Reducing Waste Resulting from Delays in The Bottled Water Production Process: A Case Study of Bottled Water Factory in the Northeast of Thailand

Abstract

Reducing the waste due to delays in the production of bottled water is one way to avoid losses and reduce the problem of waste due to delays. The aims of this study were to investigate and explore the causes of this waste and to suggest ways to reduce the waste due to delays in drinking water production facilities. Data was collected through participant observation and in-depth interviews with 20 informants. The data was analyzed using flow charts and production activities to find out the causes of waste and suggest ways to reduce it. The results of the study showed that the causes of waste occurred during the transportation of barrels to the tank bottling room, filling of barrels, and transportation of barrels to the warehouse. These activities can be improved using ECRS theory to reduce the waste caused by delays in the bottled water production process, and three methods are proposed: training to improve job skills, increasing production capacity, and adding labor-saving equipment. After the suggestions for reducing the waste caused by delays in the bottled water production process were made, the number of delays was reduced by 8 times, or 47.36%,  the production time was reduced by 99.19 minutes, or 32.04%, the monthly opportunity cost was reduced by 26,000 baht, and the faster production process brought a profit of 1,200 baht per month.