On September 1, New Bangpoo Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (New BEC) in Thailand finished building its new company cafeteria. The dilapidated old cafeteria it replaced had been in use since the company’s predecessor, Bangpoo Engineering, was launched in February 1996.
The old cafeteria was a semi-outdoor space sporting only a roof. Although the lack of walls provided a sense of openness, this also allowed plenty of dust into the cafeteria. Cooks were standing on top of pallets laid on the kitchen’s dirt floor—not really a sanitary environment—and there was no air conditioning, either.
In addition, the space was too small for all employees to eat together, which affected things like meal times and communication. Since the company has no large conference rooms, the cafeteria was being used for that purpose as well. There was not enough room for every employee, so safety briefings and other key meetings had to be broken up into multiple sessions.
The new cafeteria is equipped with a long-awaited air-conditioning system, and there is now enough space to seat all of the company’s nearly two hundred employees. This provides a place where all employees can gather for a comfortable meal break, and the expanded space allows the company to hold even company-wide meetings in a single session.
The cafeteria building incorporates new employee locker rooms and restrooms, greatly enhancing the workplace environment. The company’s storeroom, equipment storage, maintenance room and driver waiting room have been relocated and consolidated in the building as well. This has improved workflow lines on the premises, increasing work efficiency.
Here are a few of the many comments received from delighted employees:
“I really look forward now to enjoying meals in a clean and comfortable cafeteria. We can relax there now.”
“I’m so grateful to the company for building this new cafeteria. It’s really improved the working environment. We’ll make sure to keep it clean.”
“Thailand is hot, so the new air conditioning is a big help. The new cafeteria looks great, and so do the restrooms and lockers.”
As you can see, the new cafeteria has increased employee satisfaction and motivation.