Robotic Food Servers Beneficial in Residential Healthcare Settings
Case Study Objective
To improve the quality of life for residents by using food service robots to complete tasks that are repetitive, predictable, and time-consuming. Thus allowing human staff more time for meaningful interaction with residents.
Introduction
As part of a commitment to being a nationwide leader in transforming hospitality services through innovative dining solutions, Culinary Services Group piloted a robotic food server program at the Homestead. The goal of this partnership was to determine the performance, operational efficiency, and return on investment of utilizing food service robots as part of a residential dining program. Could the residential dining experience be improved while also maximizing the value to clients? As a long-time client of Culinary Services Group, the Homestead was eager to partner with CSG on testing this innovative technology.
About The Homestead
Homestead is an upscale independent living facility located in Baltimore, Maryland, and part of the Springwell Senior Living community. The residents at Homestead enjoy a village-like setting with a superior level of hospitality, making it the perfect location to challenge the CSG dining services team to incorporate food service robotics while maintaining a high level of resident engagement. Phil Golden, the community’s Executive Director, has been a longtime proponent of new technology as well as amenities that enhance daily life for the residents of the Springwell Senior Living campus. He agreed to allow Culinary Services Group to use the Homestead as a pilot location for the robotics program.
Staffing continues to be a concern for the senior care industry with fifty-eight percent of nursing homes nationwide admitting to staffing shortages and a limited ability to take new admissions. If food service robotics could be a potential solution to staffing challenges without sacrificing human touch it could be a game-changer not only for the food management industry but senior care as well.
The robot was extremely helpful for our staff and also a great talking point for our residents. The bot cut down on kitchen time for our servers and allowed them to spend more time with the residents in the dining room and pay more attention to the extra details and wants of the residents.
Chef Manager
The Homestead
Robotic Performance In A Dining Room Setting
The robotics pilot program sought to evaluate and compare two of the top food service robotics platforms, Servi (Bear Robotics) and Matradee (RichTech). Based on observations the best use of food service robots is to be a “runner” in dining room settings. Food service robots can be utilized in the delivery and collection of meals, snacks, and beverages. They can be programmed with desired location “stops” for specific tables in a dining room, delivering food from the kitchen to the dining room, allowing the host or server to remain on the dining room floor, increasing not only speed of service but resident interaction. This is the ideal scenario for robotics use in a continuing care retirement community or CCRC, with robust independent and/or assisted living programs where residents enjoy restaurant-style dining rooms.
In many care environments where skilled nursing is required, such as memory care or rehabilitation settings, the robotic food server could also be utilized to handle “call downs” or last-minute requests after the bulk of trays being delivered to a unit have already left the kitchen for delivery. This keeps team members doing their skilled work and decreases distractions which could lead to errors or decreased quality of customer service. Similarly, they can be used to deliver beverages or mid-day snacks. Currently, many snacks are prepackaged pantry items, but robotic delivery from the kitchen provides the ability for a community to provide fresh, seasonal snacks and beverages to planned stops or nursing stations, greatly impacting the residents’ quality of life while distinguishing the community’s dining program in a skilled setting.
So how do the tested food service robots compare when engaged in these activities? The right solutions will be entirely dependent on the community and its layout, its desired use, and level of investment.
Food Service Robots By Comparision
Servi by Bear Robotics
Capacity
- Round Trays
- 3 Levels
- Bus-tub at Base Level
Navigation
LiDAR (Light Detection & Ranging)
- Uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure distance.
Charging
Plug-in
Purchase Method
Lease Only
Matradee by Richtech
Capacity
- Rectangular Trays
- 4 Levels
- No Bus-tub Included
Navigation
Visual Nav (Vision-based navigation)
Uses a camera as the main sensor to sense the environment via visual information
LiDAR (Light Detection & Ranging)
- Uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure distance.
