One of the new products Epos Now has released is Kitchen Display Screen, or KDS for short. It allows orders to be displayed and prioritised on a seperate screen in a restaurant kitchen. This reduces lost paper orders and increases restaurant efficiency by automating the process between the floor and the kitchen.
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Understanding the entire service process from end to end was key for this project. It is used to help in the kitchen by reducing lost orders and increasing efficiency, but also for communication with the rest of the restaurant. Understanding the full process allowed us to understand how KDS should influence other products in the Epos Now ecosystem.
When an order gets processed on the till, that order gets sent to the kitchen on the KDS to be prepared. This is only half of the process as once the food is ready what happens? Does the chef shout SERVICE or ring a bell? This can disrupt the atmosphere of the restaurant and lead to complaints.
Allowing KDS to talk to the till and show whether the course is ready to be served on the table plan can stop this in a non-intrusive way. This can also be replicated on other products like a handheld in the form of a notification.
KDS needs to be as accessible as possible to help with efficiency. All the background colours used are pass WCAG AAA with white text used. Chefs can also change the size of the tickets as the component was designed with rem, allowing the root size to be increased which will in turn increase the ticket size and keep proportion.
Kitchen Display Screen has been brought into several kitchens leading to less lost orders and a more efficient restaurant. However in recent times due to Covid it has also been a place to collate all orders coming from different order taking apps. Meaning less confusion for the kitchen and an ability to continue trading efficiently in lockdown.
After talking with several customers, they have suggested the ability for chefs to hold courses and bring them back early to start prepping them. An additional feature that is being worked on is a held page for KDS. Tickets will be held when a course is finished but chefs can see the next course before it is fired, allowing them to start prepping.
