Clawing for more efficiency: Latest tools to enhance shop throughput
May 22, 2025
Every shop struggles to do better, but less so with the right tools. Here's a digital guide to catch you up on the latest gear and equipment to make your repair operations more efficient.
The world is changing faster than ever, but one constant that remains in the maintenance game is that efficiency equals success. At the shop floor level, the way to do this is making sure your technicians have the training and tools they need to maximize throughput in the bay and uptime in the fleets.
Most managers are already doing this somewhat, as the latest Fullbay State of Heavy-Duty Repair Report found four out of five shops offer PPE like safety glasses and gloves, with a third providing boots. The question is what kind of PPE are you providing: shoddy gloves that rip on a steel bracket or reinforced ones that offer protection and dexterity? Because if you cheap out, techs either won’t wear gloves or they’ll slow down jobs. It’s the same with boots. Uncomfortable footwear can impact the whole body over time and cause missed work and less focus.
Now consider how the wrong tools and equipment everywhere in the shop can cost you minutes or hours more per repair, to say nothing of what it tells employees about how you value their time and comfort. On this last point, remember that as the decade marches on, clawing for quality techs will likely turn the game of maintenance into an all-out war.
We hope our guides to the latest and gear and tools will help you prepare for that day, because picking winning tools for your shop now could very well determine your future. Check out the digital version HERE.
You can also scroll through our latest specific tool galleries by clicking the links below:
John Hitch is the award-winning editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, where his mission is to provide maintenance leaders and technicians with the the latest information on tools, strategies, and best practices to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving.
He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and has worked in the B2B journalism space for more than a decade. Hitch was previously senior editor for FleetOwner and before that was technology editor for IndustryWeek and and managing editor of New Equipment Digest.
Hitch graduated from Kent State University and was editor of the student magazine The Burr in 2009.
The former sonar technician served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), where he participated in counter-drug ops, an under-ice expedition, and other missions he's not allowed to talk about for several more decades.
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