If this value is less than 1, your shop is losing money because the actual time it takes to repair a vehicle is not being invoiced properly on a regular basis. They work with a variety of vehicle components including engines, brakes, air-conditioning, suspension, transmission, security and sound systems. (Illustration: Shutterstock & Richard Aguirre). That formula is clearly from a time when engines were less complex, most fleets were using diesel fuel, and computers were not an essential mechanic tool. In May 2021, the median annual wage for all workers was $45,760. Ideally, the calculated levels should match the actual levels. In the private sector a lengthy delay can mean success or failure on the job, which ultimately impacts customer relationships. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. About 23,900 openings for heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians are projected each year, on average, over the decade. /Contents 4 0 R>> Most work for governments, equipment rental and leasing shops, and large construction and mining companies. endobj The number of mechanics/technicians required to maintain this sample fleet is more than a fleet of 100 sedans, but far less than a fleet of 100 dump trucks. Today, a computer is as essential as a socket wrench and the number of maintenance technicians needed to maintain a modern fleet can be difficult to measure. The secure and easy all-access connection to your content. But, Babcox Media Editor Tim Fritz passed away on Feb. 23 from a heart attack. Technician A says that the output gear will be going faster than the input gear. Small engine mechanics inspect, service, and repair motorized power equipment. Entering basic operations information into the calculator will provide a quick snapshot of the agency's staffing needs, but it is also possible to go into much more detail. hbbd``b`6 +3`c$A NqgXf dU@ #F> It depends on various factors, example; Is it a fleet cars or pickups or busses or trucks or a mix? Metro Magazine, Required Hours - Heavy Repair and Overhaul, http://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/173927.aspx, https://www.transitwiki.org/TransitWiki/index.php?title=Bus_Maintenance_Staffing_Calculator&oldid=4266, Caltrans Division of Rail and Mass Transportation. endstream
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<. Over the past three years, OEMs have invested heavily in driver-focused equipment benefitsfrom cozy creature comforts to uptime- and productivity-boosting technology. Technician a says that the pressure should never exceed the maximum pressure imprinted on the sidewall of the tire. The result of this calculation for all mechanics is the number of productive hours a fleet has available. Providing Quality Fire Training to First Responders. For more details about job openings for heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians, consult local heavy and mobile equipment dealers and distributors, construction contractors, and government agencies. During busy planting and harvesting seasons, for example, mechanics often work six or seven 12-hour days per week. They must often disassemble major parts for repairs and be able to reassemble them. Public Works fleets with a concentration of trucks and construction equipment clearly would be higher in age, while law enforcement fleets typically would be lower. A. %%EOF
Now you can be a part of it! Excludes "Automotive Body and Related Repairers" (49-3021), "Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists" (49-3031), and "Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles" (49-2096). Many government organizations do not have a methodology to determine how many mechanics are required to maintain their fleet. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians must be able to lift and move heavy equipment, tools, and parts without risking injury. Transit agencies replacing buses are faced with significant leaps in technology over the past 6 to 12 years and now can purchase clean diesel and hybrid engines, and choose among various alternative fuels--all of which require highly skilled technicians. An old fleet obviously requires more labor to keep in service than a brand new one. As the premiere online publication for the heavy-duty truck market, charting the latest in trucking equipment, technology, and service trends, Fleet Equipment has a knack for digging up the stories behind the stories (while having a lot of fun along the way). Unfortunately, there is no standard formula or thumb rule to get the magic number. Comments that include personal
49-3023 Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul automotive vehicles. Local offices of the state employment service also may have information on job openings and training programs. endstream
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15. The methodology is used to equate the level of effort required to maintain dissimilar types of vehicles to a passenger car, which is given a baseline VEU (sometimes called a maintenance repair unit or MRU) of 1.0. Fleets should outsource work that requires special tools, equipment, training; work that would tie up a mechanic or work bay for long periods of time; and work during periods of peak workload to maintain high rates of vehicle availability, said Owen.
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Rail car repairers specialize in servicing railroad locomotives, subway cars, and other rolling stock. 663 0 obj
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According to Vanson Bourne, average industrial downtime costs are 250.000 USD per hour, according to field service and IT decision-makers. The higher costs are probably less related to the number of technicians and more related to new emissions and warranty engagements, or that the labor rate is higher than it use to be. They often lift heavy parts and tools, handle greasy and dirty equipment, and stand or lie in uncomfortable positions. endstream Change is coming to U.S. energy policies Tim joined Babcox Media in 1990 and spent 31. This tab also covers different types of occupational specialties. and current staffing ratios (i.e., vehicles maintained per technician, vehicle miles per technician, etc.). In these cases it might be a good idea to perform separate analyses for each location. Additionally, organizations that do not actively manage labor reporting tend to lose hours during the year. Some rail car repairers should continue to be needed to service trains used for freight shipping and transportation, as well as for public transportation. .
