For staff who wear gloves or work with wet hands, start by evaluating a physical bump bar for frequent ticket completions. Buttons can give cooks a more definite target, but they still need to be reachable, cleanable and compatible with the display. A touchscreen may suit a station that often selects specific tickets or reads detailed modifiers. If those needs occur at the same station, ask whether both controls can work together.
Neither method wins on equipment type alone. The right choice depends on what staff do between receiving a ticket and finishing it, and whether they can correct a mistake without slowing the line. Compare the controls at each station rather than assuming the whole kitchen needs the same setup.
List the actions at each station
Start with the busiest station and write down its actual ticket actions. Include selecting an order, reading modifiers, marking work complete and finding an order that was completed by mistake. Depending on the kitchen, staff may also need to handle a cancellation, an added item or a ticket that belongs at another station.
Ask the vendor to show each action on the exact control setup you are considering. A bump bar might have a button assigned to move between tickets, while a touch interface might allow direct selection. The actual controls and available actions depend on the product and its configuration. In particular, confirm how recall, cancellation and rerouting work; do not assume they are available.
Separate frequent actions from exceptions. A grill cook may complete many tickets but rarely need to recall one. An expediter may spend more time choosing among orders and checking that modifiers are visible. A control that saves one movement on every completion could matter more at the grill than an elegant way to handle a rare exception.
Also identify who needs to see and act on each ticket. The guide to routing tickets by preparation station can help you map the work before choosing controls. If a station receives tickets it cannot act on, a different input device will not fix that workflow.
Use a small decision scorecard
Hypothetical example: A fry station has gloved staff, limited counter space and frequent ticket completions. The manager expects occasional direct ticket selection and wants a practical way to correct an accidental completion. The scores below are planning judgments, not results from a test or claims about a particular product.
Score each row from 1 to 3, where 3 means the option appears to fit the station best. The total gives equal weight to each task. For the mixed option, the manager assumes both controls can perform the necessary actions on the same display; that must be confirmed before purchase.
| Station task or need | Touchscreen | Bump bar | Mixed controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent completion with gloves | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Select a particular ticket | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Correct an accidental completion | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Fit the available station space | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 10 |
Under these assumptions, mixed controls have a narrow lead: staff get a button for the frequent action and a screen for selection. The low space score matters, though. If there is no safe place for the bar, or the quoted setup cannot support both controls, the result changes. If frequent completion matters twice as much as each other row, the bump bar and mixed options tie at 13, ahead of the touchscreen at 10. Use the score to decide what to demonstrate, not as proof of a winner.
Check access, cleaning and accidental inputs
Place a mock display and, if relevant, a mock bar where staff would actually work. Can a cook reach the controls without crossing a hot surface or blocking a coworker? Can the person reading the ticket see it from the normal working position? Check the bar's footprint as well as the space needed for cables and cleaning around it.
A touchscreen avoids a separate row of buttons, but its location still affects reach and visibility. Wet hands or a particular glove material may make touch input unreliable on some screens. Conversely, a physical button can be pressed by an elbow, a pan handle or another object if it sits in the wrong place. Button size and spacing matter when staff move quickly.
Ask how the interface makes the selected ticket clear before a completion. Then ask what the screen shows immediately afterward. The goal is for a cook to notice an unintended action and know the next step. If an accidental completion cannot be reversed at the station, establish who can find the order and how staff should alert that person.
For cleaning, get the manufacturer's instructions for the specific screen and bar. Ask which cleaning products and methods are permitted, whether the controls can be cleaned while the system is running, and how the equipment is protected from the moisture expected at that station. Do not assume every touchscreen or bump bar has the same protection. Include cables, mounts and the area underneath the equipment in the cleaning plan.
Time a safe simulated order
Use a vendor-supported training environment and fictitious orders. Before starting, confirm that the simulation cannot take a real payment, send a guest message or dispatch a courier. Keep it separate from live service. Ask the vendor how to reset the exercise and verify that the practice tickets stay in the training environment.
Give each participating staff member the same sequence on each option: find the assigned ticket, read an item and modifier, select it, complete it, and handle an accidental completion using the available correction process. Add a cancellation or changed item only if the vendor can demonstrate that workflow. Use the gloves staff normally wear and recreate ordinary station constraints safely.
Time each full sequence, but record more than speed. Note missed selections, repeated taps or button presses, time spent searching for the right ticket, and whether the worker could explain the correction step. Let staff practice the controls first, then run the same sequence more than once. Rotate the order in which people try the devices so the last option does not automatically benefit from familiarity with the ticket.
Set acceptance criteria before the exercise. For example, require every participant to identify the right ticket and complete the correction process without help; use elapsed time to compare options only after those requirements are met. If an option is fastest but staff cannot reliably recover from an accidental completion, it has not passed that criterion.
After the simulation, discuss the results with the people who will use the station. A supervised live-service pilot is a separate step, not another practice scenario: use it only after setup, training and the restaurant's normal order procedures are ready. Watch how staff handle actual interruptions, and have a fallback procedure for reporting a problem. A pilot can reveal issues the simulation missed; it cannot guarantee uninterrupted service.
Confirm hardware, compatibility and the quote
Before ordering, list every component required for each option: display, mount, bump bar if used, cables, connections and any supporting device the vendor requires. Ask whether the proposed bar and screen work with the specific software version and whether both can control the same station. Request a demonstration of the exact button assignments, ticket selection and correction steps, not just a picture of the hardware.
Get a written quote for each configuration. Separate one-time hardware, installation and setup charges from recurring software or support charges. Ask about replacement equipment, repairs and any charges for additional stations. Also identify exceptions that may not be in the base quote, such as a longer cable run or a replacement mount. Compare quote totals over the same period, and do not treat a hardware price alone as the operating cost.
Fleksa's kitchen display documentation is a useful starting point for discussing the order workflow. Its public KDS description includes item names, quantities and modifiers, along with order type, future held orders and configurable timing and color indications. Ask to see the fields and controls that matter to your own station in the proposed setup.
Bring your station map, scorecard and list of required actions to a vendor demonstration. Compare the kitchen display workflow with Fleksa and ask about current availability, compatible controls and a written quote for your configuration.
Frequently asked questions
Is a bump bar always better for gloved hands?
No. Physical buttons may be easier to target for frequent actions, but glove fit, button spacing, placement and the software's controls all matter. Have staff try the exact setup in a safe training environment.
Can staff use a touchscreen and bump bar together?
That depends on the display software, hardware and configuration. Ask the vendor to show both controls working at the same station, including selection, completion and the correction process you need.
What should we do if someone completes the wrong ticket?
Ask the vendor to demonstrate the available recovery process and train staff on it. If the station cannot restore the ticket, agree on who will locate the order and how the cook should alert them.
