Mechanic Productivity

Tracking mechanic productivity can help determine if you need more mechanics, fewer mechanics, or training programs. The system compares the estimated time it takes to complete a job to the actual time in order to calculate the productivity percentage. For example, if a job is estimated to take .5 hours to complete and the mechanic completes it in .6 hours, his/her productivity rate is 83%.
When work order lines are added, the system displays the estimated time it takes to complete that job. Since the estimated time is half the equation used in calculating productivity percentages, it's important to understand how this number is derived. The estimated hours is determined by the following two or three items:

  • Repair Type Code: Every time a job is added to a work order, the repair type needs to be indicated (check, repair, replace, PM, etc.)
  • VMRS Code: Depending on the repair type selected and the VMRS code for the job, the system determines whether to use the estimated hours from the CHECK, REPAIR, or one of the RPLC fields.
  • Vehicle Difficulty Factor: If one of the RPLC fields has to be used, the system then refers to the vehicle difficulty factor set for the VMRS code range in order to determine which RPLC hours will be used.

Review the following sample screens to see how they all tie in together in determining the estimated hours for a job.
When adding a work order line, you must specify the repair type. A repair type of CHECK uses the CHECK estimated hours in the VMRS code; a repair type of REPAIR uses REPAIR estimated hours; a repair type of REPLACE, DAMAGE, or PM uses RPLC estimated hours.
If RPLC estimated hours are needed, the system checks the vehicle difficulty factor to determine which RPLC hours to use. Difficulty factors can be set from 1 – 5 for ranges of VMRS codes.


In order to accurately track productivity statistics, the time standards set in the VMRS codes should be reviewed and revised as needed to fit your fleet. When setting time standards, be sure to account for the time according to your shop procedures. For example, if your shop starts counting time from the time the mechanic picks up the work order, you'll need to account for the extra time it takes the mechanic to bring the vehicle in from the yard into the bay and ready to be worked on. This can add a considerable amount of time to the job, especially for shops having to deal with extreme weather conditions. However, if your shop doesn't start counting time until the vehicle is actually in the bay and ready to be worked on, then the time standard should reflect only what is necessary to perform the job.
The Setup:

  • Review the Repair Type Codes in System Codes and change the Status number as needed (SSY). Refer to "Repair Type Codes."
  • Set vehicle difficulty factors (discussed later in this section).
  • Review the VMRS codes and add or change the time standards for jobs as needed (MRM). Refer to "VMRS Codes."

The Procedure:

  • Process work orders in the usual manner. Refer to Work Orders for instructions if necessary. The system determines the estimated hours when jobs are added to work orders. Productivity statistics are updated when jobs are completed.
  • Review productivity reports.
  • Process end of period for mechanics.

Vehicle Difficulty Factors

Vehicle difficulty factors are one of the components used in determining the estimated time it takes to complete a job. They indicate how hard or easy it is to perform a job on a particular vehicle. Various difficulty levels, ranging from 1 through 5 (1 being the easiest level; 5 being the most difficult), can be assigned for various job groupings. Default difficulty factors are automatically assigned to a vehicle when it is initially added and saved in the system. The default values assigned are based on the vehicle size: Light = 1, Medium = 2, Heavy = 3, Trailer = 4, Other = 5. If this is acceptable, you may skip this portion of the setup.
NOTE: _If you later change the vehicle size, the original difficulty factors will not be affectedthe original values remain intact. Changes needed must be made manually._
To set or change vehicle difficulty factors, do the following:

  1. Select Master > Vehicle > Difficulty Factors > Set Factors from the RTA main menu (MVFS).
  2. Enter a vehicle number or press F1 to select a vehicle from the lookup list. OR

Press F2 or choose Next Not Set to bring up the first vehicle for which difficulty factors have not been set. OR
Press F3 or choose Get Next to bring up the first/next vehicle number on file.

  1. If you wish to use the same difficulty level for all jobs, enter a default value (1 – 5) and then press F4 to populate all the job groupings with the specified value and skip step 4; otherwise, skip this step and go to step 4.
  2. Enter the difficulty level (1 – 5) for the various job groupings. For example, the difficulty level set for System 1 – 9 is used if the VMRS code for the job falls in the range of 001-000-000 through 009-999-999. In determining the difficulty level to set for each of these categories, ask yourself how much room is needed to work on that area of the vehicle. If there is plenty of room, the difficulty factor will typically be lower. For example, a brake job on a vehicle with a large wheel well is usually easier to accomplish than a vehicle with a very small, enclosed wheel well.
  3. Choose OK to accept the settings.

Updating Productivity Statistics

If you're not using the Paperless Shop add-on module, productivity statistics are updated with the estimated and actual hours when jobs are completed on work orders (work order line status = Done). Estimated and accumulated hours worked for a pending job (work order line status = Unshd or Partial) are not included on productivity reports.
If you are using Paperless Shop, productivity is updated with the time worked each time mechanics clock off a job, even if the job is not yet complete. When the mechanic clocks off incomplete, his/her current mechanic productivity percentage rate is used to calculate a portion of the estimated hours thus keeping the productivity rate intact. In other words, if the mechanic is working on a job that is estimated to take 10 hours to complete but only has 2 hours clocked to it before going home for the day, rather than using 10 as the estimated hours for the job, the system calculates only a portion of the estimated hours. If it didn't, the productivity rates would inaccurately reflect a 500% productivity rate for that job!
Productivity statistics are available for the week, month, or last month. The system always updates the weekly statistics, and only the weekly statistics, when updating mechanic productivity. The monthly statistics are updated when end of period is processed for mechanics (SEW, SEM). Refer to "End of Period for Mechanics" for end of period processing instructions.

Productivity Reports

The following mechanic productivity reports are available. The format for each report is identical, only the data varies. By reviewing the productivity reports on a regular basis, you'll notice a trend in working habits. For example, if one mechanic consistently shows a good productivity rate in most areas except electrical jobs, perhaps these types of jobs should be assigned to another mechanic to help increase shop efficiency or better yet, you should provide training or cross-training to that mechanic to help bring up the productivity rate in this area.

  • Current Week Productivity (REP)
  • Current Month Productivity (RER)
  • Last Month Productivity (REO)

To print a mechanic productivity report, do the following:

  1. Select Reports > Mechanic > Productivity Current Week OR Reports > Mechanic > Productivity Current Month OR Reports > Mechanic > Productivity Last Month from the RTA main menu (REP, RER, REO).
  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.

The descriptions for the different VMRS categories can be modified for this report. If you would like to change the descriptions, you will need to edit the prdctvty.dat file using a text editor of your choice. The file contains ten lines-one for each VMRS category, each category description can have up to five characters.

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