Christa Justice

Patient Experience Research Project

(Clinical Nutrition Management Rotation)

Problem
Based on patient interview conducted on January 7th, 2020, 4 out of 10 patients complained of
missing items on their trays.

Background Research
The food service worker at the end of the tray line may be often moving very fast and doing
multiple tasks, which can make it difficult to accurately check each tray. Condiments and sides
were the most common reported missing items. This may suggest an issue occurring at the
beginning of the tray line when the condiments are placed or the end where the entrée is placed
with or without the side on the same plate.

Hypothesis
There appears to be only one check point on the tray line to check for accuracy. Either everyone
should be responsible for checking tray accuracy, quality, and presentation, or there should be a
designated employee solely responsible for overall tray quality assurance as this may be
contributing to the current volume of missing items reported.

Tray Accuracy Ratings July 2019 - Present

Accuracy Thumbs Down Thumbs Up Approval Rate
Cold Beverage 38 1 2.56%
Hot Beverage 5 0 0%
Utensils 8 0 0%
Dessert 48 0 0%
Soup 7 0 0%
Sides 121 1 0.82%
Condiments 87 3 3.33%
Entrée 20 4 16.67%
Supplement 3 0 0%

Random Tray Audit January 2020

# Missing Items/Incomplete Trays Total # of Trays % Missing Items
Breakfast 2 20 1%
Lunch 6 170 4%
Dinner 8 130 6%
 Christa Justice

Data Analysis and Conclusion

For the month of January, 10 tray audits were conducted each day for a specific meal period. The
data supports the initial tray audits with a significant average of missing items or incomplete
trays/no condiments. Sides and condiments were 2 of the most significant missing items. Based on
the data collected from random tray audits conducted throughout the month of January, 1 in 10
patients had a missing item/incomplete tray at breakfast, 1 in 28 patients had a missing
item/incomplete tray at lunch time, and 1 in 16 patients had a missing item/incomplete tray at
dinner time. It is possible that the tray line runs a little faster at breakfast and dinner time and
there may be less attention made to quality and accuracy of the trays during these times.
However, lunch time exhibited the highest number of tray audits recorded compared to breakfast
and dinner with the lowest probability for missing items or tray incompleteness.

P-E-S Statement
Missing food items/incompleteness of trays related to lack of continuous accuracy checks on the
tray line as evidenced by patient complaints about entrees, sides and condiments missing from
tray.

Recommendation
Based on the data analysis results, it may be helpful to regularly inservice employees regarding the
importance of tray accuracy, quality, and tray completeness as these factors can have a significant
effect on the patient’s overall experience. If able to speak to patients directly, ensure that tray
passers ask patients “does everything on your tray look correct?” before leaving the room. In
addition, other possible solutions may include having 2 check points on the tray line or an
employee checking for tray accuracy and tray completeness/condiments on the tray line. It may
also be helpful to have side dishes consistently plated with the entrée or consistently separated as
this could potentially be missed during the tray accuracy check.

Copyright © 2019 by Sodexo, Inc. All rights reserved by Sodexo. No part of the contents of this assignment may be reproduced, adapted, translated or
transmitted in any form or by any means without the express written permission of Sodexo
Christa Justice