Tech Triumphs
New systems streamline chain operations to improve productivity
By Erin J. Shea, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 7/1/2006
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Many hands make light work. So, too, does a kitchen where the newest technologies maximize staff efficiency and improve guest satisfaction.
Software and a kitchen-display system at each of casual-dining chain Ruby Tuesday’s 3,500 locations have transformed how entrées are cooked and taken the unit manager out of the kitchen. “We needed to measure the process from the time a guest ordered an entrée to when he received it,” explains Nick Ibrahim, senior vice president and chief technical officer for the Maryville, Tenn.-based concept.
In place since 2005, the system analyzes each order based on preset cooking and assembly requirements for each menu item. For example, an order including both a steak and a chicken entrée is programmed to account for the proteins’ different cooking times.
“A steak takes four minutes to prepare while the chicken takes 12,” says Ibrahim. “The cook sees the ticket, but he only knows about the chicken so he begins preparing it. Eight minutes later, he gets the order for the steak and then starts to cook it. Both items finish at the same time, and when they’re ready, the cook pushes a button and the items move to the garnish area.”
Ibrahim says the process allows kitchen staff to concentrate on individual food items rather than tackling an entire ticket, and it ensures the quality of food served to guests. “Instead of one customer at a table with perfect steak and another with cold chicken, we’ve now got two happy guests,” he says.
In addition to better food quality, the system bolsters training by providing exact steps for how each menu item should appear. “Training is great but what’s missing is translating that knowledge onto the floor into the logical workflow,” Ibrahim says. “The system allows the staff to concentrate on each step at a time and not worry about what they have to do next because it’s all there on the screen.”
He explains that such precise, computerized time-management guidance on the line frees managers from constant back-of-the-house monitoring. Now they can channel most of their scrutiny to the front of the house, stepping into the kitchen occasionally to check the status of order preparation.
Making a Mark
Paperwork is the bane of nearly all businesses and restaurants are no exception. That was true for White Castle and the thousands of employee healthcare forms it processed.
“We formed the Forms and Bags Committee,” says Don Long, senior director of information services and technology for the Columbus, Ohio-based quick-service chain. “Our employees would fill out healthcare forms that would get stuffed into bags for our regional managers to pick up. Some regions had managers making up to six trips a week just to pick up these bags.”
In addition to the cost of forms and time spent retrieving them, White Castle management teams were spending time transferring data from paper to the chain’s human-resources system.
To solve the problem, White Castle adopted fingerprint-authentication technology—which interfaces with proprietary software already in place at the corporate level—allowing each of 6,000 employees to electronically complete healthcare-benefit forms. Employees register their thumbprints into the system, which automatically matches it with their personal information in the network database. If employees need to enroll or make changes in the program, they scan their thumbs and enter information directly. Scanners are provided so that employees also can download pertinent documentation into the system; electronic signatures with fingerprints legalize the process.
“It sometimes would take us weeks to process a single worker’s information,” Long says. “Now it takes 21/2 minutes and we don’t have to deal with the back and forth with workers.”
Long estimates the reduced paperwork and pickup-and-delivery time means savings of $1 million annually while allowing regional management to more fully concentrate on improving unit economics.
Advanced Ideas
Quick-service, fast-casual and casual-dining chains all are finding ways to incorporate technologies that improve productivity and profit margins. Among the innovations in place:
- El Pollo Loco: Combined guest-service and marketing-survey functions to give customers of the Irvine, Calif.-based chain access to service representatives while facilitating compilation of real-time data on guest experiences.
- On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina: In Denver, the Dallas-based chain uses Curbside To Go software that eliminates need for ground-based sensors to signal a car’s arrival. Instead it relies on a paging system triggered by sensors in a remote camera to signal a dedicated takeout computer screen.
- Red Robin Gourmet Burgers: Corporate operations teams at the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based chain adopted a five-step project-management system designed to facilitate communication and apply problem-solving techniques.
- Wendy’s: Double-sided grills that provide faster cooking times, improve quality and reduce labor (by approximately 20 crew hours per week) are being phased in. Introduction of the equipment to the Dublin, Ohio-based chain’s domestic system is expected by early 2008.
- White Hen: The Oak Brook, Ill.-based convenience-store chain is expanding its Hot & Fresh toasted-sandwich menu. Select new-store openings include touch-screen ordering capabilities to speed sandwich service.
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