The Value of Cafeteria Automation Systems
By: Tom Johansen
Technology is a wonderful, often magical presence in our daily lives. Think of how quickly we have gone from being in awe of the use of computers to simply taking them for granted. By now, most adults have mastered the use of the Internet and can check their e-mail without the help of their kids.
Beyond these simple tasks, technology has brought amazing efficiencies to school administrators, teachers, students and parents. Can any of us imagine doing our jobs without a computer and a high-speed Internet connection?
Nowhere is technology more valuable than in the school cafeteria. In a typical school, literally hundreds of transactions are processed every day. In addition, balances for every patron must be kept up-to-date, and on-demand reporting must be available to provide a recap of transactions for any period in history. Cafeteria supervisors are accountable to, and must respond to, requests from administrators and parents. Without a reliable automated system, tracking this data and making sense of it is extremely difficult.
When considering a cafeteria automation solution to address these challenges, it is important to focus on the specific, measurable improvements you wish to accomplish. In other words, do not be wowed by technology for technology’s sake--look to use it to achieve your specific, measurable goals.
Too many schools implement a cafeteria automation system as the result of a flashy, persuasive sales presentation or recommendation from a consultant without truly considering the real purposes for doing so. Make sure your goals are quantifiable, so that you can compare the value of the improvements to the investment you have made in the system. A good cafeteria automation system should pay for itself by helping you achieve these specific, measurable goals.
Your school may have other goals, but many schools have the following improvements in mind when implementing an automated cafeteria system.
Faster Serving Lines
Everyone feels the squeeze of serving students quickly and allowing them enough time to eat their meal and return to classes on time. An automated cafeteria system should speed up the serving lines by providing a faster way to identify and serve students. Also, a typical cafeteria automation system allows parents to pre-pay for meals and purchases ahead of time; therefore, there is very little cash to be handled at the point of sale. Less cash handling will usually result in faster serving lines. Many schools set a target of serving 10 to 12 students per minute through the cashier checkpoint.
Improved Reporting Abilities
As mentioned above, hundreds of daily cafeteria transactions equal an enormous amount of data over a period of time. You will need the ability to retrieve this data and output it in a clear format, without requiring additional staff labor. By eliminating manual counting and tabulation, a good cafeteria automation system will produce reports that will save one to two hours of staff labor every week. A good automation system should also result in improved accuracy by eliminating hand counting and tabulation errors.
Effortless Response to Inquiries
School cafeterias typically receive many inquiries, especially from parents who question their child’s meal account balance or want to know what their child has purchased in recent days or weeks. With a manual or paper system, investigating these inquiries and providing answers to parents can be very tedious and time-consuming. A single parent inquiry can take up to one hour of staff labor--several of these inquiries in a week can eat up a great deal of valuable time. An automated system can provide these answers in a few seconds, thus potentially freeing up hours of labor every week. If responding to inquiries in a timely manner is a problem in your school, be sure to set a specific goal for time and labor savings.
Increased “a la carte” Sales
Without an automated system, sales of “a la carte” items are typically handled on a cash basis. Cash sales are more time-consuming and require more cash to be on-hand for making change. Because of these drawbacks, many schools deprive themselves of the lucrative financial opportunity available in the form of “a la carte” sales. With an automated system, many schools are able to quickly process “a la carte” transactions and provide healthy and appealing food options to students. For example, side salads, granola bars, and sports drinks are healthy and popular items among students. The result is more revenue and a boost to the cafeteria’s bottom line.
Reduced Charges
Many schools struggle with “charges” (student meal accounts with negative balances).Without careful attention, these cumulative negative balances can become a significant financial burden on the school. An automated system will help to control charges by allowing the school users to set and enforce firm rules on meal accounts. Many schools place absolute charge limits on accounts, and, in certain cases, do not allow charges at all. Your cafeteria automation system should accommodate your policy on meal charges and help you to enforce it.
Whatever goals you may have for your cafeteria, make sure the system you will implement fits with your school’s overall technology plan and goals. For example, if your cafeteria automation system must be able to share student data with other software applications, you will need to know in advance that this ability is supported.
It is a good idea to involve staff from other departments, including information technology and administration, in your search for a system. By including others, you will find a solution that fits in with your school’s current and planned technology environment.
A good cafeteria automation system will help you to achieve your goals. Remember to clearly define these goals in measurable terms before you begin your search. Use the technology to its fullest, but make sure you know what goals you wish to accomplish. After all, if the technology does not serve you, if it does not help you make real improvements and work more efficiently, it is just another toy.
Tom Johansen is marketing director for eTritionWare / Accu-scan, a provider of point-of-sale and other school cafeteria automation systems.
