Let's talk trucks. You technicians haul around a ton of equipment, large and small, and all of it important. Think of your truck like your uniform. Appearance is everything, and a truck that is clean and organized also promotes efficiency.
Here's how you can get the most out of your truck in terms of organization.
1. The cab of the truck is your office. Treat it like one. Keep it clear of trash, and only keep items like flat rate and equipment pricing guides, invoices, service forms, manuals, and your laptop and/or iPad in the front. Use an organizer or rugged storage units to keep everything its proper place.
2. The back of the truck should be uniform throughout your fleet. As a business owner, the benefits of a company-wide truck policy are endless. Not only does it promote overall organization, it makes training easy and helps the technician easily identify when they need to replenish their on-hand stock.
3. Consider visibility and use a software program. You want to make sure everything is easy to find, and using a software program to map out placement and assign codes throughout your inventory can save a lot of time and stress.
4. Take inventory and track usage. First, figure out the "must-haves" for every job, then the "good-to-haves," the "sometimes-needs," and the "just-in-case" items. Then, judging from where items fall in those categories, consider their size and weight before adding them to your truck.
5. Safety features. By considering ergonomic placement of equipment, you'll be protecting yourself and employees from repetitive use injuries. For increased safety on the road, make sure your trucks have features like back-up cameras, spot mirrors, parking sensors and partitions.
6. Leave plenty of room for technician tools and smaller or more fragile pieces of equipment. Make sure you have a space that is not going to be affected by the shifting of large or heavy pieces and will prevent smaller equipment from getting lost under bulky items.
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Sources:
http://contractingbusiness.com/service/service-truck-organization-0412