07%). Moreover, all varieties assessed were found to have similar mean gelatinization temperature (75°C) and peak viscosity (850 B.U.). Prominent technological and socio-economic factors responsible for variations in quality of rice included severity of steeping (above 48 hrs), steaming (above 30 mins) and drying treatments employed by processors, lack of quality standard program, financial constraints and low literacy level of the processor among others. The TQM elements implemented by rice processors which were poorly rated included team-work (7.7%), customer-supplier relationship (10.7%) and customer-focus (19.2%). The post harvest and TQM programmes were developed using these variables as inputs. The sensory evaluation of overall acceptability result showed that imported rice varieties were significantly different from the local ones in terms of aroma, taste, cohesiveness, colour and off flavour characteristics (F = 10.15; p<0.05). Consumer's preferential quality characteristics which influenced their purchase decisions included among other long grain size (98%), absence of stone and foreign materials (91%), taste (83%), aroma (79%) and colour of grain (62%) when cooked. In conclusion, the low quality of the locally processed rice was not due to their varietal characteristics but was attributable to poor quality and operations management practices by the stakeholders. The study also concluded that the developed post harvest and TQM programme will improve the quality of local processed rice.
Open Access
Assessment of Electrical Energy Use Efficiency in Selected Food Companies in Southwestern Nigeria
(2015-08-24) Aderemi, Adewale Olutunde
This study examined various patterns of energy consumption, sources of energy waste, and assessed the effectiveness of the strategies that were employed to reduce energy waste in food industry in Southwestern Nigeria. This was with a view to recommending policy measures that would enhance effective and efficient electrical energy utilization in the food companies. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 210 companies in Southwestern Nigeria from a population size of 303 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Food, Beverage and Tobacco sector that were recorded in Central Bank of Nigeria Small and Medium Industries Nigeria's Information System of 2004. These were made up of 18, 90, 24, 18, 12 and 48 food companies in Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo States, respectively. The questionnaires were administered to factory owners, factory engineers, production managers and workers within the production unit. Some utility managers were also picked at random for oral interview. The research instruments elicited information on the pattern of energy consumption, sources of energy waste and methods employed to reduce the wastages, among others. Descriptive statistics was employed for the data analysis. The study revealed that 89.7% of the industry used standby generating sets as an alternative to mains supply. It also revealed that 48.3% of the enterprises were into beverage production, 37.9% bakery and confectionery production, 7.0% grain milling, 3.4% cold food enterprises and 3.4% sachet water production. Specifically, the study revealed that the most prominent sources of energy waste in the food industry were wear on machine gear teeth (82,8%), worn out pulleys (70.4%), and air leakage from ovens, refrigerators and other drying and cooling equipment (66.7%). Other sources of energy waste and loss that were less prominent included among others, slacks or worn out belts, undersized main supply cable and lubrication failure in gear boxes. The study further showed that the following strategies had major influence on the energy use efficiency of the selected food companies in the study area: rationing between electricity and generating plant (36.4%), bulk production (6.1%), and preventive maintenance (3.0%). Other important factors that influenced the efficient utilization of energy in the food companies were equipment power factor (62.5%), lighting systems (6.1%), sized cable (3.0%), and supplied voltage (62.5%). It is concluded that supply of appropriate voltage from the mains, procurement of new electrical equipment with high power factor and (or) power factor improvement on the existing ones, among others, could enhance electrical energy use efficiency in the food industry in the study area.
Open Access
Evaluation of the Operations and Performance of Small Scale Foundry Enterprises in Lagos State, Nigeria
(2015-05-12) Onibokun, Kehinde Adefiola
The study identified the types of small-scale foundries operating in Lagos state, evaluate their operations management and also assess their performances. This was with a view to recommending strategies that would enhance the performances of the industry. The data for the study were obtained from 30 small-scale foundry enterprises in Lagos State and 150 of their consumers within and outside the State. Questionnaire administration and design interview were the research instruments used during the course of the study. The questionnaire elicited information on their operations management, problems encountered by the small scale foundry enterprises, performance rating of the enterprises by their consumers in terms of cost, quality reliability, customer service attitude. The results showed that majority of the foundry enterprises (83%) produced varieties of products and also accepted jobs from different customers. This implied that most of the small foundries in Lagos State could be categorized as jobbing foundries. Few of these foundries were production foundries. Some of the foundry enterprises were able to develop new products and processes within the past 5-10 years. The performances of the enterprises in terms of reliability of the organization (2.11), product and service quality (2.29), business relationship with consumers (2.09), delivery time (2.01) and responsiveness to consumer feedback (2.03) were satisfactory. However some factors such as non availability of raw materials exportation of scraps, inconsistency in government policies, inadequate or non existence of funds, use of obsolete or outdated equipments, poor product precision and instability of electric power supply were factors limiting their operations. In conclusion, the performances of the foundry enterprises were not optimum due inadequate funds, government policies and poor infrastructural facilities for their operations.
