Communities managed by The Goodman Group embody innovation by proactively identifying new opportunities and finding new approaches to solve existing problems. Through a program called Innovations Matter, team members at communities managed by The Goodman Group are encouraged to share ideas or solutions that would, in turn, change our business.

The addition of Servi, a hospitality robot by Bear Robotics whose residents have been named ‘Tim Ber’, is a perfect example of this program and innovation in action. Needless to say, The Residence at Timber Pines in Spring Hill, Florida welcomed Tim Ber with open arms!

Who is Tim Ber?

Tim Ber is a robotic waiter that can run orders to tables, deliver drinks, and bring used dishes back to the kitchen. Created by Bear Robotics, Tim Ber joined The Residence at Timber Pines after team member Andrew M., culinary services director recommended it to the Innovations Matter committee.

The inclusion of the Tim Ber has been a hit so far. The residents and team members had fun coming up with a name and even sent out a survey to get as many naming opinions as possible. They have landed on the name Tim Ber, as tribute to Timber Pines. Here is a picture of some of the staff next to Tim Ber!

Tim Ber in Action 

The installation of Tim Ber only took about two hours, and once he was configured to the layout of the kitchen and dining room, he has been running flawlessly. Tim Ber can stop on a dime and will re-navigate himself if there is an obstacle in his way. Additionally, he matches pace if he’s following a slower-moving person so as not to rush or cause any inconvenience for them.

The original reason for Tim Ber’s involvement was to help out during busy dining shifts. The kitchen team members are able to load Tim Ber up with residents' meals, and at the push of a button, send Tim Ber out in the dining room. At this point, Tim Ber locates the table where the food needs to be delivered and waits there until the food has been unloaded to the table by the dining team member. Used dishes are then stacked on Tim Ber and back to the kitchen he goes for the process to repeat. 

The team at The Residence Timber Pines has been keeping a track of how many plates Tim Ber can deliver during each shift. On average, Tim Ber delivers about 25-30 plates per shift. Considering about 120 residences dine at a time, Tim Ber is taking on 25% of the workload in comparison to the 20 plates delivered per shift by six servers. Way to go, Tim Ber! 

Fun with tim ber

While Tim Ber’s primary use is to bring plates with meals out to the dining room and then dirty dishes back in, the dining team members at The Residence at Timber Pines have been using Tim Ber in other ways as well. Check out this video of Tim Ber delivering something extra special to a resident!

Tim Ber not only helps out the team, but residents are getting a kick out of it, too. A robotic food deliverer may not be the first thing to expect at a senior living community, but it sure does add to the personalized experience. The team members at The Residence at Timber Pines will continue to increase the usage of Tim Ber during dining times, and have even begun modifying their schedules to decrease wait staff by 8-12 hours per day. This goes to show the power innovation has on everyday processes. Welcome to the team, Tim Ber!