How Ai is Transforming Dining in Energy and Mining

The energy and mining industries have been anticipating today’s labor shortage for over a decade. But no one could have anticipated how widespread the impact would be—from staffing offshore to cashiers at the pump.  

The world cannot run without the people who power, fuel and supply our world. Without a pipeline of talent, the race to automate extraction and production is accelerating.

Johnny Auer, Vice President of Food Transformation for Sodexo, says:

Automation is no longer just about cutting labor. It’s now also a defensive tool to eliminate the need for labor you cannot hire.

Like energy and mining, the service industry is investing in technology to feed, house and maintain operations in challenging conditions. This includes Artificial Intelligence (Ai) in the kitchen, robotics in the front of house, dark kitchens for offsite localized production, Internet of Things (IoT) connecting every aspect of a facility and innovative partnerships to prepare, distribute and digitalize the dining experience.

Food is a human right. Everyone deserves healthy, fresh, and energizing meals that promote wellbeing. My role at Sodexo is to find new ways to ensure high-quality, low-cost meals are available in today’s work from anywhere world, said Auer. 

Using Technology for Greater Options

For Sodexo’s energy and mining clients, these technological advancements provide opportunities that could never have existed in the past. It enables remote mining camps, offshore rigs, and petrochemical plants access to the highest quality of food, with a lessened burden of infrastructure and staff.  

One example of how automation has raised the bar is the ability to provide exciting food options to places without a traditional cafeteria. Using a hybrid approach, Sodexo has been able to elevate the food service at industrial and remote sites. The new mix of services include coffee shops, rotating restaurants, 24/7 autonomous stores, restaurant pop-ups, app-powered food delivery and even robots to craft an artisan pizza or a smoothie.  

We recognized the need to give energy and mining workers greater choice. Cold sandwiches and vending machines are not going to motivate someone to do their best. With innovative technology, we are excited to be able to offer amenities once unthinkable as far out as the North Slope or in remote areas of the Southwest, said Brie Entel, Vice President of Marketing for Sodexo Energy and Resources.

Want a Starbucks in the Yukon? We can do that too. Ask us.

Learn how we are transforming the energy and mining industries with technology and raising the bar for services standards.