In this study, the impact strengths of E-glass, coir, oil palm as well as E-glass/coir and E-glass/oil palm hybrid polyester composites were studied. All types of composites were reinforced with fiber volume fractions of 30%, 40%, and 50% and fiber lengths 3, 7, and 10 mm. Composite laminates reinforced with longitudinal and transverse coir fiber mats were also studied. The number of fiber mats varied from 1, 2, 3, and 4 layers for non-spaced fiber mats and 2, 3, and 4 layers for 1.5 mm spaced fiber mats. Besides, coir—polyester composite with addition of sand filler was studied as well, with 40%, 50%, and 60% of volume fractions and fiber lengths of 3, 7, and 10 mm. Results show that impact strength improves with fiber content and fiber length. In addition, longitudinal fiber mats always exhibit better impact toughness compared to transverse fiber mats. Impact strength is improved with the number of fiber layers but worsened by the fiber spacing. As for coir/polyester concrete, low fiber content and fiber length improve the impact strength. The fractured surfaces were inspected under scanning electron microscope to investigate the fracture mechanisms in each type of composites.

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The Indonesian roof tile manufacturing industry relies heavily on manual operations, specifically in transportation and inspection processes, which creates multiple issues, such as fatigue, injuries, human error, and reduced productivity. Various industries in the Indonesian industrial landscape have begun embracing a problem-solving approach known as the theory of inventive problem-solving (TRIZ) to mine solutions for industrial issues. Nevertheless, its application in the Indonesian roof tile manufacturing industry remains unaddressed. The study aims to solve manual handling issues in the roof tile manufacturing industry using TRIZ. Three observations were outlined from manual roof tile transportation and inspection, followed by the formulation of engineering contradictions (ECs). The ECs were linked with system parameters, which were used as indicators within the contradiction matrix to extract inventive principles as solution models for conceptual development. The concept included an automated system with a conveyor belt (#15: dynamics) for effective transportation, automated image capture (#28: mechanics substitution) for effective inspection, and a flipping conveyor (#25: self-service) to eliminate manual contact. Although the study addressed several issues stemming from manual operations, mechanical analysis, prototyping, and usability testing still require improvements.

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