Systems and methods for analyzing restaurant operations

• US 9,798,987 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2016
• Issued: 10/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panera LLC (Panera Bread Company)
• Original Assignee: Panera LLC (Panera Bread Company)
• Inventors: Chapman, Charles Jarvis, Nettles, Michael R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nawaz, Talha M
• Application Number:
  US15/194,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20160364676A1
• Time in Patent Office: 483 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/40 in video content extracting overlay text G06V20/62; video retrieval G06F16/70; processing of video elementary streams in video servers H04N21/234; processing of video elementary streams in video clients H04N21/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/44 Event detection
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D

Abstract

Some embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for analyzing the deployment of employees in a restaurant. For example, some embodiments are directed to determining whether an employee who has vacated his/her assigned station has acted appropriately in doing so, and if not, causing the employee to be redirected to his/her assigned station. Determining whether an employee acted appropriately in leaving his/her assigned station may involve analyzing video recordings of the restaurant at o around the time the employee left his/her station, operational data describing events occurring in the restaurant at or around the time the employee left his/her station, and/or other information, which may supply valuable context in determining whether or not the employee acted properly. If the employee acted improperly, he/she may be redirected to his/her assigned station, using automated, semi-automated and/or manual techniques.

Claims

1. A system for use in analyzing deployment of employees in a restaurant, the system comprising:

at least one employee location data source;

at least one recording device configured to capture video recordings of occurrences in the restaurant;

at least one computer-readable storage medium having instructions recorded thereon; and

at least one processor, programmed via the instructions to;

determine, based at least in part on data from the at least one employee location data source, that an employee vacated a station in the restaurant to which the employee is assigned during a particular time period;

determine whether the employee improperly vacated the station based at least in part on an analysis of a video recording captured by the at least one recording device, the analysis relating to identifying whether one or more predefined conditions existed in the restaurant at a time when the employee vacated the station;

if it is determined that the employee improperly vacated the station, cause the employee to be redirected back to the station;

wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine that the employee left the station for another location at which a workstation to which employees log on is located, the workstation comprising a monitor, and to cause the employee to be redirected back to the station by electronically sending a message for display on the monitor to notify the employee that he/she is to return to the station and automatically logging the employee off the workstation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one employee location data source comprises a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader configured to receive signal from an RFID tag transported by the employee.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the RFID reader is deployed at or near the station to which the employee is assigned during the particular time period.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one employee location data source comprises at least one location-aware device of a location-based service configured for geofencing.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one employee location data source comprises at least one workstation to which employees log on to perform work.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the video depicting the restaurant during the particular time period depicts the employee.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the video depicting the restaurant during the particular time period depicts one or more cashier stations at which customers queue.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the video depicting the restaurant during the particular time period depicts a food preparation area in which multiple employees prepare food.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine whether the employee improperly vacated the station based at least in part on data collected by at least one operational data system at or near the station.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one operational data system comprises a cashier workstation configured to receive input describing customer orders.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein causing the employee to be redirected back to the station comprises ceasing sending work to the other location.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein causing the employee to be redirected to the station comprises electronically notifying the employee'"'"'s manager that the employee has improperly vacated the station.

13. A method for use in a system comprising at least one employee location data source and at least one recording device configured to capture video recordings of occurrences in a restaurant, the method comprising acts of:

(A) determining, based at least in part on data from the at least one employee location data source, that an employee vacated a station in the restaurant to which the employee is assigned during a particular time period;

(B) determining whether the employee improperly vacated the station based at least in part on an analysis of a video recording captured by the at least one recording device, the analysis relating to identifying whether one or more predefined conditions existed in the restaurant at a time when the employee vacated the station;

(C) if it is determined that the employee improperly vacated the station, causing the employee to be redirected back to the station;

wherein the act (B) comprises determining that the employee left the station for another location at which a workstation to which employees log on is located, the workstation comprising a monitor, and the act (C) comprises electronically sending a message for display on the monitor to notify the employee that he/she is to return to the station and automatically logging the employee off the workstation.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one employee location data source comprises a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader configured to receive signal from an RFID tag transported by the employee.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the RFID reader is deployed at or near the station to which the employee is assigned during the particular time period.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one employee location data source comprises at least one location-aware device of a location-based service configured for geofencing.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one employee location data source comprises at least one workstation to which employees log on to perform work.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the video depicting the restaurant during the particular time period depicts the employee.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the video depicting the restaurant during the particular time period depicts one or more cashier stations at which customers queue.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the video depicting the restaurant during the particular time period depicts a food preparation area in which multiple employees prepare food.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine whether the employee improperly vacated the station based at least in part on data collected by at least one operational data system at or near the station.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one operational data system comprises a cashier workstation configured to receive input describing customer orders.

23. The method of claim 13, wherein causing the employee to be redirected back to the station comprises ceasing sending work to the other location.

24. The method of claim 13, wherein causing the employee to be redirected to the station comprises electronically notifying the employee'"'"'s manager that the employee has improperly vacated the station.

25. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions encoded thereon which, when executed by at least one computing device in a system comprising at least one employee location data source and at least one recording device configured to capture video recordings of occurrences in a restaurant, causes the at least one computing device to perform a method comprising acts of:

(A) determining, based at least in part on data from the at least one employee location data source, that an employee vacated a station in the restaurant to which the employee is assigned during a particular time period;

(B) determining whether the employee improperly vacated the station based at least in part on an analysis of a video recording captured by the at least one recording device, the analysis relating to identifying whether one or more predefined conditions existed in the restaurant at a time when the employee vacated the station;

(C) if it is determined that the employee improperly vacated the station, causing the employee to be redirected back to the station;

wherein the act (B) comprises determining that the employee left the station for another location at which a workstation to which employees log on is located, the workstation comprising a monitor, and the act (C) comprises electronically sending a message for display on the monitor to notify the employee that he/she is to return to the station and automatically logging the employee off the workstation.