Blog Entry #1 - 14/09/2011

I have never thought about ergonomics when I make barista coffee.  But, with the thought of this topic on my mind today while I was doing this activity, a few things crossed my mind. Caulton and Dickson (2007) said that ergonomics underpins the ability to make slight invisible adjustments to an activity to adapt to the needs of those taking part.
This is so true! When I take over from making coffee's from other staff members I ever-so-slightly change things to suit the way I prefer to do it!

This is a short clip of myself at work pouring milk in to a shot of coffee to make a flat white -

PERSON

•    Whilst making coffees at work today, I was thinking how confident I felt in doing the activity and what my skill level would be.  As I have been making coffee for around 6 years now, I am very much in my comfort zone at work as I know the equipment, the surroundings, the staff, and the organisations of things well and even a lot of our regular customers!
•  The sense of agency is very important in this activity for me.  I feel very in control and really enjoy doing it! I love to make different patterns in the coffee and making them look attractive as well as tasting really nice!  Today though, we were very rushed when we weren't expecting it, so I was starting to feel a little bit over whelmed.  I felt as if all of the customers were ordering different types of coffee to make it harder for me! Trim latte, decaf soy mocha, flat white, double shot long black with hot soy milk on the side, macchiato with trim, hot chocolate, trim vanilla flat white....!! Although I am experienced in making all sorts of coffee, the amount of different orders with different types of milks needing heated up meant that it took longer to do, therefore the coffee order line would pile up.  I was pleased when another barista at work returned and we both made the coffees together which sped up the system and was a lot less stressful on myself!
• In saying this, I do love work when it is busy.  I love making coffees the most when it is at a steady pace with constant 5-6 coffees to make at a time.  This makes the time fly without being too overwhelmed by a large line of coffees ordered!
• I am only able to make barista coffee at work as the machine's are very expensive to buy.  It would be great to have a machine at home but I cannot justify the expense of having one.  And if I ever did buy one, I would only get a good, proper machine which is around $2,500.
• There is a large degree of responsibility that falls on the barista.  The coffee is expected to smell, taste and look attractive along with being the correct temperature (60% unless asked for hotter or colder) and to be made appropriately to what was specified in the order.  If the barista makes coffee to send out to customers which does not meet these criterion, the customers may not come back which could lead to the business failing.

ENVIRONMENT

• I have worked at my work for 2 years now, so I am very familiar with the environment.  This helps me to feel at ease with the activity as I know the equipment well and where everything is and where to find things.  It makes it hard when people who have not worked there long, puts things in different places and changes settings on the coffee machine as it then becomes somewhat unfamiliar to what I am used to and the flow of work does not run as smoothly.
• The first thing I did today, before I made my first coffee, I cleaned up the area around the machine, and I wiped the bench that I work on.  This is because I prefer a cleaner and tidier environment to work in and it also means that coffee grinds and chocolate powder do not get on to the bottom of the cups!  For me, this means that I can happily finish my coffees and have them taken out to the customer with pride.
• Having the environment clean and tidy also has a positive impact on customers who order takeaway coffee as they often watch and observe the making of the coffee.  The positive impact occurs because when they see the tidy and clean environment, they can see that you take pride in what you do, being making their coffee.
• The clean environment also includes political aspects such as meeting health and safety regulations.  Awareness around health and safety in connection with food and drink is more common these days and therefore customers can be very conscious about the environment their coffee is made in. The Department of Labour Website (2010) says that  it recognises that successful health and safety management is best achieved through good faith co-operation in the place of work and, in particular, through the input of those doing the work
• The social environment is also very important where I work when making coffees.  All wait staff employed at my work are under a 'Casual' contract and we have only one staff member who works there full time with their main responsibility at work being Barista.  As this is what she is contracted to, it is  important for staff to be aware that she is the main barista and during the rush hours of 1000-1045hours, 1200-1300hours and 1500-1530hours, she should be the one making the coffees.  During these rush hours when it is very busy, it is then usually my job to be the one to help her with coffees.  Out of respect, I always ask her if she would rather for me to do the milk or to do the shots.  We work really well together as we have been working as a team for two years.  The other staff are very important in the social environment as we all work together and communication is key.

ACTIVITY

• It is possible for this task of making barista coffee in different ways and for the outcome to be the same.  But the differences must be very slight.  It comes down to preference I believe.  Some barista's prefer to steam the milk before they do the shots and some like to do the shots forst and then steam the milk.  Personally, I prefer to do the shots first and then steam the milk at the same time, as this means that I can keep an eye on the shot while doing the milk, and they will both be ready at the same time which I believe makes a good hot coffee.
• Other preferences are when barista's put chocolate powder in to their milk and steams it all up together to make hot chocolates.  I prefer to spoon the chocolate powder in to the cup and mix it with a tiny bit of hot water or hot milk until it dissolves, and then steam the milk and pour it in to the cup.  I prefer that way because there is no risk of the powder blocking the steaming nozzle, and I think that you can make pretty pictures in the hot chocolate when doing it my preferred way.
• It does take a long time to build up correct skills and knowledge to make barista coffee.  I am lucky that I learned at a young age and kept learning new things all of the time.  There is a lot more to making the perfect cup of coffee than people think.  This includes things such as knowing about the machine and settings to use, which grind to use, which coffee beans are supposed to pour which way (eg. some are supposed to pour slower and thinner than others), what the colour of a good shot should look like, how to steam the milk correctly for different types of coffee ordered (eg. milk should be stretched (foamed up) more for a cappuccino than it should for a flat white, having a good knowledge of the different types of coffee, how to pour the milk into the coffee cup to make the foam come out first or the thinner milk and also doing it in such a way to make a coffee et etc).

REFERENCE LIST

The reference for; Caulton & Dickson (2007), came from:

Creek,J., & Lawson-Porter, A. (Eds.). (2007). Contemporary issues in occupational therapy. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Department of Labour Website (2010).  A guide to the health and safety in employment act 1992.  Crown Copyright.  Retrieved from: http://www.osh.govt.nz/law/hse.shtml.