Indirect Labor

Normal mechanic hours are posted directly to work orders and reflect the actual working time of the mechanic. But mechanics also spend time working on indirect jobs that aren't necessarily billed to work orders. Such tasks include time spent running for parts, cleaning the bay, and road testing among other things. Tracking indirect labor keeps you informed on where time is spent when mechanics aren't working on vehicles. This data can be very useful and should be taken into consideration when evaluating the shop or flat labor rate.
The Setup:
The only thing that needs to be done is to review the Indirect Labor Codes in System Codes and make changes as needed (SSY). Refer to "Indirect Labor Codes." 
The Procedure:

  • Record indirect hours.
  • Review indirect labor reports.

Indirect Hours Entry

NOTE: If you're using Paperless Shop, refer to the Paperless Shop User's Manual for instructions on tracking indirect labor hours.
To record or edit the time spent working on indirect tasks, do the following:

  1. Select WOs > Indirect Hours Entry from the RTA main menu (WI).
  2. Enter password level 1.
  3. Enter an employee number or abbreviation, press F1 to select an employee from the lookup list, or press F2 to start with the first employee on file.
  4. By default the Add radio button is selected, allowing you to input indirect hours. If you need to edit previously recorded indirect hours, select Edit.
  5. Input or change the indirect hours for each indirect task as needed OR press F2 to enter the starting and ending times spent on the task and have the system calculate the total time. The "MilitaryTime/Alt Time" switch controls whether the time is calculated based on 60 minutes per hour or hundredths of an hour (SSI, Miscellaneous I tab, switch 25).

When in the add mode, the hours entered are added to the existing weekly hours shown on the screen. When in the edit mode, the hours entered replace the existing hours.

  1. Choose OK to accept the entry. Choose Get Next to accept the entry and bring up the next employee on file.

Indirect Labor Report

The Indirect Labor report shows the amount of time spent working on indirect jobs, direct jobs (time posted to work orders), and the indirect/direct hours ratio (the percentage of time spent on non-vehicle related tasks). This information is provided for the current week, current month, and last month. To print a mechanic productivity report, do the following:

  1. Select Reports > Mechanic > Indirect Labor from the RTA main menu (REI).
  2. Enter password level 1.
  3. Select a radio button to specify whether to sort the output by mechanic number or abbreviation.
  4. Depending on your selection, enter either the starting and ending mechanic numbers or abbreviations.
  5. By default, the Mechanics only checkbox is active so only employees who are flagged as mechanics will be included on the output. To include all employees, deselect the checkbox.

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