What was the name of McDonald's 1950s service concept built around fast, standardized food preparation?

McDonald’s 1950s service concept built around fast, standardized food preparation was the Speedee Service System.

Richard and Maurice McDonald developed the system at their San Bernardino, California, restaurant and put it into operation in 1948. They reduced the menu, redesigned the kitchen, assigned workers specialized tasks, and prepared food in a repeatable sequence. This approach adapted assembly-line principles to restaurant service.

The system was central to McDonald’s early identity because it made speed and consistency visible parts of the brand. It also provided the operating model that Ray Kroc later helped expand through franchising after becoming involved with the company in the 1950s.

The name is sometimes confused with Speedee, the mascot associated with the system. Speedee was the character; the Speedee Service System was the restaurant-production and service method. The later golden arches became the most recognizable visual symbol, but this system supplied the original operational promise.