Implementation of andon in a seed processing plant for enhanced operational sustainability

Abstract

This study implemented a low-cost, open-source Andon system at a seed processing plant in Zimbabwe to address chronic inefficiencies from manual fault monitoring. The system integrated ESP32 microcontrollers, MQTT protocol, Node-RED, and stack lights. Results showed a 42 % reduction in downtime, a 22 % increase in throughput, and 80 % of critical faults resolved within 8 minutes. The framework demonstrates how techno-localism and open-source ecosystems can foster sustainable, locally maintainable automation for agro-processing SMEs.