One Truck workshop in step means planning the right amount of work for the available resources every day - not too little, not too much and, above all, evenly distributed. That sounds simple, but it's not. Because the reality in Commercial vehicle workshops often looks different: On Mondays, the hall is overflowing, on Wednesdays, stages are empty and on Friday afternoons, nobody can avoid the last order. The result is stressed employees at the beginning of the week, unproductive hours in the middle of the week and a return at the end of the month that doesn't match the effort. This article shows you how to optimise your Workshop utilisation systematically optimise. If you want to take a comprehensive approach to the topic, you will find Profitability guide the overarching framework. Reliable capacity utilisation planning is also linked to the requirements of the DIN 31051 (maintenance). Preventive maintenance and capacity planning are defined there as a corporate duty - flanked by the EU Directive 2009/104 on work equipment safety, which has been transposed into national regulations.
In many commercial vehicle operations, capacity utilisation fluctuates considerably between the busiest and weakest days of the week - an imbalance that costs money. The EU Directive 2009/104 (transposed into national regulations) also provides the binding framework for parallel occupational safety.
Workshop utilisation is the ratio between used and available work capacity, measured in productive hours per lift or mechanic. Experience has shown that a capacity utilisation rate of around 78 to 85 percent is an economically viable benchmark. Beyond 90 per cent, however, the risk of quality losses and overload effects in the team increases.
How do you measure workshop utilisation correctly?
Before you can optimise, you need to know where you stand. The Utilisation rate is the ratio of productively utilised working time to available working time. However, the calculation is more tricky in practice than in theory. If you want to delve deeper, you can find more information in the article on Hourly rate calculation Further information.
The three concepts of time in workshop planning
- Attendance time: The time your mechanics are on site (e.g. 8 hours per day).
- Available productive time: Attendance time minus breaks, meetings, training, set-up times and clean-up work. Realistic: 6-6.5 hours per day.
- Productive time sold: The hours you can charge the customer. This is your hard key figure.
The Productivity level (time sold / time available) should be at least 85 %. The Degree of efficiency (labour value target time / actual time used) shows whether your mechanics are working faster or slower than the labour value. Both key figures together therefore result in your actual Workshop utilisation.
„Most workshop managers overestimate their capacity utilisation because they confuse attendance with productivity. An honest look at the hours sold is sometimes sobering - but it's the first step towards improvement.“- Practical observations from the Alltrucks partner network
Which capacity model suits your commercial vehicle workshop?
There is no one right model. Depending on the location, customer structure and specialisation, different approaches are therefore suitable for Capacity planning. The following table compares the three most common models:
| Criterion | Fixed scheduling | Flexible block planning | Hybrid model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principle | Each job is allocated a fixed time slot on a specific stage | The day is divided into 2-3 blocks; orders are assigned in blocks | 70 % fixed appointments, 30 % flexible blocks for emergencies and short orders |
| Advantages | Maximum predictability, clear responsibilities, good customer communication | High flexibility, easy rescheduling, less administration | Balance of predictability and flexibility, tried and tested in practice |
| Disadvantages | Rigid in emergencies, high planning effort, domino effects in the event of delays | Less transparency for customers, more difficult to measure, risk of idling | Requires experienced dispatcher, higher complexity |
| Ideal for | Workshops with predictable order volumes (fleet customers, maintenance contracts) | Companies with a high proportion of emergency/running customers | Most commercial vehicle workshops with a mixed customer base |
| Target capacity utilisation | 80–90 % | 70–80 % | 78–85 % |
For commercial vehicle operations with a mixed customer base, the Hybrid modelIt combines the ability to plan fixed appointments with the necessary flexibility for day-to-day business. However, the prerequisite is a dispatcher or workshop manager who actively controls the system. The best way to find out which model suits your business is to work with the Alltrucks network. Structured order acceptance and suitable checklists are among the building blocks available to Alltrucks partners. You can also find out more about operational implementation in the article on Order planning for commercial vehicle workshops.
Which 7 strategies ensure even workshop utilisation?
| KPI | What is measured | Why relevant |
|---|---|---|
| Processing time per standard order | Time from entry to invoice | Shows friction in receiving, parts supply and quality control |
| Lifting platform utilisation | Occupied hours / available hours per stage | Reveals unequal utilisation of individual workstations |
| Parts availability on arrival | Percentage of orders for which all parts are ready before work begins | Main cause of unplanned downtimes |
| Overdraft rate per month | Orders that exceed the planned time frame | Early indicator for planning and estimation problems |
| Complaint rate | Rework per 100 completed orders | Controls the quality side of productivity |
| Employee productivity | Hours sold / hours present | Combines personnel deployment with economic impact |
Weekday smoothing through active schedule control
Monday and Tuesday are the busiest days in most workshops because customers call „at the beginning of the week“. Therefore, actively counteract this: Offer shorter lead times or preferential time slots for Wednesday to Friday. Some companies even grant a small discount for appointments in weaker time slots. This allows you to optimise workshop capacity utilisation, as the aim is to achieve an even distribution across all five working days.
