Optimizing Bay Utilization: How to Keep Every Lift Profitable

Optimizing Bay Utilization: How to Keep Every Lift Profitable

Your bays are your most valuable real estate. Every hour a lift sits empty is money lost - revenue you'll never recover. But bay utilization isn't just about filling space. It's about filling it with the right work, at the right time, with the right tech.

The best-run heavy-duty shops obsess over utilization. They know that small improvements - an extra hour per bay per day - compound into massive revenue gains over a year.

Here's how to optimize your bay utilization and keep every lift profitable.

Understanding Bay Utilization

Bay utilization measures what percentage of available bay time is spent on billable work. The formula is simple:

Utilization = (Billable Hours / Available Hours) × 100

If a bay is available 10 hours a day and generates 7 hours of billable work, utilization is 70%.

Industry benchmarks vary, but high-performing heavy-duty shops target75-85% utilization. Below 65%, you're leaving significant money on the table. Above 90% may mean you're turning away work or burning out techs.

What Kills Bay Utilization

Before you can improve, you need to understand what's eating your available hours:

1. Waiting on Parts

A truck in the bay waiting for a part to arrive is a bay generating zero revenue. Parts delays are the #1 utilization killer in most shops.

2. Waiting on Approvals

Job paused while you chase down a fleet manager for authorization? That's dead time.

3. Poor Scheduling

Gaps between jobs, double-bookings, or mismatched job/bay assignments waste hours daily.

4. Comebacks and Rework

A job that comes back eats the bay twice - and the second time is rarely billable.

5. Admin and Paperwork

Techs hunting for paperwork, writing up estimates, or chasing info aren't turning wrenches.

6. Inefficient Workflows

Techs walking back and forth to the parts room, looking for tools, or waiting for the previous job to clear.

Strategies to Improve Utilization

1. Schedule Smarter

Whiteboards can't optimize scheduling. Digital scheduling tools let you:

• See all bays at once - who's working on what, for how long.
• Match jobs to bays: Put the right job in the right bay (e.g., alignments in the alignment bay, not a general lift).
• Buffer realistically: Don't schedule back-to-back without time for cleanup and setup.
• Fill gaps proactively: When a job finishes early, have the next one ready.

ShopView's drag-and-drop scheduling gives you real-time visibility and control.

2. Stage Parts Before the Truck Arrives

For scheduled work, order and stage parts in advance. When the truck rolls in, everything should be ready to go. This alone can save 30-60 minutes per job.

• Review the next day's schedule every afternoon.
• Pull parts for PM packages and known repairs.
• Flag any parts that need to be ordered for same-day or next-day delivery.

3. Get Approvals Before Work Starts

Don't diagnose a truck, write up an estimate, and then wait hours for approval while it sits in the bay. Use digital estimates and customer portals:

• Send estimates instantly via text or email.
• Allow customers to approve digitally.
• For fleet accounts, pre-authorize common repairs up to a dollar limit.

The faster you get a "yes," the faster the bay is productive again.

4. Reduce Comebacks

Every comeback is a double hit: unbilled bay time plus customer trust erosion.

• Implement quality checklists before jobs close.
• Road test or post-repair inspection as standard.
• Track comeback rates by tech - address patterns early.

5. Streamline Admin Work

Techs should be turning wrenches, not shuffling paper.

• Digital work orders: Techs update status, add notes, and log parts on a tablet - no paper chase.
• Time tracking: Built into the workflow, not a separate step.
• Integrated invoicing: Work order data flows directly to the invoice - no re-entry.

Shops using ShopView report saving1-2 hours per tech per day on admin tasks.

6. Optimize Shop Layout

Physical layout affects utilization too:

• Parts room close to bays.
• Tools organized and accessible.
• Clear paths for moving trucks in and out.
• Dedicated areas for specific job types (e.g., inspections, major repairs).

7. Track and Measure

You can't improve what you don't measure. Track utilization by:

• Bay: Which bays are underperforming?
• Tech: Who's most productive? Who needs support?
• Job type: Are certain jobs more efficient than others?
• Day/week: Are there patterns in slow periods?

Use this data to make informed decisions about scheduling, staffing, and marketing.

The Revenue Impact

Let's do some math. Assume:

• 5 bays, 10 hours available each per day = 50 bay-hours
• Current utilization: 65% = 32.5 billable hours
• Labor rate: $120/hour
• Daily revenue: $3,900

Now increase utilization to 75%:

• 37.5 billable hours × $120 = $4,500/day
• Extra revenue: $600/day = $3,000/week = $156,000/year

A 10-point improvement in utilization can add six figures to your annual revenue - without adding a single bay or tech.

Technology Is the Enabler

Every strategy above is easier with the right software:

• Real-time scheduling visibility
• Parts tracking and reorder alerts
• Digital estimates and approvals
• Time tracking by job
• Utilization reporting and analytics

ShopView gives you the tools to measure, manage, and improve utilization across your shop.

Conclusion: Every Hour Counts

Bay utilization is where operational discipline meets financial results. The shops that obsess over utilization - tracking it, improving it, and holding themselves accountable - consistently outperform those that don't.

Start with measurement. Identify your biggest time wasters. Attack them systematically. And watch your revenue grow without adding overhead.

👉Ready to optimize your bays?Book a free demo of ShopView and see how the right tools drive utilization and profit.