How to Make Restaurant Kitchen Jobs Easier with Automation

The National Restaurant Association released its 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry Report projecting a road to recovery. The report estimates 400,000 restaurant kitchen jobs will be added this year, but how can operators be sure they stick? We uncovered some of the real reasons around the labor shortage in the restaurant industry, and a lot of them centered around personal well-being. Restaurant jobs are mentally and physically taxing, and the only way to make sure employees want to stay in these jobs is to make them easier.

Reduce Line Cook Stress

Being a chef can be very stressful. The place where everything comes together, a commercial kitchen delivers line cooks a lot of pressure throughout their shift. Helping alleviate these stresses as much as possible allows staff to be more productive. Having automation in a commercial kitchen helps in multiple ways.

• • Automate safety measures to reduce incidents of injury and foodborne illness with Powerhouse Dynamics Open Kitchen. It’s one less thing your kitchen staff has to do.
  • Automate temperature on Blodgett convection ovens with the Cook & Hold feature to free up time for other tasks.
  • Use a Pitco rethermalizer to bring previously cooked food to temperature, reducing the chaos during peak hours.

Eliminate Repetitive Tasks

Performing repetitive tasks is an expectation in restaurant jobs. It’s also something that can cause distraction and even cause injury. Repeating motions may become routine and staff could begin to do it mindlessly, which can lead to accidents. Take a load off with automation that lifts heavy equipment and handles repetitive tasks with ease.

• • Wunderbar Autosaucer sauces pizza after pizza accurately to your specification. Customize the saucer by choosing sauce portion, pizza size and dough type, and alleviate your staff from one more repetitive task. Plus, reduced food waste and consistent output will help boost your bottom line.
  • Placed near your fryer, a RAM by Taylor system dispenses frozen, ready-to-cook portions on demand. Each model reduces waste and repetition.

Improved Operational Efficiency

Human error can be costly. It’s estimated that human error in a restaurant can cost $30 per plate. And a food safety error has higher monetary and personal implications. Any mistake adds up, impacting a business’s bottom line. Implementing automation with Open Kitchen can help get important tasks completed and eliminate the potential for staff error.

• • Automate safety reporting with temperature tracking, real-time alerts, and digital checklists to distribute HACCP reports.
  • Automate maintenance reporting to be proactive rather than reactive with maintenance needs, helping alleviate equipment downtime.
  • Monitor your facility to control HVAC, lighting, signage, and other equipment helping control energy costs.

Reduce Kitchen Turnover

A large part of creating efficiency is having trained staff on hand who have a consistent routine. With kitchen jobs though, employee turnover is a large problem. Not only does it impact how a commercial kitchen runs, but it also affects customer satisfaction and staff morale. Kitchen equipment automation can help reduce that turnover. Automation of tasks helps improve overall working conditions by making things safer, which helps with employee retention.

Learn more about how smart kitchens can reduce labor challenges and make operations more efficient.

References

Easy Food Handlers.com