page_title: Safetray
section_title: Design and development
hierarchical_section_title: Safetray / History / Design and development
caption_attribution_description: English: Black flip-flops
context_page_description: Safetray is a brand name for a retractable finger receiver incorporated into the underside of a round wait staff tray to assist in handling the tray when carrying food and drinks for service in the hospitality industry. The handclip design provides leverage, helping to prevent toppling. The Safetray, invented in 2009, is now sold worldwide by Edinburgh-based Safetray Products Ltd.
context_section_description: In December 2009 Alison Grieve, a 32-year-old waitress and event manager from Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, witnessed a waitress drop a tray full of glasses of champagne at a corporate event for a delegation of international lawyers. To address how a tray could right itself at the moment of impending tilt, Grieve, a first-time inventor with a university background in 'History of film and photography', developed a finger receiver attached to the bottom of a wait tray based on first-principle physics, load dispersal, and counter movement. In a closed position, the finger receiver lays flush with the bottom of the wait tray so that the tray can sit on the surface of a bar or table without wobbling and can be stacked onto other trays. When the device is open, two slots can be accessed into which a waitperson may secure their two inside fingers, similar to how a flip-flop structurally attaches itself between the toes of the foot to counter the large stresses place upon it. The Safetray product's arrangement creates a strong cantilever advantage for the waitperson to allow them additional control over torque caused by items placed in various locations around the tray. The stability achieved with the Safetray product allows a waitperson to place a bottle of wine right at the edge of the tray while still keeping the tray in a horizontal position by reacting instinctively against the bottle's off-balance downward force.
caption: The Safetray brand serving tray product attaches a wait staff tray to the hand using a concept similar to how flip-flops attach to the foot.[10]
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