Restaurant Operational Efficiency: Smart Commercial Kitchens

Summary

• Commercial kitchen equipment such as ovens, fryers, and refrigerators are increasingly being connected to the cloud.
• While data from these systems can be used to automate Food Safety reporting and reduce energy consumption, there are many additional operational efficiency benefits from connectivity, including:
  • Controlling oil costs in fryers through remote visibility into system usage
  • Tracking and preventing product quality issues in fryers and ovens
  • Catching performance problems in refrigeration systems before they become expensive and dangerous problems
  • For manufacturers: reducing the cost of customer support through remote trouble-shooting

Introduction

Much has been said about the energy benefits of internet-connected and remotely controlled equipment in small commercial facilities such as restaurants. The case is clear for connectivity when controlling energy consumption - for example, connected thermostats provide comfortable yet efficient temperatures for guests and staff, and controllers enforce commercial kitchen equipment on/off schedules to eliminate excess energy use.

With the infrastructure in place to provide energy control and analytics in a restaurant, though, are there other opportunities for driving greater operational efficiency through connected equipment? If so, what are the potential benefits of the “smart” commercial kitchen (the kitchen with connected equipment) when it comes to operating costs, equipment performance, and product quality?

This white paper will focus on opportunities for improving restaurant kitchen operational efficiency through the use of connected cooking and food storage equipment, including fryers, ovens, and refrigeration. We will describe not only the opportunities for restaurant operators but for kitchen equipment manufacturers and service organizations, as well.