Open Access
A Study of the Applications of Information and Communications Technology for Business Environmental Scanning in the Manufacturing Industry in South Western Nigeria
(2015-05-08) Olamade, Olumuyiwa Owolabi
This study examined the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) resources and capabilities in manufacturing companies in Southwestern Nigeria and the extent of their applications for business environmental scanning with a view to developing effective strategies for ICT-based environmental scanning. Eighty four companies from five sectors: Automobile and Tyres (ATT); Foods, Beverages and Tobacco (FBT); Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Paints (PCP); Breweries (BRW); Building materials, Industrial and Domestic Products (BIP) were sampled using Maximum Variation Sampling technique. The sample consisted of 6 small scale, 54 medium scale and 24 large scale companies. Three sets of questionnaires were designed to address the objectives of the study and administered in three departments in each of the companies sampled. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result of the standard normal Z-test of proportions performed for the aggregate data and four population groups using a hypothesized population proportion of 0.50 at the 0.05 level showed that the business environment was complex-changing but analyzable. Companies were actively engaged in environmental scanning using the search or discovery mode. The ICT utilization index computed from a five-point Likert scale was 3.84; 3.77; 3.63 and 3.55 for information gathering, analysis and interpretation, decision support and organization memory respectively. The level of computerization of some value chain activities examined was shown to be low having mean computerization level of between 2.30 and 2.70. The print media was more intensively used to interact with the environment than all the electronic media except the telephone. The Internet was the least used ICT resource with only 6% of companies engaging in e-commerce. Companies use the Internet predominantly for e-mail and company news. Large scale companies were found to use the Internet less intensively compared to medium scale companies. ICT literacy level of different cadre of staff measured on a five point Likert scale was found to be between 2.07 and 2.39. Frequency of training was similarly found to be low with indices ranging between 2.39 and 2.71. However, there was a significant correlation with coefficient r = 0.69 at the 0.05 level between ICT literacy level of management staff and ICT capability development plan of companies. Ninety-two percent of the companies have development programmes for ICT capability building. The study concluded that the intensity of ICT application in environmental scanning in the manufacturing companies depends largely on the degree of uncertainty in the business environment.
Open Access
Agricultural Engineering Education and the Capability for Technological Innovation.
(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1987) Afolabi, Oladele Omoniyi; Sanni, S. A.; Akiwowo, Akinsola
This study attempted to establish a national picture of agricultural engineering education in Nigerian Universities. Data were collected at four universities with well established Departments of Agricultural Engineering namely: Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU); University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN); University of Ibadan, Ibadan (UIB); and University of Ife, Ile-Ife (UIF). The results of the analysis of data from UNN with the highest percentage returns of 73.8% for the students' questionnaire were discussed. UNN serves best to illustrate and corroborate the basic premises of the theoretical construct. UNN's agricultural engineering programme, established in 1962, also is the oldest in Nigeria. A theoretical model curriculum aimed at enhancing the capability for technological innovation was derived as basis or datum for assessment of present agricultural engineering curriculum. The empirical aspect of this study employed a modified form of the semantic differential (SD) technique, a popular tool for the assessment of images, to assess the UNN agricultural engineering curriculum's enhancement of capability for technological innovation. The UNN agricultural engineering programme was found to enhance the students' capability for technological innovation to some extent. Assessments made for three of the five categories of course-subjects believed to enhance attributes of capability proved satisfactory. Typically, between 68% and 91% of the respondents stated they understood the scientific concepts and have mastered relevant technological techniques as much as most people in their class. Also, the percentage of the respondents who expressed that the degree of difficulty they encountered in understanding or mastering was not as much as they expected was about 85%; while the percentage of the respondents who stated they developed at least some appreciation for the application of the concepts and techniques taught in these three categories of course-subjects was typically between 56% and 89%. These figures are weighted percentage averages. The assessments for two categories of course-subjects: the design courses, especially creative design, and for courses in the social sciences and humanities were judged as not satisfactory. The percentage of the respondents who have mastered the design skills were, on the average, about 48% and 40% for design of elements and for creative design respectively. Also, typically between 60% and 75% of the respondents encountered much more difficult than they expected in mastering the design skills. Within this a generally higher figure was recorded for creative design. The percentage of respondents who developed at least some appreciation for the relevance of social science and humanities courses to the practice of agricultural engineering was considered not high enough - generally about 42% on the average. The findings of this study thus suggest that the UNN Agricultural Engineering Department would need to review and improve those aspects of its curriculum found not satisfactory. The data from the other three universities should be analysed and interpreted as soon as feasible to enable comparison of findings. The whole study should be replicated using the same approach in order to validate the modified form of the SD technique.

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