5 Benefits of Barcoding Your Cooking Equipment

Running a restaurant is no easy task. You have to keep track of client orders, know where all of your equipment is at any given time, and make sure everything is in keeping with health codes. That’s only a small fraction of what you have to do at any moment.

Implementing barcodes in your kitchen is an easy way to simplify your cooking equipment situation. You won’t have to run around trying to figure out where your items are when you need them, and you can keep everything clean.

Here are five useful benefits of barcoding your cooking equipment.

Barcoding Your Cooking Equipment Makes it Easier to Track

Tracking your cooking equipment is what makes your kitchen work smoothly. Of course, some things like your cooking station and sink won’t move. Other small things like pots, pans, and utensils are subject to move at any moment.

With durable barcodes, you can make it possible for your team to scan and track items as they move to enforce accountability and avoid misplacing equipment.

Identify What You Have in an Instant

If you or your other chefs feel like you don’t have what you need, barcoding your equipment will help you keep a record of exactly what you have. You can then review that record and see if you’re lacking any assets necessary to complete your menu every day.

Since you already have a dozen different things you need to do, you can’t afford to spend any more time than necessary on figuring out what you have and where it is.

Locate Tools When You Need Them, Not After

When you’re in the middle of making something, sometimes you can’t afford to spend even ten seconds looking for what you need. Knowing exactly where your tools are when you need them will help you keep up with what your dish needs from you.

As part of your kitchen design, give everything a place to stay. That way, your chefs can become familiar with kitchen layout and can find equipment, tools, assets, and more right when they need them. Whether that’s as part of their preparation, or at the last minute when they remember an important item.

Utilize The Space You Have Effectively

Not every kitchen starts out with space they want to have. Some have to make do with what’s available.

When you know what you have on hand, you can make kitchen design decisions much easier. Looking at the space you have, you can see what’s possible to keep on hand, and what you might need to toss.

You’ll also have a better idea of how to set things up so that meals can be made quickly. Do certain layouts make more sense than others? Will you use an island set up, or do you need to rely more on the assembly line approach?

Keep Your Kitchen Clean and Sanitized

While cooking is a major aspect of what goes on in your kitchen, it’s not the only thing that needs to happen. Cleaning and sanitizing are important parts of what happens in your kitchen. Without it, you won’t be able to keep to health code.

Barcodes can help you track what’s been cleaned and sanitized, and what hasn’t. Each piece of equipment needs to be cleaned between uses. Tracking that cleaning can help you prove to inspectors that you run a clean establishment. Create a process that involves keeping things clean at all times.