6 Must-Ask Questions When Selecting Commercial Kitchen ...

Starting a catering business is an exciting experience that can also be overwhelming. Part of the necessary installations is the restaurant exhaust hoods meant to provide proper ventilation for your kitchen.

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Did you know that as of 2016, the number of inmates in federal and state prisons stood at 2,162,400? These correctional facilities have unique kitchen designs that must abide by the set regulations. Whether it is a correctional facility or any other commercial kitchen space, the appliances must meet the conditions discussed below.

Can Your Cafeteria Equipment Cope With Emerging Trends?

The food and catering industry in the U.S. has changed dramatically over the last few years. The changes have been brought by the emergence of new dietary requirements as well as food intolerances.

Today’s kitchen environments must, therefore, be structured in a way that cross-contamination doesn’t occur. Part of these unique designs is the installation of restaurant exhaust hoods for extra ventilation in your kitchen.

Does Your Commercial Kitchen Design Meet Local Building and Health Codes?

Rules governing the food industry vary depending on your location. How close to one another are your sets of equipment? How about the positioning of the commercial kitchen equipment in relation to the exit of the facility?

Take time to review the existing local codes of operations. Consequently, you can contact the nearest restaurant supply stores and be guided on what works best for your situation.

Failure to comply with the set regulations will attract hefty fines. You will also be required to redo your kitchen design and incorporate all the important features such as the restaurant exhaust hoods.

How Future-Proof Are These Appliances?

With the drastic changes being witnessed in the food industry, kitchen appliances need to be future-proof. As your commercial kitchen grows, the appliances should advance with you to facilitate new kitchen activities.

Contact your local restaurant equipment company and seek guidance on the kitchen appliances that will serve you several years down the line. Are there new designs coming out soon? In case there are, you would rather wait instead of buying obsolete equipment.

Will the Equipment Fit in Your Space?

Measuring the available space sounds obvious, but it is important to ensure that your equipment properly fits in the designated area. Commercial kitchen equipment such as the deep fryers could consume lots of space, which makes it necessary to plan your layout before making any purchase.

Having the measurements will help you determine the exact areas to fix the restaurant exhaust hoods, among other appliances. It also allows you to concentrate on the quality of the appliances and not the size.

Have You Factored in Water and Energy Efficiency?

In typical cases, you are likely to concentrate on the upfront cost and forget the aspect of lifetime cost. The direct opposite applies when dealing with commercial kitchen appliances.

Commercial kitchens consume two times more energy per square foot compared to other commercial spaces. However, using energy-efficient appliances can cut power bills by over 20%.

Water is the other crucial resource that, if not well-managed, the utility bills will keep soaring. Get in touch with your local restaurant equipment company and inquire about water and energy-efficient appliances.

How Safe Is the Equipment and How Easy It Is to Use?

Always go for kitchen appliances that are easy to install and use. Equipment sets that are easy to maintain and those that offer optimum performance with minimal effort are the best for your commercial kitchen.

In modern-day kitchens, safety trumps style. Identify cafeteria equipment that can anticipate danger and force you to act before it gets worse. Some appliances will also detect excess voltage and signal you to regulate or self-regulate.

The safety measures taken should also reflect in the quality of air around the kitchen. The best way to ensure sufficient air circulation and proper ventilation is through the installation of restaurant exhaust hoods.

Final Word

Choosing the right catering equipment comes with extra benefits for your firm. Apart from quality, they are easy to use and will require minimal maintenance. Use the questions above as a guide when buying commercial kitchen appliances. If you are looking for commercial kitchen equipment for your new venture, contact us today.

A successful operation is built around people, process, and technology. In print and mail operations, the equipment used to process inbound and outbound documents is becoming faster, more accurate, and more expensive. Upgrading your systems will mean a significant investment in dollars and other resources.

In past articles, we’ve encouraged the use of requests for proposals (RFP) for major purchases. Companies can use the RFP to fully explain their existing situation and challenges, as well as the goals to be met with the new technology. We recommend that our clients provide as much detail as possible about their current operation – volumes, file formats, processing times, paper types, information technology infrastructure, etc. If possible, give vendors physical samples of the “typical” documents in their final form.

An operation may be looking at equipment upgrades with existing vendors. Service and pricing have consistently met expectations, and the current equipment is performing well. While an RFP may not be required, managers still need to learn more about the proposed solution.

