Tracking labor time by work order may be the next biggest PM Worx benefit after Work Requests and PM Scheduling. Before good software, it was rarely practical to track and sum and plot the time that techs worked. And, it was especially impractical to try to analyze and draw business conclusions from the information.

Data Answers Questions

With PM Worx, it’s easy to enter time worked, either on Mobile Worx or on the completion window in PM Worx. And, as a result, you can confidently answer the questions: Where does maintenance FTE time go? Do we really do a great deal of special service work for residents? About what percentage of time is spent this way? How much on HVAC? Should we hire a licensed HVAC tech? The myriad of questions answered using this core data makes it well worth the effort required to get all your techs reporting time consistently and correctly.

A report showing the number of hours each staff member logged per day may help techs develop the habit of reporting time taken per job.  It might be helpful to post the results in the techs’ lunchroom, and coach them individually as required. Hopefully, you’ll inspire healthy competition. Remember that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Here’s a suggestion to help you get the data to hold techs accountable:

Weekly Reports Generate Automatically

Worx IQ features the ability to let you define any type of analytic report once, give it a name, which is then stored in a ‘favorites’ folder, and then subscribe recipients to it, so that the resulting graph drops into your or their email inboxes automatically. The example in this Watch-and-Learn clip demonstrates how to analyze labor time by tech, filter the timeframe you’re interested in (such as the prior week), save and name the graph, and how to set up the email subscription schedule. The result is that the labor analysis report and graph generate on their own, weekly, without user intervention, and are automatically sent by Worx IQ to the people subscribed. It’s simple, elegant, and efficient.

Worx IQ offers considerably more versatility and advanced functionality when it comes to reporting, graphing, and trending than is available in PM Worx alone. Nonetheless, it’s never wise to throw out the baby with the bath water and, to that end, please be reminded of the following articles on labor time management that rely solely on PM Worx.

Labor Productivity Reporting — first published in Fall 2006 Worx Wire

Where Does the Time Go? — first published in Fall 2007 Worx Wire

Help I Need More Staff — first published in Fall 2007 Worx Wire

At Windmill, we are committed to your success. If you have questions, comments or simply wish to discuss ways to achieve your desired outcomes, please call our support team at 1-877-363-9679 or email us at pmworx@windmill-software.com