Landscape Management, April 2018

There are a variety of factors that could cause the number to fluctuate including bad weather insufficient training personnel problems equipment and more It could be as simple as having old equipment in this department and its breaking down so you have several hours out there waiting for the mechanic he says But you dont know to go looking for those things if you dont know if youre on target or off The company has been using this metric for about 13 years since it joined LandOpt He said it took a few years to learn the numbers but now he can get a report and instantly analyze whether he needs to take action based on the revenue per man hour There are further opportunities to leverage this metric For example you can use it as a gut check for every bid that goes out the door by asking Is the revenue per man hour in the right place If its low perhaps you forgot to factor in a vital input Some companies analyze this metric for every snow event or for each crew though Eichenlaub opts to leave it at the department level and he incentivizes department managers for hitting their targets This isnt going to fix everything he says All its going to do is tell you if you are coloring outside the lines Latest IoT Asset Management Systems by Tenna The complete range of Tenna Asset Tracking Devices spans all your assets from small tools to large vehicles or equipment So you can manage everything on One Platform www tenna com 83350 TENNA TM i t Equipment and people are two of many factors that could impact revenue per man hour Getting creative Jason New shares a few ideas for companies looking to improve efficiency Problem There is too much downtime as commercial maintenance crew members walk back to the truck to get supplies Solution Instill a tool belt concept to ensure operators always have what they need For example you may require everyone to carry Extra trimmer line in their pocket A trash bag tucked into their belt Hand pruners clipped to their belt and A 1 liter gas bottle on a lanyard in case they run out of gas Jason New Problem Crews often miss their budgeted hour targets Solution Give crews only 75 percent of the hours allotted for their jobs to allow for contingencies and punch list items Then if they need more time its already in the budget Problem Crews spend a lot of indirect time handling materials Solution Remember the acronym OHIO only handle it once and work with vendors to deliver materials directly to the job site Consider asking vendors to take a photo before delivery to ensure plants are to specification for example Additionally ensure crews have a checklist of what should be delivered to prevent callbacks Finally to avoid excess lost time develop a delivery policy so crews know what to do if they arrive on site and materials arent correct Problem Irrigation repair teams drive large gas guzzling pickup trucks Solution Consider a smaller vehicle such as a Ford Transit for irrigation maintenance technicians and organize them in a standard way