“Providers who spent most of their time
ferrying food and plates between the kitchen and dining area can now spend more time focusing on customers,” Regillio says. “This enables an improved customer ex-
perience, with their needs being met more consistently and timely. Such workflow improvements are especially critical in se- nior living, where some residents may need additional attention.” Connelly says The Springs has kept robot
labor focused on “redundant tasks.” “By having a robot to deliver food and
send dishes back to the dish room, it allows our servers to focus their energies on the front of house and with residents,” she says. “Plus, it’s a fun technology.”
Saving steps and funds Connelly says The Springs has calculated that the robots are saving each server more than two miles of walking each day, based on an average of 100 meal deliveries dai- ly in each community. “This gives servers more time and energy to devote to their relationships with residents,” she says. The Springs has determined that each
robot replaces approximately 4.5 to 6 hours of labor per day. Based on a monthly cost of $999, Connelly says, “we only need to replace 2 to 2.5 hours a day of staff labor to break even.” “There is also no overtime and no schedul-
ing restrictions for the robots,” she says. “They can work any shift, seven days a week.”
Expanding possibilities Wescott says CSG’s testing of robotics has been limited to one location so far, but the company plans to expand to up to 10 loca- tions this year. “We’ve just started working with a com-
pany, PUDU Robotics, out of China, which offers a self-set-up, purchase-only program which may enable us to deploy service ro- botics to locations even faster than we had initially anticipated,” Wescott says. Wescott says robotics appears to have a bright future in senior living. “As robotics become a normal part of
the landscape, I expect to see more social engagement robots (with larger interfaces allowing for video calls with family, friends, and even tele-health providers),” she says.
Robots can spare servers from carrying heavy trays. MARCH/APRIL 2022
ARGENTUM.ORG 33
“From a strictly food service point of view, we hope to see robotics become a normal and routine part of our staffing model and less of a novelty.” Regillio believes more basic labor tasks
will fall within the purview of robotics in the future as they grow increasingly sophis- ticated. That will allow humans to focus on creative, value-added tasks, she says. “For dining services specifically, once
the cost and process of food production is reduced sufficiently, senior living operators can look at including new types of foods on menus,” Regillio says. “Plus, operators can craft more engaging
atmospheres in the dining service space it- self. Food is and should be, fun, and robots
can streamline dining experiences so that humans can focus on the fun.”
Getting started Sveda says Lenbrook did some testing early with Lenny to determine that the “runner” position was the best fit for the robot, but the community is starting to explore what other possibilities might be a good fit for the tool. “We are looking for ways that do not
impact the high touch [service] but could make us more efficient on things that would not impact resident interaction,” Sveda says. Compass Community Living has about
a dozen Servi robots in its partner commu- nities throughout the country, with more
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