In today’s business environment, there may be unexpected changes with our vendor relationships. The last few years have seen mergers, acquisitions, and sales of many companies. Manufacturers, resellers, and maintenance organizations are changing ownership and leadership at an unprecedented pace. Contracts and agreements have to be reexamined along with changing phone numbers and email addresses.

In each situation, managers should prepare questions to best understand how the changes will impact their operation. Here are the top 10 questions (and the reason to ask) to ask an equipment vendor:

1.Can you provide a clear description of the proposed solution and how it will meet each of our mandatory requirements? Explain whether any optional item is included in the base price or will require an additional expense.

Rationale: It’s important to have a document that can be shared with procurement and management to secure funding for the new equipment.

2.What is the expected throughput (pieces/images per hour) of the equipment for the applications we run in our operation (as compared to published machine cycle speed)?

Rationale: Most brochures and web pages list the rated speed of the equipment. This is the fastest the machine will run under the best circumstances. Managers need to know how fast the machine will run with their most common applications.

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3.Can you provide a detailed description of the hardware, computers, servers, etc.? Include all space, power, air, HVAC, and networking requirements for the equipment.

Rationale: Printers and inserters may require additional power, air, or water than what is in the shop today. In the world of the “Internet of Things” (IOT), most equipment needs to be connected to your internal and external networks for submitting work and maintenance support.

4.Can you provide a clear description of how the proposed solution will work within the current production environment? Clearly identify what modifications (if any) need to be made to support the proposed solution.

Rationale: Some new inkjet printers require higher ceilings and tighter humidity controls. Adjustments to the physical space may be required for new inserters. Those changes need to be understood in order to calculate the complete costs of the new equipment.

5.Could you provide a detailed project plan that covers the building, factory acceptance testing, installation, and acceptance testing of the system; including the identification of staffing, completion dates, deliverables, constraints, etc.? What guarantees will you make in meeting the deliverables of the proposed project plan? For example, will you agree to pay a penalty if the system is not installed and functioning by the proposed date in the project plan?

Rationale: The equipment is not sitting on a shelf in a warehouse waiting to be delivered. Buyers may need to provide material – special paper stocks, barcoded output, and envelopes – so the machine can be tested before delivery. For printers, sample print files need to be run before the equipment leaves the factory.

6.Can you please submit clear description of the maintenance, service, and support agreement? The document should include warranties, telephone numbers, hours for standard support, availability for urgent requests, and response times. Provide a description of the parts program, including spares stored onsite with the equipment, as well as nearby parts depots. Provide a description of the escalation process for issues that cannot be resolved through normal service and support.

Rationale: The best equipment runs best when supported by sound maintenance. Managers need clear expectations about what will happen when the printer or inserter stops running. In production environments with tight deadlines, response time is critical.

7.Will you provide a description of how your company measures the effectiveness of the maintenance program, including any guarantees of minimum equipment production levels and availability? Provide screen shots of key reports and measurement dashboards.

Rationale: Managers need to understand how the vendor manages themselves. What does the vendor consider acceptable, and how does that match internal expectations?

8.What innovations is your company planning to introduce in the next one to two years?

Rationale: A new equipment purchase is a substantial investment. Managers need to be prepared for the future and be assured that any pending changes can be applied to the equipment they’re buying today.

9.Can you describe in detail your company's environmental efforts (present and future) to help reduce and offset the impact of your company's business activities on the environment? How will the technology you propose help our company’s efforts to reduce energy consumption and reduce the impact of our business activities on the environment?

Rationale: Awareness about environmental impact is important for service providers and in-plant managers. This information is important not only for the approval process, but for selling services – internally or externally – in the future.

10.Can you provide three references, including information for at least one recently completed engagement where a similar solution was provided to the client? For one or two of the references, provide companies in the same geographic area, so a site visit can be scheduled.

Rationale: We learn from each other. Talk to other customers before making a final decision.

The print and mail industries are seeing innovative technologies being introduced on a daily basis. Before investing in new equipment, take some time to get these important questions answered.

Mark M. Fallon is President, The Berkshire Company, a consulting firm specializing in mail and document processing strategies. He can be reached at mmf@berkshire-company.com.

This article originally appeared in the November/December, 2019 issue of Mailing Systems Technology.

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