How Long Does It Take To Make
25 Chef Salads?
When is the last time you have completed a task analysis to determine the steps and time it takes to make your chef salads?
How long does it take to set-up and take down a serving line?
Prepare 350 cheeseburgers?
Prepare 350 cheeseburgers?
If you are like most schools, it has been a long time since you have measured productivity.
Many schools are facing high labor costs which often leads to staffing cuts. Working smarter, not harder, with work simplification is a great way to increase staff efficiency while maintaining high quality in their operation. Work simplification allows your employees to perform tasks in the simplest ways possible to conserve time and energy and reduce labor by producing more in a given time.
I have worked with many schools that are doing things the same way, and staffed with about the same meals per labor hour as they were 30-40 years ago when almost everything was made from scratch and most districts had bakers. Fast forward to current times and use work simplification to make sure that each task is set-up to be performed the easiest, quickest and simplest way possible.
Parkinson's Law
Parkinson’s Law, which states, “work expands to fit the time allowed” has snuck into many a kitchens; it means that the task will take as long as the time given to do it. If you give a person all day to do the job, it might take all day. Labor creep has infiltrated many of the schools I’ve consulted. When these schools increased their use of processed foods and commodities, they did not make adjustments in labor hours, and now it takes these schools close to the same amount of time to heat spaghetti sauce as it did to make spaghetti sauce from scratch using government ground beef and tomato paste. Using the methods of work simplification is one of the best ways to prevent Parkinson’s Law from taking over your kitchens.
Have a plan
The first step in using work simplification is to have a plan. List jobs and tasks that need reviewed for productivity and simplification, and then prioritize these tasks. High on the list should be tasks that are completed on a daily. Once you have decided on the tasks and jobs that need reviewed, pick one and get started on evaluating and simplifying.
The steps I use are:
Mise en Place
All jobs have three essential parts: Get ready, do, and clean-up. Use the principles of mise en place (French for “putting in place”) to get organized and prioritize the work needed. Train your staff to retrieve all ingredients and equipment needed on a cart in a single trip. Set up workstations in order of assembly to increase motion economy. Dovetail tasks such as shredding all the cheese needed for the week at the same time. Have work stations equipped with all needed utensils. Running back and forth to the storeroom for ingredients is great for getting exercise, but not good for efficiency. Use cycle menus and your production sheets to note ways to simplify for the next time.
Motion Economy
Use motion economy with all tasks. One of the schools I worked with started offering grilled cheese sandwiches as an alternate. The manager said the only way they would be able to prepare 50 grilled cheese sandwiches was to have an additional 1 ½ hours of labor each day to prepare the sandwiches. This would work out to .50 sandwich per minute. Using the techniques of work simplification, we broke down and listed the steps involved in making the grilled cheese sandwich. Long story short, the cook was taking one piece of bread and spreading butter on the one piece, putting it on the sheet pan, then she put two slices of cheese, one at a time on top of the one slice of bread, then picked up the second slice of bread, buttered it, and then put it on top of the cheese. This method might work at home, but it does not make sense in a foodservice operation. Training staff on work simplification and motion economy helped this school boost their efficiency. Do not assume that staff knows the easiest, simplest, fastest and safest way to perform a task.
Now it is your turn. Pick a task and see how you can make the job easier and save time and energy. The results will benefit your operation, your staff, your labor hours and costs, and your bottom line. How long does it take your staff to make 25 chef salads?
©Kim Hofmann, RDN, LD.
Many schools are facing high labor costs which often leads to staffing cuts. Working smarter, not harder, with work simplification is a great way to increase staff efficiency while maintaining high quality in their operation. Work simplification allows your employees to perform tasks in the simplest ways possible to conserve time and energy and reduce labor by producing more in a given time.
I have worked with many schools that are doing things the same way, and staffed with about the same meals per labor hour as they were 30-40 years ago when almost everything was made from scratch and most districts had bakers. Fast forward to current times and use work simplification to make sure that each task is set-up to be performed the easiest, quickest and simplest way possible.
Parkinson's Law
Parkinson’s Law, which states, “work expands to fit the time allowed” has snuck into many a kitchens; it means that the task will take as long as the time given to do it. If you give a person all day to do the job, it might take all day. Labor creep has infiltrated many of the schools I’ve consulted. When these schools increased their use of processed foods and commodities, they did not make adjustments in labor hours, and now it takes these schools close to the same amount of time to heat spaghetti sauce as it did to make spaghetti sauce from scratch using government ground beef and tomato paste. Using the methods of work simplification is one of the best ways to prevent Parkinson’s Law from taking over your kitchens.
Have a plan
The first step in using work simplification is to have a plan. List jobs and tasks that need reviewed for productivity and simplification, and then prioritize these tasks. High on the list should be tasks that are completed on a daily. Once you have decided on the tasks and jobs that need reviewed, pick one and get started on evaluating and simplifying.
The steps I use are:
- Determine the job you want to simplify.
- Breakdown and list the tasks involved in the job (do a time and motion study.)
- Review, question and challenge each step and detail.
- Determine a better method (group similiar tasks together, streamline, organize).
- Apply the new method.
Mise en Place
All jobs have three essential parts: Get ready, do, and clean-up. Use the principles of mise en place (French for “putting in place”) to get organized and prioritize the work needed. Train your staff to retrieve all ingredients and equipment needed on a cart in a single trip. Set up workstations in order of assembly to increase motion economy. Dovetail tasks such as shredding all the cheese needed for the week at the same time. Have work stations equipped with all needed utensils. Running back and forth to the storeroom for ingredients is great for getting exercise, but not good for efficiency. Use cycle menus and your production sheets to note ways to simplify for the next time.
Motion Economy
Use motion economy with all tasks. One of the schools I worked with started offering grilled cheese sandwiches as an alternate. The manager said the only way they would be able to prepare 50 grilled cheese sandwiches was to have an additional 1 ½ hours of labor each day to prepare the sandwiches. This would work out to .50 sandwich per minute. Using the techniques of work simplification, we broke down and listed the steps involved in making the grilled cheese sandwich. Long story short, the cook was taking one piece of bread and spreading butter on the one piece, putting it on the sheet pan, then she put two slices of cheese, one at a time on top of the one slice of bread, then picked up the second slice of bread, buttered it, and then put it on top of the cheese. This method might work at home, but it does not make sense in a foodservice operation. Training staff on work simplification and motion economy helped this school boost their efficiency. Do not assume that staff knows the easiest, simplest, fastest and safest way to perform a task.
Now it is your turn. Pick a task and see how you can make the job easier and save time and energy. The results will benefit your operation, your staff, your labor hours and costs, and your bottom line. How long does it take your staff to make 25 chef salads?
©Kim Hofmann, RDN, LD.
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Click on thumbnail above to view original printed article. Note: This linked article was co-written. Original article is under articles in my website.
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