Tom Bishop, P.E., and Chuck Yung
EASA Senior Technical Support Specialists
The typical service center repairs at least 300 motors per technician annually. Saving 8 minutes (0.133 hours) per job equates to: 300 x 0.133 = 40 man-hours per year—a full week of labor per employee. It is not unrealistic to expect twice that much savings, just by implementing some of these timesaving tips.
We all know that seemingly small time savings can significantly improve the bottom line. For a service center with a 12% return on investment (ROI), shaving a few minutes off each job is the equivalent of adding 2 manmonths of billing per productive employee.
For a 10-man service center, with a shop rate of $75 per hour, 20 man-months times 75 = $258,000. To add a quarter-million dollar account usually means adding personnel, sales maintenance, and risk of bad debt/warranty expense. However, steps that streamline efficiency continue to pay dividends.
Topics covered include:
- Layout and workflow
- Time killers
- Time: Is every hour on the job billable?
- Time-saving equipment
- Attitude and productivity
- Communicating effectively
- Training
- Lighting
- Calibration
- Storage/handling/procurement
- Parts storage
- Examples from real service centers