Cole-Parmer is proud to distribute IDEC’s products, which include PLC’s, operator interfaces, power supplies, switches and pilot devices, relays, and timers. Their automation controls are used all over the world in manufacturing and control applications… and even in sushi restaurants!
Automation controls have been used for years to run electrical systems, manufacturing operations, and even the Buckingham Fountain in Chicago. More and more, though, automation controls are used in places that you would never think were needed or even wanted. These days automation controls are being used in the food and beverage industry to save time and money.
IDEC’s relation with the Kura Sushi Restaurant Chain started 8 years ago when the eccentrically innovative president of Kura Corporation, the owner of a chain of 66 restaurants with approx. 150 million dollar annual sales in Japan, first shared his ideas with an IDEC sales engineer of utilizing high tech systems for his traditional Japanese eatery establishments. Over the years, IDEC engineers listened to him, and through trial and error accomplished the entrepreneur’s dream of the world’s first high tech Sushi restaurants.
This is a report on the Neyagawa Uchiage Restaurant, one of the Kura Sushi chain restaurants in Osaka, which opened in November of 2002. For this innovative new restaurant IDEC designed and installed state of the art systems including an order control system, a production management system, and a food management system.
First a little background on self serve Sushi restaurants: today self-serve rotary Sushi restaurants are popping up in cities throughout the world, especially in the eastern and western United States and in large cities in other countries.
In a self-serve rotary Sushi restaurant, customers are seated in chairs placed in front of a large circular counter. Chefs in a preparation area prepare various kinds of Sushi and place them on small plates. These small plates are then put on an automatic conveyer line, or a string of small wooden boats floating in water, that slowly goes round the circular counter. The above description is typical of the self-serve rotary Sushi restaurants.
However, the Neyagawa Uchiage Restaurant combines centuries old traditional Sushi making with 21st century service technology made possible by IDEC. First Neyagawa Uchiage is equipped with "touch screen order system" which allow customers to order exactly what they want. This system is comprised of 38 touch screen panels (type HG2F) on the table counter for customers, 4 order display screen panels (one type HG3A as a main panel and three type HG2Fs as sub-panels) for chefs in the preparation area, and one PLC-embedded control panel. The order system has 3 major functions:
- Sushi ordering
- Roulette game
- Bill processing
With the use of one PLC unit, the three HG2Fs and one HG3A operator interfaces in the preparation area are processing order using host link communication control. Also, with each of the three HG2Fs in the preparation area used as a local host, all the HG2Fs in the dining area are controlling through the O/I link communication.
The primary objective of the order process system is to provide excellent customer service and has five steps.
Step one— The menu has three categories: "regulars," "today’s specials" and "side orders." Customers first selects one of the three categories on the touch screen panel. They then see a picture menu of attractive looking dishes in that category. Customers can place an order by simply touching the photo of a dish on the screen. This allows the customer to have exactly what he or she wants. The customer also has the choice to simply wait and select from the dishes passing in front of them if they choose. They can also make special requests such as "no wasabi mustard" in the sushi.
Step two— Kitchen Order Display (HG3A); The display screen panel in the preparation area shows the order, which a chef immediately prepares and places on a plate. After putting the plate on the conveyer line, the chef pushes the "OK" button on the panel.
Step three— The status of the order is indicated on the customer’s display screen panel to let them know the order is on the way. 
Step four— To add a little excitement to the order process and motivate customers to order more a game has been built into the system. For each five Sushi dishes eaten, the customer gets to play a game of chance. First they insert five empty plates in a slot next to the table. The plates are counted automatically and the game starts. If the customer capsule falls down from the screen panel.
Step five— Used plates tray; Upon finishing dinner, the customer simply inserts the rest of their empty plates in the slot and touch "Bill" on the display screen panel. A total charge is displayed. At the same time, the table number is displayed on two separate monitors in the dining area and a restaurant employee comes to the table with a printed bill.
The order system transfers data to a separate production management system that keeps historical data such as how many customers visited and what dishes were ordered. The system is extremely useful in planning procurement and pre-cooking.
In regular self-serve rotary Sushi restaurant, unselected Sushi plates may remain on the conveyer for a long time unless a chef happens to notice the foods is too dry or stale looking. The number one selling point for any Sushi restaurant is the freshness of its product. Self-serve rotary restaurants charge less than the regular sushi restaurants where a chef prepares on order in front of his customers. One advantage of normal sushi restaurants over most self-serve restaurants is food is always fresh because dishes are only prepared when ordered. However, the Neyagawa Uchiage food management system designed by IDEC automatically removes stale Sushi to ensure only fresh dishes are presented to the customers. This is important for both product taste and customer safety since raw fish can lose freshness quickly.
Because of the favorable results at Neyagawa Uchiage the same systems have been installed in three other Kura Sushi Restaurants and are being installed in additional chain restaurants.