Measuring technician performance means measuring time
Technician performance matters
Everything that happens in a service or repair operation is about time. Yes, most repairs involve the replacement of a failed part, but parts can’t replace themselves—that requires labor. And labor is measured by time.
Time in a service operation comes in three flavors:
- Time available to work. If a tech starts at 8:00 a.m., works till 5:00 p.m. and takes an hour for lunch, he/she is available for 8.0 hours.
- Time actually working (a.k.a. straight time). This is the time a tech spends actively turning wrenches (or whatever) on a specific repair order.
- Flat rate This is the billable time that generates revenue for the shop and the tech. It’s also known as “book time” because it is sourced from a labor time guide.
Common technician performance metrics
The most commonly used metrics for evaluating technician performance involve the relationships between those three types of time.
Productivity measures the relationship between time actually working (straight time) and time available. A technician who spends 2.0 hours actually working on repair orders while being available for 8.0 hours is productive 25% of the time. (2.0/8.0=0.25).
Efficiency measures the relationship between flat rate hours produced and time actually working on a repair order(s). When a tech takes 2.0 hours to perform a repair that pays 1.0, efficiency is 50%. (1.0/2.0=0.50).
Proficiency measures the relationship between hours available and flat rate hours produced. It combines productivity and efficiency. A technician who produces 8.0 flat rate hours while being available for work 8.0 hours would be 100% proficient. (8.0/8.0=1.00)
Technician performance metrics are flexible
Technician performance metrics can be calculated across any time period, such as by day, week, month or year. They can also be calculated for any group of techs, including the shop at large.
Technician performance is ultimately about management performance
While we refer to these as technician performance metrics, they often tell us more about the performance of service management. Consider:
- A technician controls his/her person, workspace and work ethic. Management controls or influences everything else.
- Management is responsible for modeling appropriate behaviors. Even organized individuals with good work ethic can become lax—or quit—when managers are disorganized or lazy.
- Management controls processes. That means Management controls how things get done. Bad processes defeat good people every time.
- Management controls the sales effort. Are Service Advisors writing mostly one-line ROs? Are they upselling to improve the mix of job types? (The customer is already in the service lane—there is no more convenient time for needed maintenance.)
- Management controls the physical plant and layout. How convenient is the parts department? How are the parts organized? Parts are commonly kept in numeric sequence but top-selling part numbers can be repositioned near the parts counter, saving steps—and minutes—many times every day. Is the technician parts counter large enough (and is it served by the right quantity and quality of counterpeople) or do techs waste time in line getting parts? Are special tools controlled but convenient?
- Management controls the inventory. Count the minutes lost every time a technician pulls a car into a stall, diagnoses a problem, walks to the parts department (maybe waits in line) only to hear “We don’t have it—but we can get it.” Then it’s back to the stall, put the car together again, drive it to a holding area, pull another car into the work stall. Can you hear the clock ticking?
- Most importantly, Management controls the team. Management decides who gets hired, who works which job, how many are in each role, and how they are trained. Management is responsible for assessing performance and for removing those who fail to perform to established standards.
No one is better positioned to sabotage good performance than a weak manager.
What do you think?