Main shaft The average number of labor hours each type of asset in the fleet consumes (i.e., labor demand). (2016). Thursday, September 8, 2022. Additional training needed (postemployment) to attain competency in the skills needed in this occupation. Introduced three years ago, the American Petroleum Institute (API)s CK-4 and FA-4 oil categories were billed as the next generation of oil, improving on the engine protection and fuel economy benefits offered by previous engine oil categories. The type of fleet business you are in effects this number greatly. It is true that costs are going through the roof, and that there are dealership backlogs. If we drop the gear ratio to 3:1, however, the driveshaft only has to spin at 6150RPM. Fleet age is another important factor. Transit Cooperative Research Program. Utilizing vehicle equivalency units means adding up how many sedans and sedan equivalencies an agency has, in order to determine how many mechanics need to be hired. 6 0 obj $29.57. Our EV Technician program is intended for students interested in improving their technical knowledge to diagnose, service and repair high voltage EVs and install . The calculator can help agencies perform three mains tasks: The calculator can be used by all sorts of agencies; survey participants had fleet sizes ranging from 10 vehicles to more than 1,000. This one calculates the required number of hours and full time equivalent (FTE) employees and compares this data to the actual existing staffing levels. Technician A says that torque prevailing nuts can be reused unless damaged. Comments are moderated and may not appear for 24 hours or more. This sheet compares an agencys existing staffing levels to that of peer agencies. Overall employment of heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians is projected to grow 8 percent from 2021 to 2031, faster than the average for all occupations. This showed some broad trends in regards to agency size, duty cycle, and spare ratio, but there was significant variation between agencies. Most heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians have a high school diploma or equivalent. Over 100 electric Blue Bird school buses have Five time-saving apps for tech-savvy fleets. We are at about 23 buses per mechanic, and even though we have a number of A/C equipped buses we make it work because of our relatively new fleet. 4 0 obj The average salary for a Automotive Technician is $24.11 per hour in United States. About the Author: Randy Owen is senior vice president of Mercury Associates Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md. Details about the fleet and fleet maintenance practices that can fundamentally impact the data analysis and calculations. In total, more than 60 agencies of varying size were surveyed. I always get asked, How many vehicles per technician? As a seasoned iron doctor, I should know. He was 53 years old. . The Similar Occupations tab describes occupations that share similar duties, skills, interests, education, or training with the occupation covered in the profile. Because vehicle and equipment technology is increasingly sophisticated and computerized, some employers prefer to hire service technicians who have completed a formal training program at a postsecondary institution. Learn more about heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations. This only includes bus mechanics and technicians, not facility maintenance staff, mechanics who deal only with non-revenue vehicles, or supervisors. Methodology Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. Service, repair and fault diagnostics work on all vehicles. Required fields are marked *. The Pay tab describes typical earnings and how workers in the occupation are compensatedannual salaries, hourly wages, commissions, tips, or bonuses. Service technicians who have completed a postsecondary training program in diesel technology or heavy equipment mechanics typically require less on-the-job training. 5 0 obj Dayton, Ohio. Once the labor demand is quantified, the number of productive hours available to service the fleet must be determined. $200 - $5k. information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. This means that it relies heavily on telematics to identify diagnostic codes that provide fleet personnel with the information they need to address smaller issues before they become larger ones. Comparing staffing levels to peer agencies - The tools main value lies in its ability to benchmark agency performance against other agencies of similar size. For example, he noted that all technicians and mechanics are not equal when it comes to their experience and ability to work at a standard pace. But many agencies conduct maintenance across locations or use a mix of in-house and contracted work. Which technician is correct? Tire inflation is very important to the safe and economical operation of any vehicle. In addition, techs may be asked to deliver loads during peak periods or driver shortage times. stream The average hourly pay for an Automotive Technician is $19.19. Performs a variety of assignments such as replacement of failed parts or equipment, test, operation and maintenance of . These service technicians use diagnostic computers and equipment to identify problems and make adjustments or repairs. This leads to unexpected failures and expensive downtime. The median annual wage for heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians was $53,770 in May 2021. The below graph illustrates how this technique works, reflecting VEU values based on Mercury Associates experience with hundreds of fleets across North America. Salaries by qualifications.
