SMARTER, NOT
WORK HARDER
Robots and automation in hospitality can take away the drudgery and free staff up
for the little interactions that matter. Glynn Davis reports
matically’ and also ‘the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the pro- duction and delivery of products and services’. This suggests there is a lot of automation
A
taking place in the hospitality industry as there is plenty of technology being introduced to improve efficiencies, both in the kitchen and front of house. This certainly does not mean robots and tech replacing people and completely running the show, but instead having technology solutions and bots assist- ing employees with predominantly repetitive tasks that can often be time-consuming and prone to human error. This very much fits with the scenario at the
42 | Technology Prospectus 2024
utomation is defined in the dictionary as ‘the technique of making an appara- tus, a process, or a system operate auto-
The hot solution in vending machines
It is only recently that vending machines have been developed to offer hot food. Travellers to Luton and Stansted airports can now find the Hot Vend Kiosk from Kepak that dispenses its Cook-in-Box range, which includes a cheese melt, a breakfast muffin and peri peri chicken burgers. The vending machines use touchscreen
pay-and-go solutions along with quick dispense technology that can deliver a cooked burger in just 80 seconds. Brian Farrell, chief executive of Kepak
Foods, says: “This is a major step forward for both the automated retail sector and
Kepak’s participation within it. The team has successfully developed a best-in-class solution, which we’re confident our customers and retail partners will see as a compelling enhancement to their in-store proposition.” The plan is to expand the availability of
vending machines beyond Luton and Stansted airports and target other busy sectors, including mass transit, higher education and forecourts across the country as the demand for workplace and vending solutions grows. For the three months to the end of November 2022 demand increased 61%, according to TWC Mealtrak.
www.thecaterer.com
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