ARI at your (food) service

Ask any field agent what happens when you sit down at a restaurant: your eyes start to wander around. First at the surrounding tables, then the walls, and finally up to the ceiling. We cannot help but be constantly scanning and 'sizing-up' our environment. "Man, that ceiling would be fun to draw" (well, we might replace fun with another adjective).

But restaurants are fun to work in. My first job was as a dishwasher when I was 16. It's a great experience for someone young because it teaches you absolute hustle. There's nothing quite like watching a restaurant or fast-food kitchen at rush hour. Now try measuring the kitchen at the same time! There's a certain aspect of grace and efficiency to it, and a great surveyor learns to observe movement and timing in order to get the job done without impeding operations.

The other great thing about surveying restaurants is that they can truly make use of all of our services. Anything in that building or space influences the smooth operation and bottom line of a restaurant renovation. For example, the act of surveying an interior, and then the buildings exterior shell, then an elevation, and a roof plan, then finally at the end creating a section and realizing that everything fits together to a 1/4" accuracy is a skill. This skill ensures that a fryer can be moved a few feet over, because the exhaust will run through the drop ceiling without a sprinkler being in the way, or a pipe, and right between two joists, and that there is nothing on the roof above to block it. Or that the exterior can be re-clad with zero cost-overruns because the section, elevation, and parapet measurements are exact.

The diameter of your water supply pipe. The location of a hidden clean-out trap. A detailed report of the breaker panels and available circuits. An audit of franchise equipment that includes model and serial numbers. A drawing of the HVAC duct layout. A photo of the conditions inside an RTU. Mold discovered in the insulation above the ceiling. Accurate dimensions of ADA compliant washroom fixtures. An interview of a franchisee or manager regarding operational concerns. An accurate site plan of a drive-thru lane. All of this information has worth and can be documented in one site visit.