T O O L B OX / S H O P A D V I C E
Bringing a Vision to Life
COURTESY MECHANIC ONE
How to identify and execute the vision you have for your shop How efficient is your shop? Think about it. How often are your techs walking back and forth to get tools? It may not seem like a big deal, but a minute here and a minute there can really add up and take away from your bottom line. Sometimes, the tech is to blame and he or she is just wasting time. Often, however, it has to do with the shop’s layout and, there are processes shop owners can put in place to increase efficiency. David S. Becker, owner of 2,500-square-foot, $3 million per year Wheeling Auto Center in Arlington Heights, Ill., has been in the business for 32 years and has always made efficiency his No. 1 priority, so much so that his overall technician’s efficiency for 2019 was 121 percent. With this focus, he’s had processes in place in order to prevent dips in efficiency all together. Here’s how his processes ensure his shop’s efficiency stays consistent. A S TO L D TO A B BY PAT T E R S O N
It’s important to measure your technicians’ time. Early on, we learned this. I belonged to a peer group many years ago where we discussed the issues and solutions in our businesses. As we discussed ways to improve business, efficiency was one of the main topics. Now, we calculate and monitor our technicians’ efficiency numbers and we’re constantly trying to build onto that. Basically, we start them out as apprentices and measure out what they are doing. As they grow and learn systems, we can see them grow and compare it to their baselines. I look at tech efficiency constantly and look at processes they follow. Now, if I see a dip in efficiency, I typically know why. And if it becomes a pattern, then we need to figure something out to correct it. Most of the time, it isn’t the tech—it’s an outside force that causes the inefficiencies.
A shop’s layout can aid in efficiency. Our shop is broken up in three areas. Instead of having all of the technicians walk all the way to one central location for a piece of equipment, each tech has his or her own designated space and his or her own central location to save time. For example, we keep a couple of air conditioning systems in each central area that the technicians can easily be able to go and grab without it affecting efficiency. If it’s laid out without any thought, then time can easily be wasted by needlessly walking back and forth. Establish a protocol to always ensure technicians stay busy. Each technician we have has his or her own lightbulb to turn on when he or she runs out of work. Because of the way our shop is laid out, if a tech runs out of work and walks into the office and asks what to do, it wastes time. So 11. 2 0 / R + W / 31
