Here are some ideas on shop management and shop design from Bill Hathorn, general manager of Utility Trailer Interstate:
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Placing the shop manager's office in the middle of the shop has improved efficiency and reduced the amount of time spent in unnecessary conversations.
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Keeping shop tools in a crib next to the service manager's office has reduced the amount of travel required for most of the 18 technicians who perform service work.
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Foremen help bring parts to the bay where the technician is working.
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For wreck repair, load the wrecked trailer with the parts that will be required before moving the trailer into the shop. If some parts are on order, have the parts department deliver the parts to the bay.
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To frontload as much of the administrative work as possible, Utility Trailer Interstate employs a fulltime outside estimator and a fulltime service writer.
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Shop doors are all electric and are exclusively roll-up designs. There are no door tracks that technicians have to dodge when working on the roofs of trailers.