A Change Will Do You Good
It’s a familiar dilemma among food managers responsible for purchasing new equipment: on the one hand you welcome the opportunity to upgrade worn-out gear. On the other, there is the pressure to choose equipment that will meet an operation’s needs, stands up to the demands of the workplace and can be easily adopted by staff.
Looking back on the process now, Alex Khan’s decision to opt for Burlodge’s B-Pod Tray Service has been a decidedly wise investment. As the Manager of Nutrition and Food Services at the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, Alex oversees the production of food for approximately 320 patients a day (just under 1,000 meals), which means it’s vital that he has equipment that he can trust.
Initiating the assessment process in 2007 and bringing the equipment on-line by the summer of 2008, Khan’s team replaced 15 units with a fleet of B-Pods. While Alex admits that most competing interests were in the same price range during the evaluation phase, it didn’t take long for the Burlodge equipment to distinguish itself thanks to its functional design, intuitive technology and adaptability.
OUTSTANDING DESIGN
As strikes most people who first see the equipment, smart design is evident in so many ways. “Ergonomically it’s designed much better than our previous carts,” says Khan, “as the handle can fit any person’s height”. He adds, “It’s also helped on cutting down on workplace injury. Previously we’d find lots of shoulder strain issues, but with the B-Pod you’re pushing it in a comfortable manner.”
Naturally, those ergonomic elements go hand-in-hand with promoting a far safer system, a feature that Burlodge is very mindful of when designing their equipment. Whether it’s the ease of the manipulation-free nesting system that allows the Pod to reside within the Base Station docking system, the simple to use tow-bar, or the effortless access to opening the doors, the B-Pod promotes efficiency and smart, functional design.
THE BENFITS OF MODULAR
Given the demands placed on these units throughout their life span, Khan points to the importance of being able to maintain the equipment in as cost efficient a way as possible. “This equipment takes a modular approach, which is far easier to access and replace parts. We could foresee there’d be less hassle with breakdowns,” Khan says.
“When we looked at this unit, the dividing wall has sectional pieces, so when it comes time to replace it you don’t have to spend on a entire divider wall, which would be anywhere from $1,500 – $2,000. Now, it is less than $30 to replace.”
“Even from a cleaning standpoint, it’s so much easier to clean because all the parts of the interior can come apart” notes Khan. Moreover, with a 30amp service compared to his old system’s 40amp arrangement the operation is realizing additional energy savings. Plus with the consistency of the top-down convection heating and cooling, and the ease with which remote starting can be initiated, the B-Pod offers unparalleled quality of food.
BUSINESS AS USUAL
All features aside, there remains the more pressing issue of introducing a system to an operation that is always in production mode. “On the install day the Burlodge staff was instrumental in helping with the change-over and we worked really well as a team” comments Alex. “They spent the whole week with us. They followed carts around ensuring the nurses got proper training and that the food quality was maintained. We had minimal disruptions to patient services.”
In sum, Khan and his team are very pleased with the results, and also satisfied that he took the time to assess other competing equipment out there to come to his decision. “When someone’s looking to make a changeover, it’s good to do your homework and see what’s out there.” Even better when the result is Burlodge.
