Essay on Making La Mela Leaner: Applying Lean Principles to an Italian Restaurant

Introduction

Restaurant La MelaThe lean philosophy was developed in the mid-50s by the Japanese and is utilized widely by many companies (Leite and Vieira, 2015). Lean thinking includes a set of lean practices, and from earlier usage in the manufacturing industry, lean thinking has advanced to be used in the service industry, including hotels. This essay focuses on discussing how the lean principles can be applied in the classic red sauce Italian restaurant, La Mela, and the improvements that can be made in the restaurant, by identifying issues that need to be addressed analyzing how lean addresses the issues precisely and by discussing potential challenges with lean implementation.

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Identification of Issues That Currently Need To Be Addressed

Issues that need to be addressed currently in chain La Mela include; preparation of meals for chefs, cleaning of tables and serving meals for waiters, and standardization of orders that are taken since these have proved to be tricky due to the interactive nature of these procedures. While standards in the restaurant seem rough, currently, they can also be excellent reference points for the training of workers and measurement of general efficiency (Al-Aomar and Hussein, 2015). Workers need to be trained since it takes three to six months to turn newly hired employees into fully skilled team members. The tables in the restaurant also seem to be in poor arrangement and require to be rearranged. For instance, there needs to be a better layout for the dining area. In the restaurant, there are big tables close to the kitchen where customers prefer sitting while eating their meals and even extend there sitting after eating. There are smaller tables further from the big tables, which are mostly moved around by employees to cater to the needs of customers. Based on these issues, customers in the restaurant have to experience long waits, and food takes time to travel reach distances between tables. Other times, customers return foods complaining that they are not tasty enough.

Analysis of How Lean Could Specifically Address These Issues

First, members in the waiting team need to figure out the continuous improvement in quality, price, and service and share these ideas with other co-workers in real-time (Al-Aomar and Hussein, 2015). Second, Management of La Mela has to ensure that their staff receives basic training on lean, to adapt the logic behind the restaurant changes, and all members need to obtain insights on their roles and what is expected from them. Thirdly, the management should visualize the restaurant's process and make the team do the same (Al-Aomar and Hussein, 2015). The team needs to learn how to communicate and record changes, and finally, people who put forward improvements should be thanked and motivated.

La Mela could re-design its menu by cross-selling products in distinct plates, and using seasonal products at lower prices. Standardization of processes includes preparation of meals using the same ingredients and measuring units as quickly as possible, and re-designing the table and kitchen layouts with safety and efficiency in mind (Al-Aomar and Hussein, 2015). Everything in the restaurant should be kept clean and in order and a culture of continuous learning established. The restaurant can follow the show-practice-certify-share model to train workers on how to perform a set of tasks at a reasonable speed and quality level. A few critical aspects will be needed to be added in the restaurant to attain a model of the third generation, including; the kitchen can be divided into small modules, with functional units for cooking, boiling and oats, to ensure easy configuration (Al-Aomar and Hussain, 2018). An open kitchen can be established to make the restaurant more customer-friendly and to help people trust the food quality. Also, notable should be located far from the kitchen.

Critical Discussion of The Potential Challenges With Lean Implementation

In the case with La Mela restaurant, it might be challenging to implement the plan with clarity and purpose, and to explain to new employees why they need to prioritize these plans and work on specific projects one at a time (Rauch, Damian, Holzner, and Matt, 2016). The management might end up setting vague goals that will decrease motivation among workers.

Another challenge is that the nature of some restaurant and their operations, based on their particular product, demand, and supply, might be unsuitable for lean operations.

Most people also do not like change. Employees might be resistant to leave their comfort zones and might see changes in the way they are used to doing things as a threat. The most resistance can be seen from long term employees in converting them to lean cultures.

It takes money to make more money. Implementing lean by changing equipment and layouts to facilitate balances and standardize will be costly (Rauch et al. 2016).

It is a tiresome and demanding process of starting up and keeping up, mainly because some things will need to be replaced, and others relocated, demanding labor that will require the hiring of temporary employees.

Conclusion

With its expansion in many sectors, lean thinking continues to be used in restaurants, hence the need for better strategies and technologies in the service sector. Through the application of lean principles of management, the LA Mela restaurant will be able to retain its customers and will enhance its market share. The restaurant will be able to maintain its employees and ensure customer satisfaction through quality standards and procedures.

Reference List

Al-Aomar, R. and Hussain, M., 2018. An assessment of adopting lean techniques in the construct of hotel supply chain. Tourism Management, 69, pp.553-565. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261517718301419

Al-Aomar, R. and Hussein, M., 2015. An assessment plan for lean and green sustainability practices in the supply chain of hotels. Sustainable Development (2 Volume Set), 168, p.141. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vxoACwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA41&dq=application+of+lean+principles+in+the+hotel+industry&ots=4V3EmHIb1U&sig=l0M-L2V4NvJfyRtiX4zNllGXnJc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=application%20of%20lean%20principles%20in%20the%20hotel%20industry&f=false

Leite, H.D.R. and Vieira, G.E., 2015. Lean philosophy and its applications in the service industry: a review of the current knowledge. Production, 25(3), pp.529-541. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0103-65132015005079012&script=sci_arttext

Rauch, E., Damian, A., Holzner, P. and Matt, D.T., 2016. Lean Hospitality-Application of Lean Management methods in the hotel sector. https://bia.unibz.it/handle/10863/1715