Mix order types intelligently
A day full of major repairs on heavy commercial vehicles is just as problematic as a day full of short inspections. So mix things up: combine long jobs (gearbox, axle) with short ones (oil change, brake check). This means that platforms do not remain blocked all day and your team works in a varied manner. The Optimisation of throughput times benefits directly from this approach.
Using fleet customers as planning anchors
Maintenance contracts with haulage companies are worth their weight in gold - not only financially, but also in terms of planning. You should therefore agree fixed maintenance days or weeks and plan these for the long term. This creates a reliable basic capacity utilisation on which you can build for regular customers and emergencies.
Seasonal capacity adjustment
Workshop capacity utilisation fluctuates not only weekly, but also seasonally. The PTI wave (periodic vehicle inspection according to EU 2014/45) in the fourth quarter, the tyre change in October/November and the holiday season in summer create predictable patterns. You should therefore plan personnel capacities (holidays, temporary work, overtime accounts) and parts stocks accordingly.
Internal orders as buffer filler
If a time slot unexpectedly becomes free, prepared internal jobs should be available: Service workshop vehicles, repair tools, provide training, optimise workstations. This means that no hour goes unused, even if no customer order is currently pending.
Identify and expand bottleneck resources
The bottleneck is often not the number of platforms, but a specialised mechanic or a special tool. Therefore, identify your bottleneck resources and make targeted investments: Build up second qualifications, strengthen tool and equipment capacities at the bottlenecks, Lifting platform capacities expand. After all, a single bottleneck can slow down the entire workshop. Alltrucks partners also have access to the Alltrucks training (levels 1/2/3) and the Certification as a multi-brand system technician available.
Transparency through real-time data
You can only control what you can see. A digital workshop control system with a real-time overview therefore shows you at all times: Which platform is occupied? Which job is on schedule? Where is a delay imminent? Specific modules are available for Alltrucks partners via existing service partnerships: Werbas as DMS and PleaseFix for the workshop-fleet connection (both linked to the Alltrucks network via service partnerships). In addition, the Alltrucks VINcat (spare parts catalogue) via the VIN - this reduces search and set-up times in order preparation. This transparency makes it possible to take countermeasures during the course of the day instead of only realising at the end of the month that capacity utilisation was not correct.
We will look together at which of these strategies will have the greatest effect in your own company. So get in touch with us - we can provide suitable building blocks for structured acceptance and checklists from the Alltrucks partner network.
What is the economic impact of capacity utilisation on the workshop?
To illustrate the scope of this, we will first calculate a model example with disclosed logic: a commercial vehicle workshop with 6 mechanics and 5 working days. If you would like to delve deeper, you will find further information in the article on spare parts procurement.
- Available productive time per day: 6 mechanics × 6.5 hours = 39 hours
- At 68 % utilisation (calculation assumption actual): 39 × 0.68 = 26.5 hours sold/day
- At 82 % utilisation (calculation assumption target): 39 × 0.82 = 32 hours sold/day
- difference per day: +5.5 hours sold
- difference per month (22 working days): Around 121 additional hours sold
- difference per year: Around 1,450 additional hours sold - a noticeable effect with the same capacity
That's around 1,450 additional hours sold per year - mathematically, without a single new customer and without an additional stage, simply through better utilisation of existing capacities. This requires a good planning system and the discipline to utilise it consistently. However, the actual effect on your own business depends on the customer mix, team size and initial situation. Further aspects of profitability are also covered in the articles Running a profitable workshop and Calculate hourly rate.
„Without an additional stage, turnover can often be increased simply by utilising the existing capacity more consistently - a digital planning tool and a short training course are often sufficient as an investment.“- Experience from the Alltrucks partner network
- Calculate your current capacity utilisation rate (hours sold / available productive hours) for the last 3 months.
- Analyse the workload by day of the week - identify your weakest days.
- Define your capacity model: fixed scheduling, block scheduling or hybrid.
- Create a list of internal orders as a buffer filler for unexpected idle times.
- Identify your top 3 bottleneck resources and plan targeted investments.
- Set up a monthly capacity utilisation report and check the development over time.
