PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN AND LAYOUT

***Some Definitions:
Design – refers to overall space planning. It defines the size, shape, style, and decoration of space and
equipment in the restaurant or kitchen.
Layout – is the detailed arrangement of the floor area and various spaces of in the restaurant. In the case
of the kitchen, it shows where each piece of equipment will be located and where each work center will
be.
Work Center – is an area in which workers perform a specific task, such as tossing salads or garnishing
plates.
Work Section – is a grouping of several work centers by the nature of the work being done such as:
cooking section, baking section, and so on.
Human engineering (or industrial engineering) - is a discipline that addresses how working conditions
affect employee satisfaction, safety, and productivity.

***There are three basic kitchen related costs: (and ways to reduce them)
1. Labor (Increased productivity)
2. Utilities (increased energy efficiency)
3. Food (menu flexibility and planning)

***Basic Principles of Design

Knowing these three, we then apply several design principles to address them. An efficient and effective
design should:
1. Consider hazard analysis and critical control point
2. Be flexible and modular
3. Enhance the customers experience
4. Show simplicity
5. Create an efficient flow of materials and personnel
6. Facilitate ease of sanitation and promote food safety
7. Create ease of supervision
8. ***Use space efficiently
a. Work surface
b. Food prep sink
c. Hand wash sink
d. Cutting surface
e. Storage for utensils
f. Storage for pans
g. Storage for raw ingredients
h. Storage for the finished product
i. Proper aisle space for movement

*** HACCP (ha-sip) Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point – This is the basic standard by which
food service facilities are evaluated. It is defined as the process by which food temperatures are
monitored and corrected in a foodservice facility. This process includes the entire system from receiving
through waste removal.
There are 7 Basic Principles of HACCP namely:
1. Analyze Hazards (microbe, chemical, foreign particles) – Potential hazards associated with a
food and measures to control those hazards are identified. The hazard could be biological, such
as a microbe; chemical, such as a toxin; or physical, such as ground glass or metal fragments
2. Identify Critical Control Points (cooking, cooling, packaging) - These are points in a food’s
production—from its raw state through processing and shipping to consumption by the
consumer—at which the potential hazard can be controlled or eliminated. Examples are cooking,
cooling, packaging, and metal detection.
3. Establish preventive measures with critical limits for each control point (min time and tem) - . For
a cooked food, for example, this might include setting the minimum cooking temperature and
 time required to ensure the elimination of any harmful microbes.
4. Establish procedures to monitor the critical control points (how and who will monitor time) – Such
procedures might include determining how and by whom cooking time and temperature should
be monitored.
5. Establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring shows a critical limit has not been met
(reprocessing and disposal) - for example, reprocessing or disposing of food if the minimum
cooking temperature is not met.
6. Establish procedures to verify that the system is working properly (regular calibration and testing
of time and temperature) - for example, testing time-and-temperature recording devices to verify
that a cooking unit is working properly.
7. Establish effective record keeping to document the HACCP system (record of 1-6) - This would
include records of hazards and their control methods, the monitoring of safety requirements, and
actions taken to correct potential problems. Each of these principles must be backed by sound
scientific knowledge: for example, published microbiological studies on time and temperature
factors for controlling food-borne pathogens.

***THE KITCHEN AS A “HEALTHY HEART”

The kitchen is the heart of any foodservice business. Like a human heart, its job is to pump and circulate
life-giving blood throughout the rest of the operation. Therefore, kitchen placement will affect the quality of
the food, the number of guests who can dine at any particular time of day, the roles and workload of the
servers as well as kitchen employees, utility costs, and even the atmosphere of the dining area.
Remember, each of these elements also figures in the overall profitability of the business.
A poorly designed kitchen can make food preparation and service more difficult than it
should be, and it can even undermine staff morale. So, if a new restaurateur has little cash to spend on
professional designers, that cash is probably best spent planning the location and design of the kitchen—
the one area where equipment, ventilation, plumbing, and general construction costs combine for a major
investment.
Today’s kitchen designers also strive to consider the comfort and safety of the people
who work in them. They realize that human engineering will have positive effects on workers’
productivity and morale. Each of the next topics must be addressed to make the kitchen a “healthy heart.”

Applying Human Engineering to make the kitchen a healthy heart, we have identified the following
***Primary Factors that Influence the Quality of the Workplace:

Sufficient space to perform the required tasks. Elsewhere in this chapter, you will learn about the
various production and preparation areas in a commercial kitchen. Each of these requires
different amounts and configurations of space. A baker shaping dinner rolls, for example, has
different space needs from a waiter filling iced tea glasses. Space requirements are generally
influenced by:
- The number of persons who work in a specific area.
- The amount and types of equipment required in the work area.
- The amount of storage required for immediately accessible supplies.
- The types of products being produced in the area.
- The amount of clearance required for moving equipment, opening appliance doors, and
so on.

