Effectiveness of the Preprocessed Foods on Productivity and Satisfaction in School Foodservices

ABSTRACT

Fresh-cut foods have been widely used in the school foodservice industry due to their convenience and saving effects of labor and working hours. This study evaluated the effectiveness of using fresh-cut foods in school foodservice with respect to cost efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and productivity. First, in terms of cost efficiency, the cost of the fresh-cut food per meal price significantly increased by 2.6% via the new production plan. Meanwhile, the costs of labor and food wastes significantly decreased by 3.0% and 0.3%, respectively, after implementing the new plan. Second, customer satisfaction towards foodservice significantly increased, from 2.94 points prior to the new plan to 3.45 points. Third, foodservice productivity such as of the number of meals per full-time equivalent employee increased by 5.7 meals, from 143.0 meals to 148.7 meals after intervention. The productivity index of work hours for producing a meal also increased and was reflected by a work time reduction of 0.77 minutes, specifically from 4.25 minutes to 3.48 minutes. The labor cost per meal also decreased by 29.9 won, from 331.91 won to 301.97 won, but there was no significant difference. Through these results, we identified that using pre-process foods in school foodservice has positive effects on labor saving, customer satisfaction, and employee work satisfaction.