In the departments of the Institute

Performance criteria - comfort and efficiency

The work and plans to improve social infrastructure have been highlighted in the reports of JINR Directors for 2023. The reconstruction of the Dubna restaurant, the Ratmino complex and other objects are among them. For details, we contacted Deputy Head of the Hotel and Restaurant Complex Management Office of JINR (H&RC M Office) and Head of the Department of Social Infrastructure A.V.Tamonov.

Andrey Vladimirovich, first of all, please, tell us about the scope of activities of DHRC - objects, tasks.

- H&RC M Office of JINR traditionally deals with two areas of activity. This is providing accommodation for the Institute's employees, primarily, those sent to work as Plenipotentiary Representatives, as well as providing accommodation for guests and business travelers coming to conferences, experiments, negotiations and for other cooperation. Objects: the Dubna hotel (building 1 and building 3), hostels on Leningradskaya and Energetikov streets, the Ratmino rest house and housing stock - service apartments in different parts of the city.

The second area is providing food for JINR employees and visiting specialists. For this purpose, there are two canteens, seven buffets, a cafe in the Scientists' Club and the restaurants "Barion" and "Dubna".

Your activities are related to extensively developing industries - tourism, catering and other types of services. Moreover, the objects are located in the Institute's system. What are the pros and cons of this situation?

- On the one hand, we see what modern hotels and restaurants are. In this sense, there are always good examples and guidelines before our eyes of what our objects should become. I would like to thank JINR Directorate for the fact that over the past 10 years a lot has been done in terms of housing stock - major renovation of the hotel on Moskovskaya, 2, the house on Stroiteley, 8, hostels on Leningradskaya 10, the construction of new apartments. It allowed to significantly improve the quality of the housing stock and to bring the comfort of living to acceptable modern levels. But as for the standards for managing this housing stock, a lot remains to be done - digitalization, automation of processes and so on.

When our hotels are compared with others, one should understand that despite the general type of activity, we are different. As always, there are both advantages and disadvantages. We work within a huge organization, with its own services, procedures, and regulations. And of course, often we cannot be as flexible as private structures. The main task of this block of the H&RC M Office of JINR is to provide accommodation for all specialists sent by the Plenipotentiary Representatives.

What work has already been carried out on catering facilities and what else will be carried out?

- For the most part, all objects are in good condition. Relatively recently, the Barion, the Scientists' Club, some buffets and the DLNP canteen have been renovated. Of course, it is necessary to repair the VBLHEP canteen and the Dubna restaurant. In 2023, design work was actively carried out on the canteen. Currently, design and estimate documentation for major repairs is currently developed. Over the past year, we managed to complete design work for the Dubna restaurant. Since 15 January, the restaurant has been closed for major renovations; the contractor has begun dismantling work. We hope that during this year the renovations will be completed and the restaurant will be open to visitors again.

In the cafe of the JINR Scientists' CLub

Tell us more about this, please. The citizens of Dubna and JINR employees associate many personal memories with the restaurant "Dubna"; they are not indifferent to how the appearance of their favorite place will be changed.

-We hope the solutions proposed as part of the project will appeal to the employees and guests of the Institute. The idea was to keep the "Soviet spirit", so in the design project it was decided, for example, to retain the use of wood and mosaics in decoration. It was impossible to leave everything as it was, so we are not talking about preservation, but about recreating the interiors of that time. The discussion of the design project was held within the framework of a meeting of the Council on Social Infrastructure under the JINR Directorate. A competition was held in which three designers submitted their projects. Both members of our council and invited professional Dubna restaurateurs spoke out. Based on the results of the discussions, a design project was selected, a corresponding engineering project was developed, and it is currently implemented. It is planned to replace all utilities. Cables, pipes, ventilation will be replaced, new kitchen equipment, heating system and others will be installed. Not only the bar and restaurant will be renovated, but also the kitchen, warehouse, service and engineering premises.

Will the staff be increased or replaced?

- At the moment, the staff has been retained, workers have been temporarily transferred to other facilities, but by the time we open, we will still be recruiting staff. And taking this opportunity, I want to invite cooks, bartenders and waiters to work. The lack of professional employees is a global problem in catering not only for the Institute, but also for the city. Please contact the JINR Human Resources Department or any H&RC M Office of JINR.

Providing food at sites - what is expected to be done, how is consumer opinion taken into account?

- There are plans for all facilities, the general goal is to increase the working efficiency. Somewhere in the buffets there are not enough lunches, the distribution closes early, the appearance of the premises is not modern - these issues are under control, we are looking for options for each. Carrying out renovations, expanding the range of dishes, reducing queues, replacing furniture, speeding up service times, adding modern payment methods - this all brings to modern standards that we currently work on. If our employees need something, we have to monitor their preferences and satisfy their wishes.

How is it done?

- First of all, this is a survey that is carried out annually by the scientific secretary's service. For example, dissatisfaction was expressed with dressing salads with mayonnaise. Today, some salads are served undressed and at the checkout there are dispensers with mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup - you can choose the sauce if you wish. Of course, we cannot implement everything. There are also good, but unrealizable proposals - for example, to reduce prices for everything or to work around the clock, but the economic implementation of such proposals is not justified. Therefore, we carefully discuss each proposal, think it over and try to find a solution that both improves the quality of service and is cost-effective.

We also collect opinions and wishes through live communication - meetings with AYSS, in laboratories, directly on distribution lines. We try to regulate the most pressing topics. For example, a long-standing problem is queues. We have purchased a new technological solution and currently set up and integrate it into our accounting systems. We are talking about a device called a robot cashier. It works simply - a person puts dishes on a tray, brings them to the robot, it analyzes and issues an invoice, the person pays. While this solution has been purchased in one copy, it will be installed in the canteen at the DLNP site. It is clear that this is only for those that pay with money, not coupons and for those that love various technological innovations. We are also considering other options to reduce queues. By the way, when we analyzed the situation, one of the reasons for the queues was identified - the delay in the choice of dish by the visitor. Everyone thought for 1-2 minutes, now it's their turn. That is, we need to encourage the visitor to make a choice before he gets to the distribution...

And one more point from the interview related to my favorite vacation spot - "Ratmino"

Resort Hotel "Ratmino"

- This is a large, complex object. For many years there has been no understanding of what problems of the Institute this Rest House could solve. You know, Directorate of the Institute is going to significantly increase the number of scientific employees in the near future. Achieving this goal will require an increase in living space that we should provide to new specialists. As you know, the real estate market in the city is stagnating, so we cannot solve this problem using market methods. It was decided to develop the Ratmino complex build a new hotel similar to Moskovskaya, 2, for short-term accommodation in 1-2-bed rooms.

At the moment, preparatory work, engineering and archaeological surveys are carried out on the territory to prepare a reconstruction project. The complex includes an administrative building with dance, sports and auditoriums, two residential buildings and one medical building.

Tell us, please, step by step what work is ahead and what would you like to achieve ideally?

- The first stage is the removal and repair of utilities on the territory. The second stage is the construction of a new building on the site of the unfinished third. Thus, the unfinished building will be used. In total, it is intended to have about 100 rooms for 150 people. And the third stage is the reconstruction of the administrative building with the development of the appropriate infrastructure: a sports and conference hall, meeting rooms, canteens, cafes, a first-aid post... You should understand that in the modern world plans can change every minute, the project implementation time, prices for building materials, etc. But we really hope that everything that we have thought out will be accomplished and thereby make our contribution to the development of the United Institute.

Galina MYALKOVSKAYA,
photo by Igor LAPENKO