All Rights Reserved. Do not over-maintain and have all the costs related to the hours your techs spend on changing light bulbs in the office at your finger tips. A team working for Transit Cooperative Research Program developed the Excel-based Maintenance Staffing Calculator to help agencies calculate optimum staffing levels. To create a link to this page, use this URL: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA), Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS), TRID (A Transportation Research Database), http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=3327. The companys top priority is to ensure safety and support the operational teams by sustaining a very high percentage of asset uptime and availability. In this example, the labor demand is 10.3 mechanics (14,950 total annual demand for labor hours divided by 1,456 average labor hours available per mechanic.) Labor supply is 10. Other elements that impact labor demand include usage levels, operating environment, and fleet assignment practices (i.e. Technician A says that the CVT shifts from gear-to-gear, up and down, as needed to maintain optimal speed and torque. c/`w]H[3JF46ev6)~=k[EZNM{zS8_h_(;B,~##ySPI])q=g$Znj$be~]e*~b$o;_)5F"`x}Qw6&~es mh+RBFl3#UNYA?D>N;UF50!B"elA Creating a chart that allows for a certain number of staff technicians to repair each class of vehicles in the fleet is a tremendous boon for municipal fleet managers. hb``` Typical level of education that most workers need to enter this occupation. With new labor-intensive engines, various fuel types, highly sophisticated electronics, and an increase in preventive maintenance frequencies, many maintenance managers realize they need to hire additional staff. To answer the question of vehicles to technicians ratios, I suggest that you look at previous averages, set a goal so at the end of the day you can perform like a leasing company, which is lean, not so mean, and efficient. Maintenance Technician Staffing Levels for Modern Public Transit Fleets. Profit Sharing. Buses used to be relatively simple, so a bus-to-mechanic ratio was sufficient to determine if a transit agency had enough staff to maintain its fleet. Automotive service technicians and mechanics inspect, maintain, and repair cars and light trucks. Top Certifications Salary Job openings . Geotab says this tool enhances data analysis and automated reporting capabilities. Here is how you know. Modeling the effects on staffing levels of possible changes in maintenance policy - By changing the data on routine maintenance practices, agencies can what effect these policies have on staffing. An official website of the United States government endobj Various types of equipment, such as tractors, cranes, and bulldozers, are used to haul materials, till land, lift beams, and dig earth to pave the way for development and construction. The Virtual Vehicle platform, which Platform Science says is designed to provide fleets with a range of benefits including productivity, flexibility, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness, will be integrated into Kenworth's trucks to enhance the overall performance and efficiency of the vehicles. This doesn' t include helpers, parts personnel, foremen, or any other garage staff. High school courses in automotive repair, electronics, physics, and welding provide a strong foundation for a service technicians career. GM Vehicles +25.86% salary. stream Bookmarked content can then be accessed anytime on all of your logged in devices! The data is broken down into statistics like vehicles maintained per technician, FTE technicians per vehicle, and annual maintenance hours per 10,000 vehicle miles. (T/F) True What we really need is another supervisor/dispatcher for our department. Physical strength. (180 degrees) on a vehicle equipped with a steering gear with a 20:1 gear ratio. For most profiles, this tab has a table with wages in the major industries employing the occupation. Labor supply is 10. One of the best way to do it is to project the costs, divide the total dollars by two, (labor and parts average 50% each) then divide the 50% labor dollars by a fully burdened labor rate average, the calculation determines the hoursthen back into the hours of operational required. MOT preparation and inspections work on vehicles and trailers. These workers drive trucks that are specially equipped with replacement parts and tools, and they spend considerable time outdoors and often drive long distances. Service technicians usually work indoors in noisy repair shops. Another method of determining labor demand is using a technique known as Vehicle Equivalent Unit (VEU) Analysis. $13 - $30. Entry-level workers with no formal background in heavy vehicle repair often receive a few months of on-the-job training before they begin performing routine service tasks and making minor repairs. Today, significant R&D investment is going into the development of electric trucksprobing the possibilities of untested powertrains in hopes of producing a product that meets application needs. More Information, Including Links to O*NET, automotive service technicians and mechanics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Aircraft and Avionics Equipment Mechanics and Technicians, Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics, Industrial Machinery Mechanics, Machinery Maintenance Workers, and Millwrights, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/heavy-vehicle-and-mobile-equipment-service-technicians.htm, Farm and garden machinery and equipment merchant wholesalers, Consult equipment operating manuals, blueprints, and drawings, Perform scheduled maintenance, such as cleaning and lubricating parts, Diagnose and identify malfunctions, using computerized tools and equipment, Inspect, repair, and replace defective or worn parts, such as bearings, pistons, and gears, Overhaul and test major components, such as engines, hydraulic systems, and electrical systems, Disassemble and reassemble heavy equipment and components, Travel to worksites to repair large equipment, such as cranes, Maintain logs of equipment condition and work performed. The following are examples of types of heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians: Farm equipment mechanics and service technicians service and repair farm equipment, such as tractors and harvesters. Most heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians have a high school diploma or equivalent. 7 0 obj The estimated total pay for a Vehicle Technician is $55,631 per year in the United States area, with an average salary of $51,429 per year. The Maintenance Staffing Calculator is an Excel tool consisting of seven worksheets. Technician B says the ratio is 3.86:1. Trainees advance to more complex work as they show competence, and they usually become fully qualified after 3 to 4 years of work. Vehicle Technicians can work with different vehicles, such as cars, lorries, vans, buses and motorcycles. Another calculation includes maintenance and repair units, which involves comparing requirements of one vehicle group to another vehicle category. Mechanics who work primarily on automobiles are described in the profile on automotive service technicians and mechanics. at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/heavy-vehicle-and-mobile-equipment-service-technicians.htm (visited March 03, 2023). . This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians. Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul automotive vehicles. Last Modified Date:
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians typically do the following: Heavy vehicles and mobile equipment are critical to many industrial activities, including construction and railroad transportation. #)1Qt ehY,SpRm @@@:{7fc`g~ T!u _q
Most service technicians work full time, and many work evenings and weekends. Fleet organizations with liberal leave policies and a senior staff clearly will have a lower number of available labor hours.