More Robots Enter Fast-Food Kitchens To Aid Labor Shortages

Technology continues to impress year after year, and with the recent labor shortages perpetuated by COVID-19 and its host of side effects, it’s no surprise that there are robots entering the vacant quick-service kitchens across the nation. 

The “Great Resignation” brought about by the pandemic affected labor in sectors far beyond food service, ranging from retail to manufacturing, healthcare and technology. However, for the fast-food industry, COVID-19 isn’t the only factor at play in this industry’s woes in maintaining reliable staff. The quick-service industry has frequently reported high turnover due to work that can be dirty, dangerous and grueling, with long hours of repetition often the norm. 

In 2020, the turnover rate in food service reached 130.7%, compared to a still-high 78.9% percent in 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

The National Restaurant Association cited that restaurant-industry sales reached $659 billion in 2020, which were $240 billion less than expected. They also reported 12.5 million restaurant-industry employees at the end of 2020, 3.1 million workers fewer than expected.

High turnover rate seems characteristic for fast-food chains, with or without the pandemic. That’s where an innovative, technological “flipping-point” comes in and changes the game for several of these chains — with Flippy, the robotic kitchen assistant pulling shifts at White Castle, already acting as a prime example. 

Franchise owners are in for a treat, because these “kitchen assistants,” or robots, are glad to do tedious work and don’t mind a few oil spatters. Also, with the addition of the robot, other human employees are freed up to do more high-level tasks, such as customer interfacing.   

For example, at White Castle, Flippy cooks stacks of sliders and fries. This little robot is also loaded with computer vision, thermal cameras and processors that connect it to the cloud. Flippy can identify objects, monitor cook times and track incoming burger and fry orders while switching between cooking tools. Robots also learn over time, so Flippy will be cooking many more fast-food favorites soon.

The CEO of Miso Robotics, Mike Bell, spoke with QSR Magazine on why intelligence, machine learning and robotics for quick service has been decades in the making — and why it’s a great thing. 

“Robots in the kitchen are actually good for the workforce,” said Bell. “As we’ve seen in automotive production and more recently, computer programming, these technologies, in fact, increase worker safety and boost human productivity when done right. In fact, the team at White Castle really likes working alongside Flippy — so much so that they rank Flippy and vote it for recognition the same way they do their human colleagues.”

People prioritize convenience, and the more that can be automated, the better. As people continue to order ahead and pick up on their own or have their orders delivered, the key is to keep the food moving at quick speeds through these fast-food chains. With a labor shortage that is innate in the quick-service industry, pandemic or not, a move in the right direction might be to bring Flippy on board.