Recouping Lost Technician Time

There are a few sayings that are timeless, but there is one in particular that captures a simple concept that rings true just about everywhere: “Time is Money!”

We’ve certainly heard it and most likely have used it, but have we actually examined a particular example? For this exercise, think about all of the time lost shuttling vehicles back and forth to your vendor partners. I’m not telling you to stop utilizing the services provided by your vendors, but rather to think about the resources involved in these transactions.

Just recently at a national trade show, I met the founder of ZIDE, Andy Belle. Andy told summed up his business this way: “We manage everything from maintenance trips to classic A to B moves.” Essentially, ZIDE will transport vehicles for you, eliminating the need for your staff to shuttle vehicles around and letting them focus on more important tasks. Reflecting on everyday challenges I lived through first-hand when I was a fleet manager, here was a solution to an issue I didn’t really think about until the very moment I met Andy — time, restored!

Government fleet organizations are likely busier today than they were just a few years ago. Time is a scarce commodity. Let’s do the math on the time (and money) you lose with simple logistics-related activities.

It gets worse as you start to drill down. We’ve looked at time and money lost, but how does this impact other key performance indicators? You can bet your downtime is taking a hit with two technicians off the floor. Sublet costs go up (less time the technicians are in the shop means more support required from vendor partners), technician efficiency going down, and risk exposure (accidents) goes up. I think you get the point. It’s a vicious cycle and oftentimes, things aren’t as simple as they appear. There can be a lot of unintended consequences.

I am encouraged by so many new companies and services emerging every day that are helping fleets gain control of how 40 hours are spent in a week. Just think about it. What if all of the sudden you gained a significant number of hours of efficiency or billed hours in your shop? Every little bit adds up.

At the end of the day, the way you choose to tell your story is up to you. Continuous improvement will never get old, and neither will having your techs bill direct labor.

---

Related: Vehicle-to-What? — Evolving Vehicle Communication Technologies