Overview

This guide covers the complete meal preparation workflow using the Plated terminal and heating appliance system, from meal prep initiation through service completion.

1. Starting Meal Preparation

Meal Time Indicators

• Gray Screen: Normal - ready to start meal preparation
• Pink Screen: Warning - behind schedule, meal service may be delayed

Action: When it's time to prepare a meal, select "Start Preparing Meal"

2. Understanding Meal Tickets

Color Coding System

• Salmon/Pink Tickets: Special meals for residents with allergies OR menu changes made in the administrative system
• Blue Tickets: Regular meals (no allergies)
• Gray Tickets: "Anytime Meals" for early, planned resident meals and for unplanned meals for people without special dietary needs. "Extra" meals for people who are not admitted to the system such as guest or staff meals, are also gray.

Viewing Meal Information

The system displays:

• Headcount (e.g., "2 People")
• Dietary categories (Regular, Allergy-specific)
• Main dish items
• Side dish items
  
• View Additional information
  
• To see which items will be served for a dietary category just tap the category tile
  
• To see which people are included in a dietary category, tap that tile and then tap the "View List of People" button. 
  
• To print a list of the items you need to gather for this meal service, tap the "Print Pull sheet" button
  
  

3. Loading the Heating Appliance

Step-by-Step Process

1. Access the Load Screen
   • Select "Next: Prepare Heated Meals"
2. Follow Bay Indicators
   • The terminal screen shows which bays to use
   • Physical lights on the heating appliance guide you to correct bays
   • Load items in the highlighted bays
3. Track Heating Progress
   • Neon Green indicator: Bay is empty and ready
   • Black indicator: Item is loaded and heating in progress
   • Green indicator: Item has reached proper temperature and is ready
     
   • Dark Green indicator: Item's hold time is about to expire 
     
   • Red indicator: Item was loaded into the wrong bay, or it was removed at the wrong time
     
   • Red indicator with trash can icon: Item expired, it may not be eaten and must be thrown away
     
   • Red indicator with question mark: An unexpected error occurred 
     
4. Continue Loading
   • Follow prompts for each menu item
   • Load all items as directed
   • System guides you through complete meal setup

Loading Options

• Skip For Now: Delay loading a specific item (skipped items are loaded later)
• Swap Remaining Items: Exchange items to resolve allergy conflicts
  

4. Monitoring the Heating Process

Heating in Progress Screen

• Shows all heating units (in this example, there are 3: A, B, C) with 8 bays each
• Displays estimated time until meals are ready (e.g., "Next meal ready in 13 min")
• Visual representation of which bays are in use

Heating Complete

• Message: "Heating Complete - Items will be kept warm for up to 2 hours"
• All occupied bays show in dark green
• Check marks appear on heated items
• Ready to advance to assembly

Action: Select "Next: Assemble Meals" when ready to serve

5. Assembling and Serving Meals

Accessing Meal Tickets

• Tickets display in color-coded format
• Scroll through tickets by swiping left or right
• Select any ticket to begin assembly
  

Ticket Information Displayed

• Resident name and dining location
• Dietary requirements (Lifestyle Diet, Common Allergies, Other Allergies)
• All heated menu items for that meal
• Green "Ready" indicators on heated items

Removing Items from Heating Appliance

1. Select a meal ticket
2. Heating appliance lights indicate which bays to access
3. Remove items for that specific meal
4. If wrong item removed: System alerts "Items removed unexpectedly!" - simply return the item and remove the correct one
   

Ticket Actions

Print Button (printer icon):

• Prints a physical paper ticket
• Use if resident needs a printed meal ticket

Done Button:

• Becomes active after all items are removed
• Select to complete this ticket and move to the next

Options Menu (three dots):

• Discard Meal: Use when resident no longer wants the food after meal service time
• Allows you to remove and dispose of unwanted items

Service Workflow

• Complete one ticket at a time, or
• Switch between tickets as needed to serve in any order
  
• To view completed tickets, move "View Completed Tickets" toggle to the right, to cancel that view, return toggle to the left
• Counter shows progress (e.g., "0 of 2 completed", "1 of 2 completed")

Completion

• All tickets processed: "Nice work! All tickets are complete."
• Select "Return to Home" to finish meal service
  

6. Managing Allergies and Menu Conflicts

Identifying Allergy Conflicts

Warning Signs:

• Alert banner: "1 Flagged menu item"
• Red alert indicator on specific menu item
• "Start Preparing Meal" button is disabled until resolved
  

Resolving Conflicts

1. View the Conflicting Item
   • Select the flagged menu item
   • Review nutrition information and ingredients
   • Alert shows: "This product contains allergens flagged on [Name]'s Allergy profile"
2. Initiate the Swap
   • Select "Swap" from the alert banner at the top or select the "Swap This Item" button
     
   • Select "Person" and person's name (e.g., "Adam Allergy")

1. Select Replacement
   • If substitutes are available: Choose from the list of safe alternatives
   • If no substitutes available: Screen will be blank
     

1. Complete the Swap
   • Choose a replacement item, OR
   • Select "Leave Blank" to skip this item entirely (preventing allergy exposure)
   • Select "Save" to confirm
     

1. Proceed with Meal Prep
   • Once all conflicts are resolved, "Next: Prepare Heated Items" button activates
   • Continue with standard loading process
     

7. Handling System Alerts and Errors

Anytime Meals Alert

When: Items are in the heating appliance from previous meal service Where: Main preparation screen Action: Badge shows "2 meals are heating" with "View" button

Heating Error Alert

Indicator: "Heating Error - Heating error occurred. Please contact support." Meaning: One or more bays failed to heat or communicate with the terminal Action:

• DO NOT attempt to fix yourself
• Call Support immediately
• Support will guide you through meal service
  

Items Expiring Soon Alert

Indicator: Timer icon with "Expiring Soon - Items begin to expire in 13 min" Meaning: Food has been held at temperature for too long (approaching 2-hour limit) Action:

• Serve items immediately, or
• Remove and discard items
• Select "Dismiss Alert" to acknowledge
  

Items Have Expired Alert

Indicator: Trash icon with "Items have expired - Remove and discard expired items" Meaning: Food has exceeded safe holding time Action:

• Remove identified items from heating appliance
• Do NOT serve or eat expired items
• Dispose of properly
• Items turn pink/red on the bay display
  

8. Best Practices and Tips

Timing

• Start loading heating units 1.5 hours before meal service
• Monitor "Expiring Soon" alerts to prevent waste
• Note that items can be held warm for up to 2 hours after reaching temperature

Organization

• Prioritize allergy meals (pink tickets) when time-sensitive
• Use the scroll feature to serve meals in the most efficient order
• Keep printed tickets with meals if delivering to rooms

Safety

• Always resolve allergy conflicts before starting meal prep
• Never serve expired items
• Double-check bay indicators to ensure correct items are selected

Troubleshooting

• If you remove the wrong item, simply return it and try again
• Use "Prepare Extra Meals" button for unexpected meal needs
• Contact support immediately for heating errors - don't wait