Automation: A Side Grade To Human Labor Or Full Upgrade?

Computers and machines in restaurants were once ideas found mostly in science fiction or colorful imagination. But today, they are as common as soda and French fries. In fact, automation is so highly integrated into restaurants and the customer experience that it has led some to wonder: will there come a day when restaurants are fully automated?

There's certainly some fuel for the speculation. Salad-centric restaurant Sweetgreen recently implemented its "Infinite Kitchen" concept, an automated salad line that uses machinery to assemble made-to-order salads for customers. Company CEO Jonathan Neman said that the system's implementation generated "higher throughput, better order accuracy, portioning consistency, and substantially lower team member turnover."

The benefits of automation to the restaurant industry are clear as day. Dan Bendall, principal at Maryland-based consulting firm FoodStrategy Inc., notes that "there are a lot of automated technologies already in play that make life easier for operators and employees," such as "programmable equipment." Bendall notes that in addition to making things more streamlined and efficient in the restaurant, automation also helps restaurant owners save on labor costs—a definite boon in today's economy.

With all of that said, can machines completely replace human labor in restaurants? The answer is a little more complicated than that.

Craveworthy Brands CEO and founder Gregg Majewski notes that there are numerous variables to consider when it comes to the quality of food; after all, machines aren't guaranteed to be able to put out the same level of quality that human cooks and chefs can. On top of that, while labor is expensive, so too is the purchase, installation, and maintenance of these machines. Owners also need to be able to properly allocate adequate space for automation, and potentially train staff to utilize and maintain them.

So will automation totally replace human beings in restaurants? For the time being, the answer seems to be "No." But until that point, should it ever come, they will be an integral part of running restaurants in cost-effective and productive ways.

Published by:
Christian Dantes

REWrite Blog