a recent time and motion study (mine) showed that deli staff spend about half their time wandering backwards and forwards behind the counter between the product and the scales. My suggestion is that all the way behind the counter are accurate scales which the deli staff member steps on. There are little foot pedals to choose the product (because of the position of the scales, it's only one of about 5 products) and the customer and staff member can see the price and weight of the product about to be purchased.

The scales know which member of staff they've got on them because staff weigh in and out of the shop floor.
Bingo, the staff member has to run around less and everyone gets served faster.
-- neilp, May 19 2004

presumably eating and drinking at work will be banned?
-- hazel, May 19 2004


you're already not allowed to for hygiene reasons (at least in the UK you're not), but as I mentioned, it'll be a weigh-in system so every time someone comes back from a break they're re-weighed. - result.
-- neilp, May 19 2004


Due to a sweat loss of approx 300 grms during a normal day the food items will gradually become cheaper and cheaper as the day wears on.
-- PainOCommonSense, May 19 2004


[Pain] - nah, the scales will compensate for this, by weighing staff members with and without product throughout the day.
-- neilp, May 19 2004


Excellent idea, [neilp]. By the way, were you grinding your teeth and muttering to yourself as you carried out the time and motion study?
-- calum, May 19 2004


You could just have the scales with a tare function (which you'll probably need anyway for deli dispensing). Staff member steps on the scales, tares to zero, picks up pastrami and away you go.

The inaccuracies inherent in a system trying to measure 70 kg of shop assistant one minute and 250 g of taramasalata the next just add to the fun. It's like deli-gambling. Every now and again you'll benefit from extra pate but sometimes you'll be short-changed on the olives.
-- hazel, May 20 2004


...Just buy a few more normal scales... 9_9
-- Aerythes, May 20 2004


They should sell the stuff by volume instead. Much easier - the stuff often gets wrapped in clingfilm anyway so why not just dunk it into the archimedes whatsit and read off the displaced water volume?

On second thoughts..
-- dobtabulous, May 20 2004


Why not just put scales under each product, with a tare=0 button, displaying grams or oz. removed since the last 0? Connect them all up using Bluetooth to the cash register, and Robert is your mother's brother.
-- csea, May 20 2004


what [csea] said.. nice one.
-- neilp, May 25 2004



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