Reduce Downtime with Effective Service Order Management

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Look, we know this blog was supposed to be done by now. The problem is, we’re all out of opening paragraphs. We’re getting a shipment in later, but we really can’t do anything until then, so you’ll just have to wait.

Hey, it’s not like WE’RE happy about this, either. We’re getting paid by the article, remember? Time is money—and until we get those paragraphs back in stock, we’re losing both.

Oh, great news: the delivery truck just got here! Let’s open up this box and see what we’ve got.

“Downtime is all too common at heavy-duty repair shops, and this wasted time can lead to consequences such as lost revenue, reduced operational efficiency, and unhappy customers. Fortunately, you can keep downtime to a minimum by optimizing your shop’s service order management (SOM). When your business has the right strategies and software in place, you’ll be able to avoid problems and keep things running smoothly.”

Looks good to us. Now, let’s get to work on the rest of this blog:

Common Downtime Culprits Related to Service Orders

Downtime isn’t caused by just one issue. Instead, any one of these service order-related problems could contribute to wasted time around your shop:

• Poor communication. When you aren’t able to clearly convey instructions to your techs or reach out to customers for approvals, your shop’s efficiency could take a hit.
• Parts delays. If your techs discover that your shop is missing parts during a job, it could impede their progress. Of course, the consequences will be even worse if you have to deal with a slow parts reordering process.
• Inefficient scheduling. Subpar SOM could easily result in scheduling problems around your shop. For example, this situation might lead to overbooking, double-booked techs, or difficulties estimating the duration of various tasks.
• Incomplete documentation. Without access to a vehicle’s full repair history, even highly attentive techs could easily get slowed down.

How Effective Service Order Management Reduces Downtime

While the issues listed above can certainly be concerning, thinking carefully about how you handle service orders can help you cut down on downtime around your shop. If you don’t already use repair shop software, you’ll want to adopt one of these programs in the near future; among their many other benefits, these systems can help you take in repair requests and generate service orders.

When you use software at your shop, like Fullbay, you can take care of service orders by following these simple steps:

1. Create an estimate. Once a vehicle arrives in your shop, you’ll have to set up an estimate for the services they need. Fullbay can help you save time during this process by saving existing customers and canned jobs.
2. Diagnose the issue(s). Assign a tech to a unit and an estimate so they can dig into the problem. Even if you think you know what a customer is dealing with, your techs should always take a closer look before a job begins. This also gives them a chance to root out other potential problems with the unit.
3. Get authorization (if needed). If you find that a customer’s vehicle could use additional work, you’ll need to get their approval for the extra services in question. Once authorized, it turns into a service order.
4. Analyze your parts situation. As a last step before starting repair work, your techs should make sure they have the parts needed for this job. That involves grabbing parts from your inventory or ordering new components, depending on what you have in stock.
5. Get to work. With all the prerequisites out of the way, your techs will be ready to handle the repair process. If you use Fullbay, the time techs spend on repairs is automatically tracked.
6. Prepare an invoice. Finally, it’s time to invoice your customer for the services you provided. As you might expect, Fullbay can help simplify your shop’s invoicing process.

Heavy-duty repair shop software also comes with SOM-related advantages such as:

Transparent Communication

One of the most obvious service order-related benefits of heavy-duty repair shop software is the clear communication it enables. When you use one of these programs, your shop’s technicians will have access to easy-to-understand work instructions, along with additional resources such as labor time guides. As a result, they’ll be able to work at maximum efficiency, significantly improving your shop’s turnaround times in the process.

Of course, your techs aren’t the only people who can benefit from communication features. Some programs in this niche offer powerful customer communication tools like two-way texting, allowing you to instantly send and receive updates on your work, drastically reduce time-wasting calls, and get approvals ASAP.

Integrated Inventory Management

As anyone responsible for a heavy-duty repair shop knows, out-of-stock parts can easily put jobs on pause. But if you don’t have a full understanding of your inventory, parts shortages can be an unpleasant surprise for your techs—and your customers.

To help mitigate this source of shop downtime, the best heavy-duty shop software allows techs to check real-time stock levels at a glance. And when your shop’s software can send out automated reorder reminders, you’ll never be at risk of running dangerously low on parts.

Optimized Scheduling

When you’re thinking about your shop’s scheduling strategy, you’ll want to do everything you can to reduce your risk of overbooking and delaying jobs due to unexpected issues. Intelligent scheduling tools that are able to account for factors such as technician skills, parts availability, and historical job times can help.

A Centralized Knowledge Base

It should come as no surprise to hear that your techs can get their work done faster when they have the information they need at their fingertips. That’s why your shop’s software should give employees access to equipment history, OEM specifications, and info on past repairs.

Cut Down on Your Shop’s Downtime

And…done! Actually, hold on—this blog still needs a closing paragraph before it’s ready to go. Fortunately, we have a ton of those lying around, so let’s just install this one:

“Fullbay’s approach to service order management covers your shop’s entire workflow—from creating regular and Quick Service Orders to sending out invoices when the job is done. Along the way, you’ll be able to benefit from capabilities that can further improve your shop’s efficiency, including inventory management and customer communication features. 

If you’re interested in seeing just how much downtime Fullbay can eliminate around your shop, schedule a demo today!”