5 workshop layout mistakes that are costing you time and money

When we’re talking efficiency, it’s easy to focus on the tools and the people. New tech with new features, and the best talent with the best training.

But the way you set up your workshop layout can have just as much impact on how things run. And a layout that’s not optimised could be costing you more than you think.

Here are the biggest problems we see in workshop layouts — and how they can ruin the efficiency of your business:

 

1. Poor vehicle flow

So many workshops focus on optimising each task at each workstation — aiming to minimise the time a vehicle spends in each service.

But they don’t always optimise the journey as a whole. We’ve seen workshop layouts where vehicles have to:

• Zig-zag across the shop floor to reach every service in order
• Reverse out of dead-end bays instead of driving on through
• Exit the shop through the same entrance as new vehicles coming in
• Make sharp, awkward turns to move between workstations
• Sit waiting at bottlenecks for other vehicles (or pedestrians).

None of these things are efficient. And even worse, they could be causing hazards: collisions with equipment or people, or excessive levels of exhaust fumes from spending more time in the shop than they need to.

In an ideal world, you would plan your workshop layout with:

• A separate entrance and exit, on opposite sides of the shop
• A linear route for vehicles, with no backtracking or sharp turns
• Workstations in the order they’re needed (from the entrance to the exit)
• Drive-through workstations and bays.

 

2. Crossing paths

In a busy workshop, people and vehicles are on the move. And in a well-planned workshop, the two will never need to meet.

There’s an obvious safety risk when heavy-duty vehicles cross paths with pedestrians. But it’s an efficiency issue too:

It creates bottlenecks in the workflow, where both people and vehicles have to stop and wait for each other. It adds extra fatigue for drivers who need to be hyper-vigilant — and could add serious costs in the event of a collision.

Instead, the best workshops keep everything separate with:

• Clearly marked and coloured walkways for pedestrians
• Barriers to prevent staff from taking shortcuts
• Separate entrances and exits for people and vehicles
• Clear sightlines without obstructions — so vehicles and pedestrians can see each other.

 

3. Travelling tools

Some workshops use a designated storage room: a single place to store every tool and piece of equipment that’s not in use.

In many cases, this is a mistake.

When your technicians need a tool at their workstation, they need to travel across your entire workshop. When they’re finished, they need to travel again to return it.

These small journeys add up — over the course of a day, and over your entire workforce. And almost all of those journeys are completely unnecessary.

Instead, lots of workshops add in modular storage units throughout their shop floor. With the right tools stored next to the relevant workstations, you can cut down the travel time of your technicians throughout the day.

That means higher throughput, less time wasted, and less fatigue and stress for your hard-working staff.

 

4. Singular utilities

Every building has multiple power outlets dotted around the premises. But some workshops don’t apply the same logic to their other utilities.

When technicians constantly need oil, lubricants, air and water, they’re stuck making long trips to a singular source of the fluids they need.

It’s a waste of their time — which means it’s a waste of your money.

Instead, you can install dedicated hose reels for oil and fluids at strategic places throughout your shop floor.

Just like your storage units, you’re reducing the travel time of your busy teams, and reducing the chance of bottlenecks and collisions as people move through your workshop.

 

5. Forgetting the future

No matter how big your workshop, space is always a premium. It’s tempting to pack as many workstations as possible into the space you have.

But the best workshop layouts are made with futureproofing in mind:

As your business grows, you might expand your offering and start servicing larger vehicles. You’ll need more space in your routes, more space between your workstations, and more space to upgrade to a vehicle lift for the longest vehicles.

Of course, not every premises has the luxury of extra space. But if you’re setting your sights high — and you’ve got some wiggle room — building extra space into your workshop layout could save you hundreds of thousand of pounds when the time comes to grow.