Here I’m not thinking of a humanoid machine strutting around the kitchen wielding a knife, I’m talking about Cobots.Ī Cobot is a collaborative robot that can operate safely in conjunction with, and in close proximity to, humans to perform equivalent tasks. However the development of a whole new field of robotics in the past decade does give the possibility of taking automation to a whole new level in the commercial kitchen. However, using an industrial robot in a protective cage to fully replace the employee might be considered a step too far and not practical in a people-based industry. Although sometimes the introduction of robotics can help overcome the lack of availability of staff willing to turn up regularly to undertake such uninteresting activity.
History of automation in foodservice free#
Not to replace existing jobs but to free up the individual for a more fulfilling activity. They all have instances where repetitive tasks occur in number and frequency that could benefit from a level of automation. Repetitive and dull jobs exist in a number of foodservice industry segments including healthcare, industry and even banqueting. These are all examples that have evolved since even before the turn of the century to applying automation to robotic machines that replace a human activity to replace one of “The four Ds”.įully automatic cocktail mixing stations seemed more a case of demonstrating the possibilities than a genuine attempt to replace an effective bartender with a machine to replace a dirty, dangerous, dear, or dull job but it is still an effective demonstration of the possibilities of imagination.
It can be seen enhancing employee productivity by using that data to directly link the point-of-sale order to the beverage dispensing machine and the streamlining of operations by automatically sorting and bagging cutlery after washing or the transport of meal carts through a hospital using robotic shuttles. Now the question is, where can they take us in the future, and how can the foodservice consultant assist in their development?Īutomation in the foodservice industry has already gone beyond creating simple efficiencies and cutting costs through the use of data. Currently the introduction and application has almost always been driven by operators and their suppliers rather than their consultants. In fact, these aspects of technology, by these definitions, are already being applied in the foodservice industry. ‘Robotics’ refers to the use of machines to perform tasks done traditionally by humans ( Britannica) usually to replace tasks referred to as “the four ‘Ds”: dirty, dangerous, dear (expensive) and dull (or demeaning). ‘Automation’ typically refers to technology applications where human input is minimized (IBM). It depends on what you mean by the words. When we discuss automation and robotics, we’re talking about their relevance for the manufacturing industries, aren’t we? Not necessarily. Australia-based consultant Tim Smallwood FFCSI looks at the future of automation and robotics in the kitchen