More than just about any other segment of dining, college and university foodservice is largely dependent on timing. By meeting student demands on when food is available, by providing foodservice in a fast and timely manner and by making sure it's served with quality, C&U foodservice directors can make a more successful play at keeping college students on campus versus eating at the fast food restaurant across the street.

When we think of ways to speed up foodservice, one might consider starting by how the food is prepared, but in fact, warewashing plays a significant role in streamlining college and university foodservice operations. When you stop and think about it, the reason is simple. Warewashing and the dishroom in general, is what keeps everything going. If there's a lack of supply in clean dinnerware or flatware, there's going to be a lack of service as well.

Why Your Dining Program Needs a Conveyor System or Accumulator

Let's start with the dirty stuff. Transporting soiled dishware from the dining hall or cafeteria back to the kitchen should be done quickly and efficiently and a conveyor or accumulator are perfect solutions. There are several types of designs from Aerowerks with the same goal in mind: get as many dishes loaded as efficiently as possible.

Organized accumulation of the dirty dishware allows for easier and more efficient loading into a dishmachine. As a result, that organized loading means unloading is a breeze once the warewashing cycle is completed.

Since a conveyor system allows ware to be separated, organized and held until it's time to use the dishmachine, it saves C&U dining programs by reducing water, chemicals and energy, as well as reducing wear and tear. 

KITCHEN CONVEYOR SYSTEMS

With kitchen conveyor systems, used dishware and cutlery are returned to a drop off area where items are placed on a conveyor and ware is returned to operators in the dishroom. There, operators scrape and rinse dishes and cutlery before sending the items down the conveyor to its next destination: the dishwasher. With adjustable belt speeds, the conveyor can match the volume during that time of day.

TRAY CONVEYOR SYSTEMS

Accumulator systems are ideal for college and university dining programs where maximum accumulation in the shortest time frame is key. No matter the dishroom size, tray accumulators can be designed to fit any specifications.

Next Stop: The Dishwasher!

Organized accumulation of the dirty dishware allows for easier and more efficient loading into a flight-type dishwasher. As a result, that organized loading means unloading is a breeze once the warewashing cycle is completed.

Because a conveyor system allows ware to be accumulated and held until it's time to use the warewasher. By only using a dishmachine when needed with controlled accumulation, it saves C&U dining programs by reducing water, chemicals, and energy, as well as reducing wear and tear. 

Finding the Right Warewasher or Dishmachine for Your C&U Foodservice Operation

The next question becomes, which dishmachine is right for my particular type of operation? For college foodservice programs, the choice is easy: Flight-type dishmachines.

FLIGHT-TYPE DISHMACHINES

Flight-type dishmachines are the obvious choice for colleges and universities. They provide a low barrier of entry for high-volume foodservice operations on today's campuses. While offering high performance and a low cost of ownership, they suit the needs for many types of dining applications.

More specifically, they can handle thousands of dishes without slowing your foodservice program down. Take Hobart's FT1000e Flight-Type Dishwasher, the dish machine that can wash 14,310 dishes per hour. That's some serious volume. No matter your university's enrollment size, this dishwasher is up to the challenge.

With reduced energy use and amp load, operators can save thousands on energy costs. And with labor saving features like pre-washing sections, time is reduced significantly scraping dishes or having to rewash entirely, getting clean, ready to use dishware back into the hands of hungry students.

Speed of service is key for college and university dining. The key is to match your college and university foodservice operation with the right tools to keep students fed quickly.

At PMR, we offer free college and university foodservice consultations to help directors and operators experience maximum efficiency and profitability. Schedule time with one of our experts at your convenience, and we'll walk you through our selection of conveyor and dishmachine solutions, as well as any other questions you might have about foodservice equipment for your college campus.