When it comes to the steps of the foodservice equipment installation process, all foodservice designers agree that rough-ins are the first step followed by final connections once the equipment is delivered. All foodservice designers also agree that the best way to convey the rough-in requirements to the subcontractors is with rough-in drawings even though subcontractors could get the information they needed from manufacturer data sheets. But not all foodservice designers create rough-in drawings and to explain why I need to separate foodservice designers into what they really are, foodservice consultants and foodservice dealer/designers.
Foodservice Consultants
Foodservice consultants can be broken into two types, management consultants and design consultants. We are only talking about foodservice design consultants. They are typically hired by architects and join the design team alongside structural engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, lighting consultants, and other architectural consultants.
With their tried and true formulas they can predict the size of any kitchen, serving area and dining room by only knowing how many people visit a building each day.
Foodservice consultants specialize in large facilities such as educational dining halls, corporate cafeterias and military bases. With their tried and true formulas they can predict the size of any kitchen, serving area and dining room by only knowing how many people visit a building each day.
They do not participate in the sale of the equipment but they do create detailed written specifications listing every piece of kitchen equipment and it's accessories. They even go into detail on the methods of installation for a specific project. These specifications are attached to a project's foodservice drawings like an addendum to be used by the eventual foodservice equipment dealer as guidelines for which equipment is to be sold and how it should be installed. Foodservice consultants can be thought of as design specialists with their only source of income coming from their design fees.
Foodservice Dealer/Designers
On the other side of the coin are foodservice dealers that offer design services. These days it is not uncommon for foodservice equipment dealers to offer some design services. There are even many foodservice equipment dealers that specialize in foodservice design. Even these dealers are typically using design as a sales tool since the bulk of their profit comes from the sale of the equipment, not the fees from the design services they provide.
Foodservice dealers work very closely with their equipment installers and stainless fabricators so when a restaurant needs a complex installation or one-off stainless piece under a tight budget it falls right into the dealers sweet spot.
These hybrid dealer/designers are sometimes referred to as design/build foodservice equipment dealers. Restaurants are optimal design clients due to their tight budgets and complex custom installation requirements. Foodservice dealers work very closely with their equipment installers and stainless fabricators so when a restaurant needs a complex installation or one-off stainless piece under a tight budget it falls right into the dealers sweet spot. Unlike consultants, dealers know exact equipment and installation costs and are able to start with a budget and work backwards. This lets them react quickly to a chef's changes which typically take the form of a wishlist and are only held in check by the budget. Combine that with their stainless fabricator and installer connections and it's not hard to see why restaurants are a good fit where others have trouble keeping up. Foodservice dealer-designers are the design/build specialists of foodservice.
Foodservice Consultants & Foodservice Equipment Dealers Working Together
It doesn't matter how great the foodservice consultant is or how great their design is, if they don't have a quality foodservice dealer providing and installing the equipment then the project could still be a failure.
Foodservice consultants work closely with foodservice dealers to make sure the projects they design are completed correctly. It doesn't matter how great the foodservice consultant is or how great their design is, if they don't have a quality foodservice dealer providing and installing the equipment then the project could still be a failure.
In the construction bid process, architects create the drawings & specifications for bid and the winning contractor sends submittals of every material back to the architects for approval. The architects then reconcile what was submitted versus what they designed and give their approval. Then the contractor can proceed with building the project using the submitted and approved materials. This submittal process takes the liability off the designers and places it on the contractors, instead of the architects telling the contractor what to build, they are now just accepting what the contractor is offering to build. If the architect draws something that cannot be built, then they are forced to accept what the contractor proposes.
This submittal process takes the liability off the designers and places it on the contractors, instead of the architects telling the contractor what to build, they are now just accepting what the contractor is offering to build.
On the other hand if the contractor proposes something they cannot deliver, the contractor may be liable to deliver what they proposed regardless of the circumstances. This step is required in construction, it's easy to draw a pretty picture but submittals force reality to step in before the tangible construction begins.
A similar process occurs in the foodservice world between foodservice consultants and foodservice dealers. Foodservice consultants are like architects and foodservice equipment dealers are the contractors.
Foodservice consultants will send out their foodservice drawings and specifications to at least (3) approved foodservice equipment dealers for pricing and the winning foodservice equipment dealer will send back submittals.
There is no guarantee that exactly what the foodservice consultant designed will make it to the winning bid so it is the foodservice equipment dealer's responsibility to provide rough-in drawings matching their submittals.
These submittals contain the equipment and accessories the dealer is providing based on their winning bid. These submittals also contain rough-in drawings based on the specific equipment quoted. There is no guarantee that exactly what the foodservice consultant designed will make it to the winning bid so it is the foodservice equipment dealer's responsibility to provide rough-in drawings matching their submittals. This step ensures whatever was submitted can still be installed correctly by sending it back to the consultant for approval. You can think of rough-in drawings as a subset of the submittal package, besides telling the electricians and plumbers how to install the equipment they also allow changes from the original design to be picked up by contractors once the foodservice consultant has signed off. The main thing to take out of this is that rough-in drawings are a requirement everytime a foodservice consultant designs a project.
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