TECHNOLOGY
EPoS software
COUNTERPOINT has been developing software platforms for EPoS for more than 10 years and has integrated property management, point-of-sale and telephone systems.
CaterFlex, GuestFlex and the Alcatel 4300 telephone system are on show. CaterFlex is a catering management package and food and liquor stock control system with an accounts interface. CaterFlex manages recipes and containers to provide stock, yield and margin reports, with sales analysis reported by calendar date.
CaterFlex and GuestFlex, a hotel reservations and billing package, both use Dataflex, a powerful fourth-generation programing language, as a software platform. This means the choice of operating system is kept open.
Stand: BG 373contact: Geoffrey Briggs
Bar systems
POINT-of-sale systems which can electronically "read" product lines and price data from a printed menu are now increasingly being used in bar systems. They typically use bar codes like those used for pre-setting video cassette recorders or printed on shop goods for reading at the tills.
Computer Aided Catering offers a point-of-sale and stock-control system which uses an optic sensor to pick items from a list. These could be used either on the bar or restaurant floor by waiting staff, to collect orders, or in a stock check.
Data from the sensors is fed to a PC and to kitchen and bar printers. The sensor can be used by waiting staff to call up the bill for a table.
The system will control stock levels, re-order levels, daily stock usage, credit card data, breakdown of daily totals and monthly figure updates.
Stand: BG 592contact: Alister Coleman
Food control
XI Data Systems' principal exhibits will include the Feedback food and beverage control system, the XI-Tel II front office/accommodation management system and the suite of HAI-Europ accounting systems.
Its packages can be linked to a wide range of peripheral devices, including its recently expanded range ofpoint-of-sale products designed for the hospitality industry. These includethe Counter Solutions DT range, which interfaces to the new Head Office BOSS Control Software.
Stand: BG477Contact: Andrew Motley
Compact storage
COMPACT disks don't just play high-quality music: they are now being used to store computerised data - and each CD can hold the equivalent of more than 550 diskettes.
FSD (CADD Services) is one company exploiting this potential in two pieces of source material for catering equipment buyers and kitchen planners.
CADD Equip is claimed to be the world's first CD-ROM of foodservice equipment encompassing the CADD libraries from more than 50 companies from five countries, and totalling more than 20,000 drawings.
With appropriate computer-aided design (CAD) software, these drawings, which include the exact dimensions of each item of equipment, can be copied directly into kitchen plans.
Stand: BG471Contact: Paul V Byrne
Handy terminal
THE principal new product on the Remanco Systems stand is the range of new hand-held terminals for the company's Vision Series II point-of-sale system.
Remanco reveals that the technology for the hand-held devices has "completely changed" and that it now offers an improved coverage area without "blind spots".
Vision brings together, on a local area network, up to 48 point-of-sale devices, which may have alpha entry, full-screen or touch-screen formats; a range of restaurant, bar and kitchen printers; and up to 20 hand-held electronic server pads. Vision links the activities of the front-of-house operation to the kitchen and bar preparation areas through to the manager's office.
Orders keyed into the hand-held pads are transmitted to the network and relayed to bar and kitchen printers. The same input builds up the customer's bill.
Stand: B521Contact: David Poole
Stock taking
FRETWELL Downing will be bringing some of its existing customers to the show to talk to visitors about proVISION for Windows.
This is one of the first catering stock management systems written to operate under the Microsoft Windows environment. Fretwell Downing hopes to announce at the show the release of several new modules to the system, including interfaces to point-of-sale and hand-held stocktaking devices.
Its MICa Catering system will also be on show.
Stand: BG 371Contact: Charles C Mobbs
DOS-based unit
DATA Systems introduces a new point-of-sale system for fine-dine restaurants and hotels to the UK. More than 20,000 Comtrex Super Sprint units are installed in the USA and Europe.
It is a DOS-based system which accommodates up to 23 terminals and 15 remote printers in a single network.
If one terminal on a point-of-sale network goes down, or the back-office PC driving the terminals fails, the whole system may be put out of action. With the Super Sprint local area network (LAN) structure, a failed terminal will not put the rest of the system out of action. Nor is vital data lost: all information is shared and available at all the other terminals.
Bills may be split at any point - individual or group in a range of formats.
Stand: BG362Contact: Steven Roberts
Fast payment
SPEED of customer throughput at tills can be tripled if cashless payment systems are installed, according to Secom International. It is introducing its cashless payment system for vending and restaurant applications.
The credit available to each cardholder is held on a central controller, and can be incremented either centrally, to allow cardholders free meals or drinks, or from a cash-accepting machine.
The system provides a full set of audit trails, either as hard print-outs or as screen reports. The controller and cards can also be used to regulate access to buildings and car parks.
Stand: BG375Contact: Jill Robinson
Design tools
RADAN Computational will launch the latest version of its Radesigner product.
After more than 15 years' service to the manufacturing industry, Radan has embarked on a campaign to highlight the benefits of its three-dimensional CAD (computer-aided design) tools.
Emphasis for the exhibition will be on product design and space planning using Radesigner, offering 2D/3D capabilities, including fully rendered models.
Stand: G259Contact: Ms Kim Lloyd
Access control
ENTEC Systems will launch the Omega Premier, a wall-mounted magnetic stripe card access control system.
Key cards are encoded with check-in time and length of stay. A hand-held computer is used to interrogate individual locks and produce an audit trail of 200 openings for each room. Reports can be printed from a PC when required.
Each brass face plate is individually cut with room number, and is illuminated using a fibre-optic mat for minimal power consumption.
Incorporated on the faceplate is a bell push and a "do not disturb" sign, which is visible only when activated from inside the room.
Also new on the Entec Systems stand is theOmega electronic safe and a new design of energy saver.
Stand: BG475Contact: Robert Dangoor
Locking system
The VingCard 2100 locking system, launched at the Hotel & Motel Association Show in New York in November last year, gets its European début at World of Hospitality.
VingCard 2100 requires no expensive wiring between guest rooms and the front desk. Key cards are reusable and, if lost, can easily and cost-effectively be voided and replaced.
Uniquely coded cards are validated by entering the room number and check-out time for the guest. Other facilities such as controlled car parking and access to leisure facilities can also be accommodated.
Stand: BG 568Contact: Howard Witt
Battery lock
NT Security is launching the HT-24 electronic hotel locking system on to the British market. It is made in Spain by Tesa, a sister company to NT Security in the Newman Tonks Group.
With more intelligence in the battery-operated lock previously available, the HT-24 allows the customer to configure the system to match requirements at a particular time.
The lock is marketed at hotels, student halls of residence and residential conference centres.
The HT-24 is fitted with either knob or lever handle, in polished antique brass or satin chrome.
Stand: BG461contact: Andy Purvis
