Labor shortage is the top challenge that commercial restaurants face today. One reason for the low popularity of kitchen work is the unsatisfactory thermal conditions. In the kitchen, the four main factors affecting thermal comfort are: air temperature, radiation, air velocity and humidity. All these factors can be improved with a well-design air-conditioning and ventilation systems.

Recent studies have shown the link between indoor air quality to thermal comfort, productivity and health issues. Thus, it is possible to demonstrate that an investment in an efficient ventilation system is profitable realized by very modest productivity improvements. For example, in the USA, the average restaurant spends about $ 2,000 yearly on salaries per seat. If productivity is reduced to 80 % from the 100 % optimal level because of bad indoor conditions, that translates to losses of about $40,000 yearly on salaries for the owner of a 100-seat restaurant.

Kitchen design requires the expertise of many different specialists to produce designs that meet the requirements of productive and cost-effective working environments. The decisions of various designers strongly affect each other. Owners and end-users are important players in the design process as well as cooking and ventilation equipment manufacturers. Due to the wide diversity of their expertise, a common understanding is needed to accelerate the process and to fulfill the set targets.