With various top-line costs spiraling out of control, practical cost-cutting measures are more pivotal than ever before. 

Facing rising food and labor costs, franchisees are still expected to pay out the same royalties, marketing fees, and other fixed expenses. For these reasons, franchisees—and restaurant operators in general—are more focused than ever before on finding places where top line expenditures can be slashed. 

One franchisee group that wished to remain anonymous for the purposes of this story recently installed an oil management system that is saving the brand $8,000 per year, per store, in insurance expenses. The franchisee group owns 20 locations of a major restaurant chain and went from facing a total of $769,447 in insurance premiums, to more than 20 percent less: $612,838. 

Restaurant Technologies Total Oil Management solution is responsible for the franchisee group’s lower premiums. The system takes much or all of the risk out of handling cooking oil, which, according to a Restaurant Technologies study conducted by a major insurance provider, is responsible for approximately 60 percent of worker compensation claims in the quick-service space. For the franchisee group in question, installing the solution had become necessary. It wasn’t just about saving money—their Experience MOD stemming from worker compensation claims had increased from 1.32 to 1.62. They knew they had to make a change, so they reached out to Restaurant Technologies. 

Total Oil Management automates the entire process of handling cooking oil. Restaurant Technologies installs two oil tanks in the back of the restaurant, one for fresh oil and the other for waste oil. The fresh oil feeds directly into deep fryers at the push of a button, traveling through a secure tube to get there. When cooking oil is no longer fresh enough to create the quality fried foods operators and diners expect and exports the oil to the waste tank, a button is pressed and the oil is seamlessly changed out. Notably, team members never have to lift large jugs of oil, or handle oil that is hot and could cause burns. 

“Safety is the number one reason to install Total Oil Management,” says George Penyak, director of national accounts at Restaurant Technologies. “It’s just better and safer for you and your people. The fact that it will also help you save money—I mean, 20 percent on insurance is just amazing—that’s the cherry on top.” 

Penyak says the solution is perfect for any restaurant brand of any size that has deep fryers. The company is approved to sell into the stores of franchisees who own some of the top brands in the industry: McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC to name just a few. On top of saving on insurance costs, franchisee groups and other restaurant groups appreciate the fact that Total Oil Management has become an employee retention tool. In other words, not only does it keep employees safer, but it keeps them happier, too. With the backdrop of today’s labor climate, that’s no small thing. 

“In today’s day and age, labor is hard to come by,” Penyak says. “When you install our Total Oil Management solution, you’re taking the most dangerous job in the kitchen and automating it. Employees love that. We have operators tell us all the time that if they took Total Oil Management out of their kitchens, their employees would protest. They literally love it that much.” 

To find out more about the free-to-install Total Oil Management system, visit the Restaurant Technologies website

By Charlie Pogacar

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