Adequate aisle space. If an aisle is not wide enough, employees will struggle to work comfortably
in the space, and it may even be insufficient for. If the aisle is too wide, employees add steps and
fatigue to their workdays. In addition to foot traffic, there will be rolling carts and equipment
around constantly. Where space is at a minimum, some narrow aisles can be declared one-way.
Overall, however, kitchen aisles should be at least 36 inches wide, and wider if they carry two-
way traffic or mobile cart traffic.
 Intelligent design to minimize injury risks. Most people have to do some reaching, twisting, lifting,
and bending to perform their jobs, but if these motions are repetitive or excessive, they become
unnecessarily strenuous and can prompt injuries, from back problems to carpal tunnel syndrome.
For instance, most culinary tasks require the use of some type of surface space.
***Work surfaces should:
- have the correct height for the task
- be located within easy reach of the employees who will use it.
***One way to prevent back injuries is for heavy equipment should be put on rolling carts
or ordering it with casters (wheels)***

Properly designed equipment, in good working condition. Sharp knives and red-hot range tops
and motorized equipment are part of any kitchen, but they need not invite disaster. Look for
safety features as you purchase. On heated equipment, for instance, check the amount of
insulation and order insulated handles and door locking safety mechanisms.
Comfortable temperatures and humidity control. Many restaurant owners are concerned about
making their guests comfortable—but what about the employees who spend entire workdays
there? The ideal balance of fresh air, humidity, and air movement is a technical topic best left to
ventilation and HVAC experts. What we have noticed is that many commercial kitchens pay
attention to grease control because it is part of their fire code requirements, but, overall, the
kitchen space is not properly air-conditioned.

Adequate lighting for the required tasks. For kitchens, adequate lighting includes attention to
glare and shadows as well as light levels. Fatigue sets in and errors multiply when lighting is
insufficient; and good lighting also is necessary to monitor the sanitation of food, surfaces, and
utensils.

Noise control and abatement.. Kitchens can be noisy places, from chefs barking orders to the
whirring of appliances and the clatter of dish rooms. It is no longer sufficient just to keep the din
from the kitchen from spilling into the dining area.

We can also learn to plan wisely by thinking of the restaurant kitchen as a manufacturing plant:
With a combination of labor and raw materials, it turns out product. The unique aspect of foodservice is
that this finished product is sold in an outlet that is attached to the factory.
Like any other type of manufacturing plant, productivity is highest when the assembly lines and
machinery are arranged in a logical, sequential order to put the components together. In foodservice, this
includes everything from tossing a salad to turning in orders so that no guest is left waiting too long for a
meal.
 HUMAN ENGINEERING CHECKLIST
FLOORS
❏ Adequate number of floor drains to keep floors dry
❏ Carborundum chips in quarry tile in slippery or wet areas
❏ Slip-resistant wax on vinyl floors
❏ Ramps and handrails in receiving area and storage space for carts and hand trucks
❏ Floor mats for comfort of workers who must stand in one place for long periods of time
❏ Kitchen floor level with walk-in refrigerator floor
❏ Heavy slope of floor around steam-jacketed kettles to encourage quick drain-off of hot liquids to floor
drains
❏ Coved corners of floors where they meet the wall, for ease of cleaning
MATERIALS HANDLING
❏ Hand trucks and carts for moving all foods
❏ Strong, easy-to-clean shelving
❏ Portable shelving
❏ Ladders for reaching stored goods on high shelves
❏ Carts for the movement of processed foods from production area to refrigeration and then to service
area
UTENSIL HANDLING
❏ Knife racks
❏ Easy-to-clean utensil drawers with removable inserts
❏ Utensil drawers at every workstation and table
❏ Overhead utensil racks
FOOD PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT
❏ Compliance with NSF standards
❏ Compliance with ADA requirements
❏ Portable equipment, if needed in more than one department
❏ Portable bins for flour, sugar, and salt
❏ Wall-hung or mounted on legs for ease of cleaning
❏ Free of burrs, sharp edges, or difficult-to-reach areas
❏ Safety equipment and guards on equipment, such as shields for mixing machine
❏ Disposals in all production areas (if permitted by local codes)
❏ Open rail-type under shelving that will permit crumbs and small particles of food to fall to the floor
❏ Marine edge on all tables with sinks (to prevent water from spilling on floor)
❏ Adequate space for parking equipment from other departments (bread racks, raw ingredients from
stores, etc.)
WAREWASHING EQUIPMENT
❏ Pot storage racks beside pot washing station and in or near each work area
❏ Storage containers for soiled linen
❏ Box, glass, and metal can container in each major work area
❏ Utensil sorting table
❏ Paper and bone container at dishwashing station
❏ Pre-rinse, power or hand
❏ Cleaning supply storage
❏ Hose reel
❏ Cart wash-down area
SERVICE AND DINING
❏ Condiments and support service equipment available near the point of service
❏ Convenient dish drop-off
❏ Easy-to-clean chairs with absence of cracks that accumulate crumbs
❏ Minimum number of steps from food pickup to point of service

Source: John C. Birchfield, Design and Layout of Foodservice Facilities, 3rd ed. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008).