Automotive Tech Efficency/Productivity Tips? (vehicle, gasket, spark plugs, fuel)

[jimmy12345678]

Fellow techs out there, do you have any tips you can offer about working more efficiently and maximizing productivity without sacrificing quality (i.e. skipping steps and half-assing things).

There are a few that I've heard that stick out to me:

1. Minimize trips back and forth to get tools. Have a tool cart/box/bag etc. with the stuff you use the most so you can take it wherever and have almost everything at arms length. Walking back to your tool box/vehicle really eats up time.

2. Stay organized with your tools, digging through a drawer looking for a wrench, socket, etc. eats up a lot of time. Have everything where you can open the drawer and grab what you need WITHOUT looking.

3. Think a few steps ahead. While standing there turning a bolt, I think what the next part of the job is going to be and what tools will be needed. Some guys take a part off, stand back, look at what needs to come off next, take that off, stand back and look again, etc.

4. If using multiple sockets in the same drive size, have a couple ratchets for each drive size. Constantly switching sockets eats up time.

5. Do everything you can where you are at, don't waste energy and make unnecessary movements. E.g. do everything you can with the car on the ground before jacking it up. Do everything under the hood before going underneath, etc. Running back and forth between inside and under the hood wastes lots of time.

6. NEVER set tools/bolts/parts under the hood. Always set them in a magnetic tray, on a cart/bench or even just on a rag on the ground. Setting things under the hood is how they get dropped, lost or forgotten.

7. Obviously don't use hand tools when cordless, pneumatic or electric tools are available.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, I'm sure you other guys have more tips from many more years of experience.

[Katana49]

Number 1 is really the biggest time saver IMO. I always get all tools I know I will need and have them at the ready before I start a job.

I'd also add that it pays to work comfortably. If you're comfortable while working, you will have less of a need to get up, stretch your muscles, etc. For example, using a creeper to slide under a car and around underneath instead of crawling around, or sitting on a mobile stool when doing a brake job vs being on your knees, etc. Anything you can do to make work easier on your body will make you more productive.

Not sure if you know who Peter Egan is (former writer for Road and Track and Cycle World) but many years ago he wrote a Side Glances column about how he was working on one of his cars for a few hours, on his knees. Did it for so long that he ended up pinching a nerve in his knee, and it took him months to regain full function of his leg. After that, he strove to make sure that when he was working, his body was in a comfortable position so that wouldn't happen again.

I had a similar thing happen to me last year. Was working on installing some modifications to my car for 3 days. Didn't prep my workspace for what I would be doing (undercar work) and ended up lying on my back on the hard garage floor. Now, I have a creeper, and I also sometimes put a thick carpet underneath the car to work to be easier when I'm rolling around underneath, but I didn't bother with either this time. Well, ended up straining my lower back and it took 3 months before I could function completely normal again, and I certainly wasn't able to work on cars during that time. Had I taken the time to use my creeper or the carpet, I'm sure I would have been fine or damage done would have been much less.

[sunsprit]

1) I have 6 tool carts in addition to my main toolboxes. The main toolboxes pretty much stay in their primary locations, but the tool carts are rolled up as close to the worksites as possible. On larger projects, such as an inframe engine overhaul on a diesel tractor, 2 tool carts are rolled out ... one on each side of the tractor so my tools are right at hand no matter which side of the engine I'm working on. Those 2 carts are virtually identically equipped with 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" drive socket sets, screwdrivers, multiple ratchets/extensions, pliers, pry bars, impact wrenches, and so forth. I put these together mostly with Kobalt tools, because I was doing a lot of off-site work and didn't want to bring my better quality tools to uncontrolled worksites. These tool assortments worked to my satisfaction and when the off site projects were completed, brought back to my shop where they've proven their worth over and over again.

2) 1 tool cart is set up with my in-frame prep and assembly tools. Disc sanders, scrapers, files, stones, air chisel, air powered gasket scraper, needle scaler, die grinders, picks, brushes, wire wheels ... all organized for ready use. Piston ring compressors and torque wrenches are organized into this cart along with fixtures or guide items to ease assembly and protect parts. Assembly lubes, gasket sealers, anti-seize, greases & assembly oils are in the bottom tray along with safety wire/pliers, tapes, marking pens, rope and string to assist assembly of items such as rocker shafts/pushrods.

