Definition: - for clarity most catering equipment contractors (C.E.C’s) will approach a project with the following inclusions, we have underlined ‘most’ because there are some contractors who will take on wider building works should you require, but what you should expect to be included as a minimum is as follows: -
Equipment
This often being the core component element of a project may seem obvious, and it is. But what can often fall into the realms of assumptions and grey areas are accessories, and interface elements that you might be expecting but don’t get. Vent Canopies for example don’t really have any moving parts of their own, they are often a simple box with the mechanical elements ‘assumed’ to be by others. This is not done in an underhand manner, it is simply the common practise that a mechanical contractor will often be the one looking after the ventilation systems, ducting and air handling plant on a project. These systems are complex, if you are looking for your supplier to provide a full system then it will need to be designed and you should expect some fees for doing this. Even if you are sourcing a full system, it is usually the case that your supplier will not involve themselves in building fabric works, so the formation of holes in walls, weatherproofing and even the scaffolding / access required for fitting high level ducting and plant is often excluded from quotations – but not always the ventilation system that attaches.
Design Services
C.E.C’s should have design office services as part of their staff or outsourced team to support the project progression. At the point of tendering, it is quite often the case that the design consultants’ drawings are superseded by the contractor drawings. Having served their part in the planning and design process to date, these will now be checked through by the contractor to check for errors or installation issues. C.E.C’s will then issue these drawings for team approval prior to processing onwards to instructing fabricators to produce further drawings for bespoke items. Consultants will often still be involved from an approval’s perspective and in case any major design alterations are needed, for example if a room cannot be built to the dimensions required.
Site Surveys
It is the role of the C.E.C to ensure that the kitchen is delivered on time and fits the space available. This will involve attending team meetings as required / as agreed, and attending at intervals to check on overall project progress. Towards the later stages the C.E.C should also arrange to take final measurements of finished spaces (if possible) to ascertain the best fit for bespoke fabrication and counters. As well as acting as a main project lead & first aider for any other sub-contractors they send to site on their behalf, for example the canopy or coldroom contractors.
Project Management
Organisation of the project timelines, planning of labour, and calling off equipment in a timely manner is critical to ensure the contractors meet the agreed end date. Project management is generally, in our opinion, the key selling point of any good C.E.C as it tends to be the experience of the key team members which determine the eventual success of a catering equipment project.
Your project manager will tend to be your main contact for the duration of the project, so it is important, in our opinion, that introductions are made during the tender process to enable the relationship to start off on the right footing.
Financial Stability
You will likely have your own systems in place for vetting suppliers to provide to your business, however this is a key element as a catering equipment project can range from anywhere between £5k to £5m – and depending on the timelines can require a contractor to commit significant sums of money in the process. It is important, in our opinion, that you should partner with a C.E.C that has sufficient credit and cash to ensure the project can be delivered. Payment terms are often required but these should be considered in line with logical milestone dates to reduce risk for all parties.
Installation
To within one metre, as touched upon above, this area is often surrounding by an array of assumptions or past experiences and this can lead to mis understandings or extra, unexpected costs as the project progresses. As a standard you will often be quoted installation to ‘within one metre’
Delivery and offloading is sometimes handled via in house consolidation and sometimes arranged to be sent straight to site from the suppliers – check which is happening and who will be there to receive and offload. It’s quite common for a single appliance to be sent to site and then an engineer sent separately to install it. This can sometimes cause issues, especially if the unit is left outside. Most deliveries are carried out by a single driver and often they will only leave the unit at ‘curb side’ – check what is included in your price, especially with internet purchases; these are often making less than 5% margin so you shouldn’t expect a great level of service to be included (although there may be exceptions).
Snagging & Rectification
In our experience every project has its bumps, in an ideal world, problems will be resolved swiftly to ensure a limited impact on the overall programme. But you should be aware that a C.E.C, like any contractor, will quote a project on a set of assumptions. For example, a small care home kitchen install should only require 2 – 3 days for a team of 2 engineers and perhaps a labourer. Day rates are usually between £400 - £800 for installation engineers so the allowance needs to be precise to ensure the balance of a competitive quote and a sufficient time to complete the project. Like any other contactor, if they are called to site to install and cannot for any reason outside of their control you should expect additional charges. Be prepared also to accept that they may not be able to return immediately, the companies tend to schedule installations some weeks in advance and the team may be needed elsewhere. Communication and project management is crucial and the best catering equipment contractors have the experience and resources to pivot and overcome challenges on site.
Office Support Staff
A good C.E.C will ensure there are several people in addition to the project manager which know the project and can facilitate should the project manager be engaged in other meetings or otherwise unavailable.
Staff training & user manuals
As part of a handover process it is very important that the staff are shown how to effectively, and safely, use their equipment. There is generally one session allowed for, so it is important you ensure your key staff members attend. It is not uncommon for problems to arise out of ignorance, and this can reflect badly on all involved whilst leaving your investment at risk. Even something as (seemingly) simple as cleaning down your benches can result in pitting and corrosion if not done correctly. Confirm ahead of time (usually at least 3 weeks) as to when this training session is going to happen and what elements of the kit list are going to be covered. This can be very time consuming, especially on larger projects where you can expect the sessions to carry on over 2 or 3 consecutive days. Consider filming the sessions also as this could provide a good point of reference for future new starters and give you the confidence that they have been sufficiently shown how to look after the equipment.
User manuals are always shipped out with the appliances, but keeping track of these during the installation of a project is difficult and generally speaking the systems in place by competent C.E.C’s tend to be much more effective. You should expect to receive bespoke user manual binders which contain all manufacturer documentation as well as some form of indexing. Ideally these will also have some key information such as the installation company contact details, the installation commissioning certificates and the process for logging any breakdown or warranty calls.
Service Department
Even if they do not directly employ engineers (which is common) the most effective C.E.C’s (in our opinion) have a tenacious and proactive service team who take breakdown calls and chase them through until resolved.
The information highlighted above is not something which is set in stone, it is a summary of our experience from working within catering projects as to the general approach. However, we would recommend you always carry out your own vetting processes before signing with a partner.
We would direct you to the CEDA website if you are looking for a reputable catering equipment contractor that can look at your project. (https://ceda.co.uk/) – CEDA members tend to adhere to a code of conduct which is agreed between members to be the best practice within the industry.
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