Worked scenario
Two hours quoted, four hours taken, every time on that job
Standard times are a pricing convention, and where actual time is never compared with them the centre cannot tell which jobs it is losing money on.
3 min read
Labour pricing uses standard times. If a job consistently takes longer than its standard, the centre absorbs the difference on every instance.
By job type, not by person
Framing variance as individual performance guarantees under-reporting. Framed as a question about which standards are wrong, it produces honest data — and the answer is usually a standard rather than a technician.
Some standards are simply old
Vehicles change. A standard written for an earlier model can be unachievable on the current one, and nobody revised it because nobody was comparing.
Where training actually helps
Wide variance between technicians on the same job type is a training signal. Narrow variance that is uniformly over standard is a pricing signal. Without the data both look identical and get the same unhelpful response.
What changes
- Actual time booked against the job and the standard
- Variance visible by job type rather than by technician
- Standards revised where they are consistently unachievable
- Training targeted at jobs with the widest variance
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