DC Recap: Efficiency Hacks

How efficient is your shop?

If you’re a longtime Fullbay user (or even a new Fullbay enthusiast), your answer is probably “Pretty efficient!”

But you know what? There’s almost always something you can do to make your shop run a little tighter. Fullbay might be part of that, but there might be other things, too—and that was the basis of Ashley Sowell’s presentation at Diesel Connect.

Ashley is CEO & Co-Founder of Integrity Fleet Services in Texas, and she’s been a frequent guest star on our blogs and webinars. Ashley cares deeply about the work she does and the people who work for her, and that’s where her dedication to efficiency stems from. By working smarter, not harder, she can make her shop a more excellent place for everyone.

We aren’t making this video available to everyone yet, but we did pick out three of the coolest hacks Ashley shared with moderator Chris O’Brien and DC attendees. 

1) COLOR-CODE YOUR JOBS

Ever notice that you can add color to the Fullbay scheduler? You can thank Ashley for that (or at least for the additional colors). 

Every job comes with multiple steps. By assigning each step its own color, Ashley can see the entirety of a job laid out before her and understand the exact status of the job and what’s going on with it. She also doesn’t have to click into a job to see what’s up; she can tell from the color. If the shop sends out an SO Estimate, for example, they turn the task yellow so they know they’re waiting for an authorization on something.

 “If it’s purple, I know it’s parts-related. If it’s light purple, I know I’m waiting on parts pricing. If it’s dark purple, I know the parts are in and ready to go,” she said. “I know what [each] color means at a glance.” 

A color-coding system like this can shave seconds or minutes off jobs, and help keep everyone on the same page. 

2) CHECK TOOLS IN & OUT

Tools. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t repair without ‘em.

Historically, techs have been expected to purchase their own tools. In our world of ever-increasing prices and dwindling technician supply, though, some shops have started exploring providing their own set. Ashley liked this idea for Integrity, but noticed one big problem right off the bat: disappearing tools. If you’ve got a shop set, anyone can just grab a tool and walk off with it/leave it somewhere (like on a truck)/accidentally drop it into their coffee, etc. 

Now, we’re not gonna say Ashley asked “How can I make Fullbay fix this?” but…we’re not not gonna say that. 

She turned Fullbay’s Quick Service Order into a Tool Checker by entering tools as inventory; techs can check them in and out using the barcode on each tool or typing in whatever the tool is. She knows at any given time what is out, what is in, and who is using a tool (and/or who used it). 

But Fullbay, you may be asking, what happens if something gets lost?

Then the tech who checked it out is responsible for replacing it.

Check out the screencap below to see how she’s made it work!

Now, she did have to build out these tools so her techs could easily check things in and out, but the front-loading paid off. If you look at the standard QSO, you’ll see a unit type field; she set up Integrity’s brick-and-mortar shop and their trucks as two separate unit types because they have different tools for each. 

And hey, here’s a bonus hack: Ashley schedules out inspections for tools that need it (compressors, extension cables, and so on) right in Fullbay, too. Once they’re entered as components, she can put them on a PM schedule and make sure all the shop’s equipment is safe to use. 

3) GET SOME WALKIE-TALKIES

Let us set the scene:

You’re in the shop. Someone is looking for some brake shoes. The parts are here—Fullbay says so—but dude, where’d they go? The tech is ready to abandon their coffee and their current job to go hunting for them. You’re probably looking at 30 minutes or more of lost time as this tech is running around, trying to find the shoes.

But hey! You’ve got the shoes up in the front office! If only there was a way to read the tech’s mind and then press upon them the urge to come to the office and pick up the brake shoes.

Strong in the Force are shop owners, but not that strong. But you know what’s almost as good as some old-fashioned clairvoyance?

That’s right: a walkie-talkie.

Ashley credited her husband with the idea of walkie-talkies. The two were discussing processes and touched upon techs needing stuff while they were out in the yard, along with how often techs ended up waiting for things like parts (or wandered off to find said parts themselves, as discussed in the story above). “We gotta keep them in their seats,” her husband mused.

Like many of us, they turned to Amazon for help.

“The set we have now was maybe $200,” Ashley told the audience, “but they work great; they’re thinner/smaller, so they just keep them in their pocket … it did take a little implementation to get the guys used to using them.”

Once implemented, though, it immediately cut down on management needing to leave the front office and go wherever—but it also significantly reduces the back and forth that can erupt when someone’s looking for tools or parts that might have been misplaced. People can get answers to questions without leaving their post (or requiring someone else to leave theirs). And if someone really needs in-person help, then they can ask for it. 

“It’s a fast, quick way to get whatever you’re needing without having to go anywhere.”

And yeah, the staff has some fun with the walkie-talkies, too. Ashley talked about code names and gentle ribbing. (“They keep it clean,” Chris assured the audience, relaying a story about his own visit to Integrity Fleet Services. “It definitely brought out character in the shop, which was cool to see while getting efficiency.”)

MORE HACKS ARE ON THE WAY

Diesel Connect attendees will be able to see all of Ashley’s hacks in the complete video. Those who didn’t attend will unfortunately have to wait a few more months…but seriously, she can do some incredible stuff while building processes. And guess what? A lot of her most intricate hacks are straight through Fullbay.

For now, consider implementing the hacks above to your own workflows and see how much more efficient your shop can be!