Successful kitchen upgrades can hinge on equipment that is modified easily

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 7, 2002 by Foster Jr. Frable

One unnecessary frustration with food-service equipment that easily can be corrected is the lack of provisions for simple modifications and field upgrades.

For less than $100 you can purchase a compact refrigerator for a dorm room or office that allows the door to be hinged on either the left or the right side. Try finding that feature on a $3,000 commercial refrigerator. It would seem that engineers working for foodservice manufacturers believe that once equipment is installed, it never is relocated or changed, and that suppliers never supply shipping units with the wrong configuration.

Kitchens are expanded, reorganized and rearranged as menus and chefs change. A menu expansion may require switching a freezer with a refrigerator. If the doors on both units are hinged in the direction opposite from what they should be in for the new layout, it creates a serious bottleneck in that station. That problem also occurs when combi ovens, steamers and proofing or warming cabinets need to be moved or relocated.

When a piece of equipment fails and needs immediate replacement, operators may "settle" for a stock unit with the wrong door swing because it was the only unit available. Consider the impact on chains with equipment packages based on standard prototypes. Sometimes the layout may need to be reversed or mirrored to accommodate a particular site. If the equipment dealer or purchaser isn't diligent, that location will have a situation where the doors on every piece of equipment are hinged on the wrong side.

In response to concerns about that issue, a major refrigeration manufacturer noted that it always requests clarification of door swings when an order is placed, thereby eliminating that error. On a recent cafeteria project that same manufacturer shipped four out of six under-counter refrigerators with the doors incorrectly hinged. Even though a detailed shop drawing showed the correct hinge location for each unit, the factory still erred and shipped the wrong items. The four units had to be exchanged for correctly hinged models, which delayed the facility's opening for almost a week.

Errors like that are common and often force operators to accept incorrectly configured equipment rather than delay their openings.

One major quick-service chain required that all equipment have the capability of field changeable hinging on all reach-in refrigeration. A small, stainless cover plate was installed over an extra set of bolt holes drilled into the frame. The cost of providing that option was negligible. When we asked why the manufacturer didn't make that feature standard, the company stated that some "bigname consultant" didn't "like the way it looked!" Shame on that manufacturer for listening only to one vocal consultant rather than polling other users, and shame on the consultant for making decisions based on cosmetics rather than on operator requirements.

Many European and Asian manufacturers provide equipment with dual hinging as a standard feature since they export products to distributors worldwide. If a local dealer couldn't easily change the door swing, the dealer could lose the sale or make the buyer wait two to three months for the next container to arrive. For the same reason some of those manufacturers offer options to convert undercounter refrigerators from doors to drawers easily. Pullout refrigeration modules on some models even allow conversion from an undercounter refrigerator to a freezer or vice-versa.

The need for easy field modifications doesn't end with refrigeration. Most commercial foodservice equipment with complex control systems should have the capability of field upgrades of control panels or modules that provide additional features or design improvements. There is no valid reason why commercial ranges can't have the same interchangeable tops some residential ranges offer. Converting from a hot-top griddle to an open-burner range may require a qualified service agency to make the installation, but such changes should be achievable at a reasonable cost to any operator. Why can't a basic fryer be convertible to a pasta cooker or rethermalizer with a simple change in the thermostat control module?

Changing open racks to pan slides should not require a service person to drill holes inside a refrigerator or warmer. Knockouts or access points for power and other utility services should be provided in two locations, particularly for equipment that commonly is built in or may be installed in ways that block one of the access points.

Built-in equipment requiring ventilation should be provided with options for alternate air circulation paths, especially if the primary airflow is restricted in a specific installation. That could be as simple as providing a grill or louver on the side as well as the front and rear of a cabinet.

Representative manufacturers seem to consider flexibility of little importance to most buyers. If you disagree and believe features like field-reversible doors, interchangeable doors, drawers in undercounter refrigerators and the easy conversion of a freezer to a refrigerator are important features, please send a short e-mail to ffrable@aol.com. If you represent a chain, please include the name in your e-mail. I will tally up the comments and forward them to senior decision makers at the major manufacturers.