A good mechanic keeps us up and on the road, so we can go be as productive as we need to! However, a good mechanic can be hard to find, so they tend to be busy. To get all the fixes done on time and keep customers happy, they also need to have their own productivity tricks, and thats something we can learn from. Believe it or not, the tricks that keep the line flowing for oil changes can be just as helpful in many situations.
Diagnostic Checklists
Most vehicles are complex machines with a lot of different parts and systems. Finding a logical diagnostic flow helps the mechanic dial in on what part of what system really needs to be looked at. It probably wont be productive to check the oil if a battery warning light is on! Here’s an interesting diagnostic checklist from The Automotive Technician.
When things don’t go the way we plan, using a similar logical flow can be very helpful to getting back on track quickly. For example if a webchat program on the computer doesn’t work right, the IT team probably will recommend restarting the machine to reset the computer, but probably not restarting the printer. For your commonly used equipment, what diagnostic checklists or flow charts could you make? If you want to delegate you can also include the checklist as an aid!
Tool Layout
How often have you gone looking for a tool and spent way longer than you should have? Did that experience leave you feeling especially productive? This can be especially frustrating when you remember later that you loaned it out. Some mechanics have tool racks with stenciled areas for each tool or cut outs in foam so they can see things at a glance. While we may not go that far, the point is to make sure all your tools have a “home” so that you know where they are!
Flow Efficiency
One mechanic might be working on more than one car, or more than one mechanic might be working on on car. Flow allows several projects to be done at the same time when done correctly. For example one technician might have 3 cars their working on. Removing the oil plug on the first car to allow it to drain, then while its draining, doing the same to the other two. Then going back and replacing the first ones plug thats now empty. While the assistant fills car number 1 with oil, the tech might be reinstalling the plug on cars 2 and 3.
For us, this is similar to “batching” work where all of the same or similar tasks for a few projects get done all at the same time. Just make sure that you’re still focused on the one process at a time. You’re not multitasking, you’re just being more efficient.
