For a year now, Château Bellevue Val Bélair has been able to count on an exceptional employee. This is a robot named Bella who helps the service staff eat, In addition to making people smile passing residents.
In order to maintain quality standards in the dining room, Château Bellevue Group had to resort to the company Pudu Robotics due to a labor shortage.
“The goal is always to be as efficient as possible. “Bella has really been a great addition to help our staff serve and clear tables, especially given the number of meals we have to serve each day,” says restaurant manager Mélanie Noreau.
Photo credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
Although some believe its use dehumanizes the service, on the contrary, the robot gives staff more time to care for residents.
“It takes the pressure off the employees, who are now much less tired. They can now take a little more time to build a bond with residents instead of rushing to provide services,” explains Ms. Noreau.
Photo credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
“By reducing staff transportation of dishes through different areas of the dining room, we also reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries and even burns,” she adds.
Residents in love
Although implementing Bella took some getting used to, residents are now in love with the robot, which can interact with them and also sing happy birthday to them on their birthday.
Photo credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
“At first we were surprised, but today we look forward to it, especially when it's someone's birthday,” says Rénald Falardeau, member of the residents' committee.
“It's great to see how much technology has advanced and it fascinates me to see Bella walking back into the kitchen alone and stopping when someone needs to walk past. This really is the future if we want to successfully address the labor shortage. In our case, we adopted it,” he adds.
Photo credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
The robot had such an impact on residents that in the few days it had to be removed from the dining room for maintenance, people asked where Bella was and when she would return to work.
Just the beginning
The creation of Bella in Val-Bélair and now in Shawinigan is such a great success that the management of the Château Bellevue Group wants to repeat the experience and introduce even more innovations.
Several Bellas will arrive at the Château Bellevue Group residences in the coming months. “We are even already thinking about new functionalities that could be added with new, more advanced robot models,” says Sylvain Grenier, general manager and CEO of the Château Bellevue Group.
“The robot could take orders or deliver meals directly to homes. And with the continued development of artificial intelligence, our robots will soon be able to interact with our residents,” he adds.
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