The formula
Efficiency equals hours produced divided by hours worked on jobs, times 100.
- Hours produced are the flat-rate or billed hours on completed repair lines. See book time.
- Hours worked are the hours the technician was clocked onto jobs, not the whole paid day.
Ratchet+Wrench describes efficiency the same way: flat-rate hours produced divided by actual hours worked, showing how quickly a technician gets the job done once work begins.
Example only
Illustrative numbers: a technician works 30 hours on jobs in a week and completes repair lines billed at 33 hours. Efficiency is 33 divided by 30, or 110 percent. These figures are examples, not benchmarks.
Efficiency versus productivity
Technician productivity is hours worked divided by hours available. It shows whether the technician had work to do. Efficiency shows how fast the work got done. A technician can be very efficient and still have low productivity if they spend hours waiting on parts, approvals or dispatch. That is usually a management problem, not a skill problem. See technician efficiency vs productivity.
What affects efficiency
- Job mix: repeat jobs like PMs are easier to beat than diagnostic work.
- Tools, training and familiarity with the equipment.
- Parts staged before the job starts.
- Accurate times: if the book time is wrong, efficiency is wrong.
- Mobile conditions: weather, lighting and travel can slow roadside work.
Using it fairly
Track efficiency over weeks, not single jobs. Compare technicians doing similar work. Watch for shortcuts, because chasing efficiency can lead to comebacks. Pair it with first-time quality, not just speed.
Why it matters for pricing
Efficiency feeds into the effective labor rate and how many hours a shop can sell from its payroll. See how to calculate effective labor rate.
MetaFleet supports the technician time clock and reports. Get a walkthrough.