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Productivity Improvement of the Coconut Water Conveying System Using Simulation Modeling: A Case Study

Engineering and Technology Horizons | 2026

Paper Details

Authors: Sangrayub P.; Jirachatwongchai J.; Lumsakul P.; Kaweegitbundit P.

DOI: 10.55003/ETH.430102

Journal: Engineering and Technology Horizons

Year: 2026

Publisher: King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang

Document Type: Article

Open Access: All Open Access; Gold Open Access

Cited by: 0

Abstract

This study examines the coconut water conveying system through a case study of the coconut company. The applicability of Discrete-Event Simulation (DES), implemented using FlexSim, is demonstrated as a decision-support tool for analyzing and improving the system. The existing operation is characterized by inefficiencies in manual handling and unbalanced workloads, which negatively affect system throughput. Various scenarios were evaluated to determine optimal staffing levels at each workstation. Simulation results indicated that scenario 6 achieved an optimal allocation of labor at each workstation, thereby maximizing average throughput and reducing average work-in-process compared with the current system. Furthermore, a comprehensive simulation model was developed to evaluate potential process improvements, identifying the shell cracking and separation operations as the primary bottleneck constraining overall system throughput. The optimized conveyor-based configuration increases average throughput by 45.89%, reduces average work-in-process by 59.70%, and decreases average waiting time by 49.86% compared with the current system. © 2026, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Coconut water; Conveying; Productivity; Simulation