Having a productive kitchen is essential if you want to have a successful restaurant, because productivity increases the profit, production and quality of your business. What is productivity anyway?
It is the ability to produce more, using less time and resources. That's why it's necessary for a kitchen to have high productivity, as it enables efficient production and better use of resources, while maintaining and improving food quality and service efficiency.
How to be more productive?
Productivity is linked to the efficiency of the work performed, in a dynamic way. Because of this, the Lean Kitchen which is based on the management system developed by the Toyota Production System (TPS), with the aim of reducing costs, optimizing time, increasing quality in production and increasing productivity in the kitchen.
In order for your restaurant to be successful following the Lean system, it's important to know that you need more than acquiring quality and modern equipment, it's about changing the whole team. This will improve the quality of life of your employees and the experience of your customers.
Advantages of Lean Kitchen
When the Lean system is used, it is possible to see improvements in processes and in the profitability of your business. In addition, the main advantages are:
- Reduced operating costs;
- Ensuring the food safety of products;
- Reduce waste by up to 80%;
- Quality in processes;
- Increasing the quality of life of employees.
The concept of Lean Kitchen is to have an environment with a predictable and standardized flow, maintaining organization and optimizing the resources and spaces available in the operation.
With this in mind, in this article we've prepared seven (7) tips on how to improve productivity in the kitchen, with strategies that will provide more agility, ease, functionality and quality when preparing food.
Happy reading!
Technology
With technological equipment, tasks will be carried out more efficiently, requiring fewer manual resources. Equipment such as high-performance grills, combi ovens and fryers with rapid temperature recovery or which are automated, speed up processes and optimize the use of manpower.
Have a practical layout
For your industrial kitchen to maintain a high level of productivity, it is important that the environment is practical and easy for employees to move around.
It is essential that the layout is distributed strategically, thinking about the entire process flow, from the mise en place until the dishes are delivered to customers. This way, you can make better use of the production line and simplify processes.
In addition, it is important to have a spacious, well-ventilated and hygienic environment in order to avoid cross-contamination between procedures.
Safety regulations
Within an industrial kitchen there are various utensils that can cause irreparable damage to employees. In addition to good planning of the structure, it is extremely important to be concerned about the safety of each one, so that it strictly complies with ANVISA (National Health Surveillance Agency) standards.
For this, it is important to use PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) correctly, such as: suitable footwear, aprons, masks, caps and protective gloves. Preferably opt for high-quality equipment, which will also provide safety for your production and team.
It is therefore important to pay attention to safety in the workplace, preserving the lives of your employees.
Performance indicators
It's important to monitor production to understand the efficiency of each process in order to analyze which stages need to be intervened in, whether with instruction, adjustments or the insertion of new utensils or equipment into the process. In addition, keep your team motivated - studies show that a lack of motivation affects productivity.
Training
Train your employees! Constant training trains specialists, maintains standards, avoids losses and waste, and reduces the chances of accidents. Research shows that employees who take part in regular training are much more engaged and motivated.
Delegate intelligently
Know how to divide the team, use employees' knowledge and experience intelligently. Make sure no one is overloaded in the team.
Avoid waste
Analyze the workflow from order to delivery to the customer. Look out for waste in the flow of operations and in the return of dishes. Your profit can be impacted by the details.
Finally, if managers understand the importance of the tips given in this article, they will certainly increase their productivity and consequently their profits, making the results noticeable. Are you unsure which equipment is best for your kitchen? Request an appointment with our experts.
