Inspections go high tech: QR Codes used to link customers to health scores

The city of Plano takes restaurant inspections seriously, inspecting each location in the city between one and four times a year.

Unfortunately for customers, scores are not listed on the restaurant's health permit and the only way to find them is to navigate a sometimes complicated menu on the city's website. That is until now.

Beginning last year, the city began putting a QR Code on all permits for easy access to health scores. A QR Code is a type of barcode which can be read using free apps, which can be downloaded on smart phones. When the code on the permit is read, it links directly to the restaurant score section of the Plano Environmental Health Department's website.

"We wanted to give the customers a little more access to the inspection reports and information on restaurants," said Geoffrey Heinicke, the city's environmental health manager. "So far, we haven't heard anything negative about the new system from restaurants."

Restaurants receive scores ranging from "A to F," based on how many violations are found. Heinicke said critical violations are those that could impact food safety, such as personal hygiene issues with the restaurant staff, storing food at the wrong temperature or improperly storing chemicals. Restaurants that receive an "F" are asked to shut down until the problems can be rectified.

Heinicke said the city's restaurant score page has seen a 61 percent increase in web traffic since September 2011. The program has also gained the notice of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, which recognized the city for being innovative and having a "promising practice."

"Receiving this designation poises our program to become part of the NACCHO Model Practices Database, which is utilized by health professionals across the nation," Heinicke said.

Even though the QR Code program has been in effect since last year, it has not been well publicized and workers at some establishments were not aware it even existed. Adam Urbick, a manager at Kelly's Eastside in Downtown Plano, didn't know about the program until asked about it for this story. Still, Urbick said he liked the sound of it and he and his staff were proud to let people know about the cleanliness of their restaurant.

"We are extremely proud of the A we received," Urbick said. "It is something we take excessive strides toward maintaining. We have redundant backups for our redundant backups to make sure food quality and the safety of our customers doesn't vary."

Urbick said the process of having a clean restaurant starts at the top, with a strong directive from owner/chef Tim Kelly, and trickles down to all employees. He said receiving a top score is a collective effort that can't be accomplished with everyone's help.

To find restaurant scores, visit https://egov.plano.gov/RestaurantScores.

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