Enhancement competitive capabilities of the Korat stirred-noodle industry by improving productivity

Korat stirred-noodle industry is one of the community businesses producing a signature provincial food of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand. Presently, there are many SME factories producing Thai instant noodles products which are called Mee Korat. However, their production process is still dependent on the labor force and needs improvement. Although, the substantial effect of Coronavirus pandemic of worldwide, food products demand is adversely increased. The studied company faces the problem of low capacity. This leads to unachieved customer demand which higher than 100% of current production. Due to expanding the market of the company to neighboring countries, such as Lao, Myanmar, improving the production process is crucial. Seven wastes technique has been applied for analyzing and improving productivity. Adjusting the current tooling i.e., spatula turner for stirring sauce slurry at mixing sauce station, and installing portable conveyor for reducing movement of workers at packing station are proposed. The results of these improvements can reduce the number of workforces and laborers’ fatigue. In addition, production and productivity can be increased and respond to the high demand of customers.