Less Waste, More Flow

Paperless order management for sustainable, efficient back-of-house operations at busy brunch restaurant, Le Bon Nosh.

“Production and disposal of receipt paper generates unnecessary waste and emits the carbon equivalent of over 471,000 cars on the road.”

—Green America, 2023

Receipt paper at Le Bon Nosh creates excessive waste and inefficient order management for front-of-house employees.

10 weeks

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Service Design

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On-Ground Resarch Lead

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10 weeks • Service Design • On-Ground Resarch Lead •

By focusing on complex communication between front-of-house employees, our team designed a waste-not solution that sped up operational efficiency by 49%, and created a workflow that is “quick and easy” for effortless service delivery.

This stakeholder map explores the complex communication exchange between service employees at Le Bon Nosh, signaling need for a simple communication system.

The existing order management system had too many steps, and not enough space.

A common cause of friction is “butt-bumping,” when one employee running to the counter to pick up a food order ticket bumps into another employee positioned at the work station.

“There's no need to go from the register to the block to the window to the table…”

-General Manager, April

Unnecessary ticket waste builds up during peak hours and clutters employees’ workstation.

What Employees Were Saying

“It’s disorganized”

— Employee 1

“It’s wasted steps and time.”

—Employee 4

We explored over a dozen opportunities, and prioritized solutions that removed unnecessary steps, opened communication, and empowered staff to act quickly without friction.

Our final concept: Digital Order Management

  • Real-time updates = no more running around

  • Paperless process = less waste, more time and money saved

  • Reduced steps = fewer mistakes, clearer roles, calmer shifts

Our prototyped digital order management system

We measured:

Steps in the Process - Could we simplify the number of actions per task?

Physical Steps Taken - Could we reduce movement and congestion?

Time to Completion - Could we speed up service and optimize workflow?

We tested on-site, with real employees.

1 Manager

2 Expediters

2 Baristas

1 Food Runner

The data spoke loud and clear.

Prototyped System Results

Existing System Results

16.54 sec

Avg time to completion

2/5

Organization Rating

2.67/5

Satisfaction Rating

6.34 sec

Avg time to completion

4/5

Organization Rating

4.3/5

Satisfaction Rating

We discovered that our solution not only removed paper waste and streamlined workflows—employees were actually more satisfied with the digital system!

This project showed me how small, overlooked details, like receipt paper, can reveal much larger systemic problems. By designing a paperless ticketing solution, I learned how to reduce waste, improve service flow, and advocate for change from the inside out.