all other occurrences that day at the resort. “It’s not ‘facial recognition’ because we can’t identify the person (by name), but let’s say someone orders drinks from a bar and takes off—it can highlight their face on camera, and if you’re quick enough, you can catch them,” he says. The cameras have reduced theft in retail stores and public spaces, where the resort has been able to recover equipment stolen off racks. Security is assigned to watch the racks at certain times of the day, so they can act immediately. The technol- ogy has also been used for staff training at the resort, with lift managers able to mon- itor employees while on-the-job.
Because the cameras monitor Crys- tal’s lift loading and, in some cases, offload- ing areas, the resort has also been able to mitigate potential lawsuits. For example, when a teen goofing around misloaded a chairlift, it was easy to pull up footage and show parents what happened, Turner says. In seven years, the resort has gone from six security cameras to 120, first concentrating on ski racks, then moving to other populated spaces. The cameras are PoE-based (power over ethernet) and get power over the network connection through a single ethernet cable, which eliminates the need for separate power cords and simplifies installation where
outlets aren’t available. Roll out and adoption was easy, Turner says. “You plug them in, they boot up, and you’re online.”
WHAT CHANGED
• Video retrieval time dropped from hours to minutes. • Cameras now support theft recovery and staff training. • Lift loading and public areas are monitored to reduce liability. • Crowd and vehicle counting added new operational insights.
BLUE MOUNTAIN RESORT, ON: A FOOD WASTE REDUCTION TOOL
PAIN POINT: NEW TOOL: STAFF IMPACTED: PAYOFF:
Reliance on assumptions in F&B operations AI-enabled food waste tracking system with scale, camera, and analytics Food and beverage, events, sustainability Reduced food waste, improved efficiency, data-backed decision-making
Kitro’s hardware is installed directly in a kitchen and connected to Wi-Fi. Once live, the system largely runs itself. A staff member enters daily guest counts, which allows the resort to track waste per guest, says Tiffany McPhatter, director of food and beverage services. Kitro staff meet with the resort team every few months to review data, highlight trends, and suggest targeted actions. The system is also moved seasonally to match volume: during peak winter operations, it’s installed in the shared kitchen for The Pottery and Jozo’s, two of the resort’s busiest restaurants; in spring and summer, it’s relocated to the conference-center kitchen, where high-volume events are handled. Kitro provides both high-level and granular data, including total food waste by weight, edible versus inedible waste, waste by food category (protein, starch, vegetables, desserts), waste per guest, waste by time of day or service, and trend analysis over time. All data is processed in the cloud and displayed through an online dashboard. “We can filter data, depending on what we are try-
ing to understand,” says McPhatter. For example, focusing only on plate waste or isolating a particular menu item. “In restaurants, we are often looking at portion sizes and plate waste, while in conference settings, we focus on over- production and guest consumption pat- terns,” she adds. “Our goal is to identify practical changes we can implement in a busy resort environment.” “Instead of guessing where waste is happening, we are able to see it clearly, test solutions, and validate whether those changes actually work.” Some wins: At breakfast, toast por- tions were reduced from two slices to one, cutting waste and improving efficiency. At Jozo’s, analysis revealed consistent French fry waste, prompting a switch to a slightly smaller serving vessel. “Guests didn’t notice the change, but waste decreased meaningfully,” says Rooney. »
To move past assumptions and get a more data-driven picture of its busy food and beverage operation, Ontario’s Blue Mountain implemented Kitro, an AI-enabled waste-reduction system designed to measure and analyze food waste in commercial kitchens. The tool has helped the resort reduce food waste, further sustainability goals, and increase operational efficiency. Kitro combines a smart scale, camera, and cloud-based analytics. When food waste—either plate or prep—is discard- ed into a compost or waste bin placed on the Kitro scale beneath a mounted cam- era, the system automatically records the weight, captures an image, and time- stamps the event. AI then analyzes the photo to identify what type of food is being discarded, how much of it there is, and whether it’s edible or inedible. The system can distinguish, for example, between a half-eaten cheeseburger and a pile of eggshells. The edible food waste data provides the most valuable insights, says Blue Mountain sustainability ana- lyst Tori Rooney.
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator