Continued: New approach to efficiency
business was to reduce complexity to grow the core business. This multiyear simplification strategy includes everything from enhancing equipment to streamlining the menu. The company has so far put a robotic server test on hold, eliminated shrimp portioning during prep time and removed fry baskets. Brinker is also testing new energy-efficient and faster-cooking equipment, improving its to-go technology to reduce friction, reassessing its “pay- at-the-table” technology, improving handheld technology for guests to order directly from the table, and embracing virtual learning to remove some tasks from operators’ plates.
led by its Project Square One strategy launched last year. This focus includes ensuring proper staff on both makelines to achieve more speed and accuracy. During the company’s most recent quarter, Chipotle reported sales, margin and traffic improvements driven largely by this back-to-basics strategy. “All these things are driving toward hopefully better guest experiences, but also a better work environment for employees,” CEO Brian Niccol said during the earnings call in late April. “And then, obviously, I think it will be more efficient.” Chipotle is also turning to equipment to achieve more efficiencies, adding a new grill that cooks chicken about 10 minutes faster, according to Niccol. The company is also piloting Chippy, an automated system to cook its tortilla chips. First Watch is another example, investing in double dishwashers and wider grills that allow for more pancakes or sandwiches to cook at the same time. Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers developed its own proprietary grill that clamps down and presses its burgers automatically, taking this tactic off team members’ to-do list while improving throughput. CEO Chris Dull said this one change reduces cooking time by up to 40 seconds. The company has also adopted a pictogram system, which shows employees what is on a customer’s burger through pictures on a device (versus them having to read a ticket) and has added a designated bagging area.
“We’re hyper-focused on making it easier and simpler to run our restaurants,” Hochman said.
This simplification strategy includes four pillars — team members, food and drink, hospitality and atmosphere — and each pillar has a senior executive owner, as well as action plans and KPIs. “Over time, we know these efforts will reduce waste, improve labor productivity, increase margins and improve retention,” Hochman said.
Examining every facet of the business
Such improvements have been yielded elsewhere from similar efforts in this so-called “year of efficiency.” For Chipotle, that means a sharpened focus on operations
Checkers/Rally’s tapped an outside firm to launch a motion study through a “fake kitchen” and concluded team members were walking one full mile more than they should be during a shift.
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