Fast food moving even faster
McDonald's, International Terminal, Sydney, Australia
LOCATION
Sydney, Australia
VENUE
McDonald's
TREND
Technology
MAPPING
Hospitality, Food & Beverage
Food service on the move
In the fast-food world, speed is all important! Get the order in, take the payment and get the food out! Recently I was passing through the Sydney International terminal and I noticed that MacDonalds has taken efficiency to a new level. This high-volume store has been designed to minimise their footprint and maximise their speed and efficiency.
The store is located within the main food court area of the International Terminal. It occupies a stand-alone two-story structure. At first glance; it is similar to any other store. There are the counters for placing orders. There are automated kiosks, the ones that look like giant iPads where customers order and pay on screen.
The coffee machines, refrigeration and ice cream machines are located on and behind the counter for quick access. So; what’s different you may ask?
As part of minimising space, the kitchen is located upstairs above the service counters. However; an innovative delivery system has been installed to deliver meals directly to the counter below.
Order in,
order out!
How the process flow works
- The customer orders and pays for their “Big Mac” via the kiosk or the attendant.
- The order is received by the kitchen and food preparation and packaging begins.
- At this time the attendant can prepare any beverages or other items ion the order.
- The completed order is bagged and order docket is attached.
- The bagged meal is clipped onto a moving trolley system that delivers the meal down to the server.
- The server collects the bag and links this to any beverage order and then identifies the customer via the order docket.
Stephen's Take
MacDonalds have analysed and fine-tuned their processes to cook and serve quickly; this innovation certainly speeds up the delivery from an upstairs kitchen to the service point below. The trolley system is on display through perspex and it’s quite quirky to watch the orders being despatched and travel down to the servers. One thing did cross my mind … with technology there can always be a glitch and I wondered; what would happen if the trolley stopped? However; I’m sure Macas have considered this and have a contingency plan up their sleeve!
Stephen
Unit of Competency Mapping
Please note; the purpose of this article is to introduce current hospitality trends. The content broadly applies to the units of competency listed. It is not intended that all content in this article maps directly to all performance evidence and knowledge evidence in the unit of competency.
Article and all photos original by Stephen Duncan