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Operating Audit Method

Nobody can price a decision they have not measured.

What it controls.

Measured yield per protein and true cost per portion at invoice pricing.

What you work with.

A written findings page, ranked by dollars.

How it is used

Review the records, observe the work and measure the operating gaps. Findings are ranked with stated dollar estimates and the assumptions behind them.

The report ends with a 30 / 60 / 90 fix list and an owner for each action. The Audit includes the findings review. Building the systems is scoped separately.

Enters at steps 01 and 02. Observe and Assess are included in the Operating Audit.

The format

Operating Audit — Findings

Sample · illustrative figures SL-OA / p.4 of 22
1.0  Measured yield & true portion cost
ProteinPurch lbTrimmed CookedYield$/4oz MenuGap
Brisket, packer 14.2 11.1 6.4 45.1% 3.86 9.00
Brisket, packer1 14.2 10.0 5.2 36.6% 4.75 9.00 -0.89
Pork butt 8.8 8.8 5.1 58.0% 1.42 7.00
Spare rib, St. Louis 3.4 2.7 1.9 55.9% 2.94 13.00
Chicken, half2 2.6 2.6 1.8 69.2% 1.11 11.00
2.0  Ranked cost gaps
#FindingEst. annual
1 Brisket yield variance across cooks3 $31,400
2 Overproduction Sun–Tue, no forecast $12,900
3 Catering quoted below true portion cost $8,200
  • 1Same spec, same box, different cook. The trim is where the money leaves, and nobody is weighing it.
  • 2Yield is fine. Price is not. This one is a menu conversation, not a pit conversation.
  • 3Ranked by dollars, not by how easy it is to fix. You decide the order; we tell you the size.
Measured yields and ranked cost gaps.
Format demonstration. Figures are illustrative, not a client result.
Smoke Line Operating Audit — findings, p.4