3) 1 cart is set up with my measuring tools and another set of torque wrenches (1/4" through 3/4", dial, break-over, and electronic in this assortment). Feeler gauges, fixtures, rules, calipers, micrometers, dial indicators, layout tools, timing chain breaker/assembly fixture, timing chain assembly guide rail for 'benz engines, and so forth. Also have my hydraulic valves/components assembly tools ... picks, hemostats (don't get the "cheapies", get genuine medical quality ... I prefer Stille), home-made fixtures for certain repetitive projects, etc.

4) 1 cart is set up with A/C service equipment, including hose assembly/crimping tools. Also, my electrical items ... 800 amp battery draw tester, several multi-meters, test lights, power sources, short/open locator set. I like the convenience of being able to independently power up items to test on site if they are working properly or not. Substitution boxes powering up injectors, ignition systems, or inserting a known "good" resistance or signal from my source to replace a questionable sensor signal to a computer. I can power up fuel pumps or similar items and observe the voltage/amperage draw on my power supply.

5) 1 cart is a "project" cart. Parts on/off the project being worked on are organized here for temporary storage.

As a general rule, multi-task as much as possible while working on a vehicle with multiple projects. If you can't keep track in your head, use a flow chart of symptoms/diagnostics/repairs. Don't hesitate to "mark" completed tasks, like a crayon or magic marker to identify that a fluid has been drained and then refilled.

The elderly gent that taught me so much in my early days of wrenching insisted that every fastener I touched and torqued to spec be marked. He'd go over my projects and if he could find so much as one unmarked fastener, he'd hand me another color of crayon/marker and tell me to go over the whole project again. And then he'd look to see that every fastener was marked with the new color. He was a fanatic for developing a "feel" for the work ... insisted upon using a torque wrench as much as possible for common tasks such as installing spark plugs, lug nuts, or engine covers ... stuff frequently overlooked by many mechanics, especially on critical stuff that frequently just gets assembled with an air impact wrench. Try doing this for a project or two or more ... and see how much better you pay attention to seeing and knowing for sure you've properly fastened every fastener on your projects to the point where they become second nature every time without fail.

PS: yes, I'm a "tool freak". While I'm not into "gadgets", I like using the best quality tools I can for each job, especially the more critical measuring/assembly aspects of our work. I take a lot of pride in turning out a finished product that looks as good (or better than, if possible) as factory new and it takes quality tooling to do so. Even though I have incorporated lesser quality line tools in my mix over the last decade, the tooling is still very high quality stuff these days ... lots of options for "pro" techs to build up good tool sets for their work at much lower cost than days of yore when the pro tool distributors were virtually the only way to have good stuff to do proper work. Given the variables in fasteners today, I think it more critical than ever to pay attention to having the "right" wrench for a fastener ... 6 pt wherever possible and 12 pt when needed for access or fastener design. So my socket sets and wrench sizes are duplicated with both types ... and then there's torx and many varieties of phillips type screws which aren't "phillips" style but similar. And I'm forever building up dedicated tools for specific tasks which can make a task easier/more precise to accomplish, as well as faster to do. Having multiple tool sources conveniently located on major projects has proven to be a huge step and time saver for me ... probably more so in my older years than when I was younger and moved more freely and faster.

[NARFALICIOUS]

You guys covered most of the mechanics (pun) of moving around the vehicle and your tools.

What about using knowledge/education/experience to become more efficient?
--- In your down time (and a lot of techs will have down time, usually sitting around checking their phone), why not help out the guy next to you while you wait for work? The more experienced tech might have ways of doing things on a specific car that saves him time that you could learn from. The newer tech next to you might actually have a fresh view on a repair that could help you. Or maybe you could just help foster a collaborative environment, with much less shop-politics/stress. They could probably use the help and would be more likely to consider helping you next time they are free.

---Stay educated. Period.


And lastly, this is probably universal to all jobs, not just techs. But stress at home or in other aspects of your life WILL cause you to become less efficient at work. Could be just something occupying your mind---and being a tech, you will need to think deeply about stuff you're doing, right? Especially when troubleshooting.
Or could be you keep having to step away to take a call, argue with the spouse or kids. Reduce your stress, improve your work.