LAS VEGAS – While the majority of the foodservice industry is still trying to figure out how to leverage Google Glass to enhance operations, QSR is reporting on at least two limited-service operators who have successfully used the new technology for training employees.

KFC, part of Yum! Brands, and Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, a 104-unit chain based in Las Vegas, have been testing Google Glass for training purposes. While the new technology was previously only released to 8,000 users that Google selected via Twitter, Google recently offered Glass to anyone with a one-day sale.

KFC and Interapt, a mobile and wearable technology strategy firm, began working on a prototype Google Glass training program, Vision 2020, last November. Interapt executives initially filmed training tasks at KFC using Google Glass, then developed software and a Google Glass video that was used to train new KFC employees in a limited test.

“I went in as a guinea pig. I put Glass on myself, to see if I could learn how to make Original Recipe Chicken [and] learn the appliances and other tasks,” says Ankur Gopal, CEO of Interapt. “I learned to do an 80-page manual in one Google Glass video.”

Rob Lauber, vice president of Yum! University, wrote in an email to QSR that Glass offers employees instant, hands-free retrieval of detailed tutorials whenever they needed reminders about tasks. “We are always looking for ways to innovate our learning methods to drive more efficiency, consistency and faster time performance,” Lauber says. “Our customers want quick service, and we need to make sure our people are capable of delivery on that expectation.”

Capriotti’s use of Google Glass started on a smaller scale when Jason Smylie, the chain’s CIO/ CMO, was selected as one of the original Google Glass Explorers via Twitter.  “My initial excitement was more personal, but then thought about how I could use this at work,” Smylie says. “I brainstormed with my team to figure out how we could use it in training, operations, and marketing.”

Capriotti’s executives realized that Glass’s best use, at least initially, was for training in the form of first-person videos. Another potential application for Glass at Capriotti’s is having an area manager film footage at multiple stores during daily or weekly visits.

As Glass software developers learn the needs of the foodservice industry, Smylie says, further applications for Glass will likely be developed. “Imagine if Glass could integrate with POS systems and sensors within the restaurant,” he says. “Imagine if there were thermometers and you got an alert in your Google Glass that something was above temperature, in real time.”