Occurrence sampling in a residence hall foodservice: entrée production times

Occurrence sampling was used in the main production area of a university residence hall foodservice to measure and analyze work functions involved in entrée production and to determine time requirements for entrée categories. Sixteen entrées were investigated: seven single-item, six combination, and three roast. Data collection took place in a period of 5 days over a 2-week span. A total of 3,891 observations was recorded during 297 labor hours. Results of the study indicated 59.2% of the total labor time was spent in direct work, 23.3% in indirect work, and 17.5% in delays. The preparation work function represented the highest proportion of labor time for both single-item and roast entrées, but prepreparation consumed the greatest amount of time for combination entrées. Mean labor minutes per serving for the 16 entrées were 0.9, with a range of 0.4 to 3.5. Mean labor minutes per serving for combination entrées were 1.4, which was the highest among the three groups; range was from 0.4 to 3.5 minutes per serving. For single item entrées, mean minutes per serving were 0.6, with a range of 0.4 to 0.8. Roast entrées, had a mean time requirement per serving of 0.5 minute, with a range of 0.4 to 0.6.