Charging
Self-docking
Purchase Method
Purchase + SAAS Monthly Agreement
OR
Lease to Own
Operational Efficiencies with Robotics
Food service robots won’t replace cooks, prep positions, or handle side work, but they can reduce or eliminate many of the job requirements of a “runner” or host. In most healthcare settings this position is commonly referred to as a diet aide. By reducing passes, runs, and deliveries there is potential to reduce the number of diet aides needed by one part-time person per shift, or two part-time people per workweek while maintaining an extremely effective and efficient operation. Plus, the remaining diet aides are able to complete more meaningful work such as customizing meal orders at the bedside with residents, preparing garnishes for meals, preparing desserts and cold items using speed-scratch instead of strictly convenience foods, or wrapping utensils instead of using plastic-bagged pre-wraps. All of these activities can elevate the dining experience all without a significant increase in labor costs.
Food Service Robots are able to operate for 13 total active hours per day and are available 7 days a week. The use of robotic food servers can greatly reduce the disruption of call-outs and short-staffing.
Operational Efficiencies with Robotics
Food service robots won’t replace cooks, prep positions, or handle side work, but they can reduce or eliminate many of the job requirements of a “runner” or host. In most healthcare settings this position is commonly referred to as a diet aide. By reducing passes, runs, and deliveries there is potential to reduce the number of diet aides needed by one part-time person per shift, or two part-time people per workweek while maintaining an extremely effective and efficient operation. Plus, the remaining diet aides are able to complete more meaningful work such as customizing meal orders at the bedside with residents, preparing garnishes for meals, preparing desserts and cold items using speed-scratch instead of strictly convenience foods, or wrapping utensils instead of using plastic-bagged pre-wraps. All of these activities can elevate the dining experience all without a significant increase in labor costs.
Food Service Robots are able to operate for 13 total active hours per day and are available 7 days a week. The use of robotic food servers can greatly reduce the disruption of call-outs and short-staffing.
Typical Schedule for Food Service Robot
6:00 – 6:30 AM
- Early tray deliveries
- Supplement & medication-pass
- Snack Deliveries
6:30 – 8:30 AM
- Breakfast Service in dining room
- On-call in the kitchen for call-downs
9:00 – 10:30 AM
- Hydration & snack pass
10:30 – 11:00 AM
- Early lunch trays
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
- Lunch Service, running from line to dining room
- On-call for call-down deliveries
1:00 – 3:00 PM
- Pantry stock delivery to units following set pathway with set stops
*Unit staff collect and stock pantries
3:00 – 4:30 PM
- Hydration & snack pass
4:30 – 5:00 PM
- Early dinner trays
5:00 -7:00 PM
- Dinner Service, running from line to dining room
- On-call for call-down deliveries
7:00 PM -6:00 AM
- Charging
Food Service Robot ROI
Start-Up Expense(Year 1) |
Maintenance Expense(Years 2 & 3) |
Total Investment for 3 Years |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Diet Aide
|
$33,100 Total
|
$60,200 Total
|
$93,300 Total |
|
Servi 91 Hours Per Week |
$11,700 Total
|
$21,600 Total
|
$33,300
|
|
Matradee 91 Hours Per Week |
$21,600 Total
|
$7,200 Total $300 Monthly SaaS Fee |
$28,800 ($64,500 savings) |
Return on Investment
For many communities confronted with the upfront costs of purchasing or leasing a food service robot, it can seem like a significant investment. However, as stated before, a food service robot can potentially replace one part-time diet aide shift per day, which typically translates to two part-time diet aides from the employee roster. The national average hourly rate for this role is $12.50, a part-time shift is six hours, meaning these two employees can cover about 42 hours of labor per week. To hire for these roles, a company will likely invest $750 each, or $1500 total, for recruiting and onboarding, and another $750 each ($1500 total) for training. Annually, these roles will receive $27,300 in compensation and an additional $2,800 for employer taxes. Meaning for one year, these two roles will cost a company around $33,100. Plus, with the average turnover rate for workers in food service sector being around 102% in 2020, the training and onboarding costs are likely to reoccur annually. By comparison, the cost to lease a Servi robot through Bear Robotics is $11,700 for the first year and the cost to purchase RichTech’s Matradee is $21,600. While each company has its own unique ownership model, both are a significantly less expensive investment in year one than hiring two part-time diet aides. And these two positions only account for 42 hours of time worked whereas the food service robots can work up to 91 hours a week.
