Think like a “lean” manufacturer when considering restaurant efficiency
A lean restaurant operation will place greater focus on the operations to produce meals. Specifically, they investigate how to reduce the production of waste, cut down on time spent by employees and equipment, and how to reduce the overall cost of the product while maintaining quality.
The first step to creating restaurant efficiency through lean manufacturing principles is to study the value a business creates for its customers. Value is the amount that someone is willing to pay for something. For example, if your restaurant produces Italian sandwiches, there is a certain amount of money that customers are willing to pay for that product. This means if the restaurant can only charge a certain amount for that sandwich, they must either figure out how to produce the meal at a low enough cost to turn a profit or consider eliminating the offering in favor of products that satisfy the customer's image of value.
At this point, a restaurant would begin to focus on “flow.” What are all the steps to produce the Italian sandwich? How do we cut down on the time it takes to do each individual step? Consider every step from the moment the materials arrive at the back door until the complete sandwich is handed off to the customer. This is the only way to find opportunities to improve restaurant efficiency. For more on the topic of restaurants in the context of lean manufacturing, check out our article.
Technology To Gain Restaurant Efficiency
There is a lot of talk about kitchen automation and how robotics in the kitchen can help with restaurant efficiency. This can be overwhelming to think about, and while we dream about the fully automated kitchen, small bits of kitchen automation can make a huge difference. Something as simple as a conveyor pizza oven means that once a pizza gets loaded into an oven, it requires no attention until it gets to the other side. This means that rather than periodically opening an oven to keep an eye on a pizza, an employee can take care of other tasks while the pizza is cooking. Small improvements to restaurant efficiency like this can have major implications to the throughput of a business, without increasing its daily cost to operate.
Improved ergonomic design is another great way to improve restaurant efficiency. Ergonomics in the kitchen consider designing for efficiency and comfort in the working environment. This means designing equipment that not only makes a job easier and faster to do, but more comfortable and less strenuous for the operator. In a commercial kitchen, this includes concepts as simple as placing all necessary tools within reach. It can also mean more complicated design considerations such as making heavy pots or fry baskets designed in such a way to decrease excessive strain on the body. Businesses that provide their employees with environments where their safety and comfort are considered will generally garner improved restaurant efficiency.
Food Waste Reduction to Improve Restaurant Efficiency
Reduction of food waste means an increase in restaurant efficiency. Food waste, often referred to as food loss is any edible food that goes uneaten at any stage. This ranges from crops that rotted in the field, all the way to food that spoiled in a restaurant kitchen before it could be served. It also includes unfinished meals left on the plate at a restaurant and the scraps from preparing a meal.
As discussed earlier in this article, a focus on running a “lean” restaurant can help cut down on waste and increase restaurant efficiency. As much as 10 percent of food purchased by restaurants is wasted before reaching the customer. This means that even a reduction of waste by half could decrease annual spending on inventory by 5%, while still serving the same amount of prepared food.
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There are many ways to improve restaurant efficiency. They range from nearly free, such as rearranging your kitchen, to very costly fully customized cooking equipment. The most important thing for any business is to be considering restaurant efficiency at every turn and constantly seeking ways to improve it.