After the initial investment, the maintenance costs for the robot are reduced to a monthly leasing fee (Servi) or a continuing software as a service (SAAS) fee (Matradee). While the robots pay for themselves in the first year of reduced labor cost savings, after three years the return on investment is significant. With Servi, communities may have a labor cost savings of $60,000 that’s a return on investment (ROI) of 80%. Matradee has a higher startup cost but after 3 years communities may experience a labor cost savings of $64,500 with an ROI of 124%. Making either robotic product a potentially good investment for the dining department’s overall budget.
*ROI is determined by (labor cost savings over 3 years – initial start-up expense)/(initial start-up expense)
Food Service Robot ROI
Start-Up Expense: Year 1
Diet Aide (2 Part-Time Roles, 6 Hours Per Day, 42 Hours Per Week)
- $33,100 Total
- $1500 Recruiting + Onboarding
- $1500 Training
- $27,300 Annual Compensation
- $2,800 Annual Employer Taxes
Servi (91 Hours Per Week)
- $11,700 Total
- $350 Deployment
- $550 Shipping
- $900 Monthly Lease @ 36 Months
Matradee (91 Hours Per Week)
- $21,600 Total
- $18,000 Unit Purchase
- $– Deployment Included
- $ Shipping Included
- $300 Monthly SaaS Fee
Maintenance Expense: Years 2 & 3
Diet Aide (2 Part-Time Roles, 6 Hours Per Day, 42 Hours Per Week)
- $60,200 Total
- $27,300 Annual Compensation
- $2,800 Annual Employer Taxes
Servi (91 Hours Per Week)
- $21,600 Total
- $900 Monthly Lease @ 36 Months
Matradee (91 Hours Per Week)
- $7,200 Total
- $300 Monthly SaaS Fee
Total Investment for 3 Years
Diet Aide (2 Part-Time Roles, 6 Hours Per Day, 42 Hours Per Week)
- $93,300 Total
Servi (91 Hours Per Week)
- $33,300 Total
- $60,000 Savings
Matradee (91 Hours Per Week)
- $28,800 Total
- $64,500 Savings
Overall Results
In conclusion, it was determined that robot food servers function effectively as “runners” in CCRC dining room settings but could also be used to make deliveries of “call-down” items and snack and beverage passes to predetermined stations in skilled nursing or rehabilitation settings. They did not eliminate or reduce resident engagement during our trials. In fact, the residents seemed to enjoy seeing the service robot. It was a novelty and something to talk about, many had their own pet names for the device. Using the robot as a kitchen runner at The Homestead allowed our servers and host to remain on the dining room floor, ensuring orders were taken in a timely manner and food was delivered expediently and at the proper temperatures.
Robotic food servers can create operational efficiencies when used effectively. They have long battery life and can function for up to 13 hours without recharging, producing up to 92 hours of usable labor time per week. Robotic food servers can complete many of the repetitive and time-consuming tasks currently assigned to a diet aide. It would be possible in some scenarios to replace up to two part-time diet aide roles with a robotic food server without sacrificing meaningful resident engagement. If these positions can be eliminated from the staffing pattern, there is a significant return on investment in year one and a continual return in years two and three
The success of food server robots in a residential healthcare setting will likely be determined by the dining department’s ability to utilize the technology effectively to create operational efficiency and cost reductions. Working with a food management company to deploy the technology is ideal for most communities because of the company’s knowledge of effective staffing patterns and operational processes.
If an organization is interested in implementing a robotic food server program as part of a food management contract with Culinary Services Group they can reach the company’s sales team or innovation expert by completing the contact form.
