Who’s the (shop) boss?

A mechanic does more for a landscaping business than maintain and fix equipment. This skilled professional improves a company’s efficiency, minimizes equipment downtime and ultimately, ensures that every piece of working capital generates more revenue for the business.

Supervising the inventory and activity in the shop space is critical. You’ve got to account for every piece and part. You’ve got to protect that investment.

“If you have an open-door policy where employees can come into the shop and grab at will, the cost associated with your ‘shop tools’ is going to skyrocket,” says Jeffrey Johns, president of Coastal Greenery in Brunswick, Ga.

Equipment and materials is a significant expense at landscape firms. “Without proper oversight, you are taking money away from the bottom line,” Johns says. A “shop boss” – whether director of operations, mechanic or business owner – should understand the company budget and how equipment fits into the big picture. This person should manage all shop activity while keeping costs under control, Johns says.

“The shop is business-critical and contributes to adding money to the bottom line, and that’s what we are here for (as a company),” Johns says. “Controlling your costs and understanding your numbers, including in the shop, is huge.”
 

Setting a structure.

Depending on your business size and equipment philosophy, the “shop boss” will take on varying roles, says Mike Ward, president of Mike Ward Landscaping in Loveland, Ohio. First, determine how you want to manage equipment repairs and ongoing maintenance. Then, you can assign appropriate responsibilities to personnel who will oversee the shop.

“How you manage your shop depends on two factors: primarily, the size of your company, and your philosophy about the shop,” Ward says.

A landscaping firm could operate a full-service shop that essentially works like a business within a business. Or, the company could opt to do few repairs beyond routine maintenance and subcontract the majority of service work. Or, the company could set a bar for repairs: Any issues beyond a certain level go out to a shop. (This type of firm might employ a part-time mechanic.)

On top of these three philosophies are a few different mindsets for acquiring equipment that plays into the repair picture. Some landscaping firms choose to lease all equipment, meaning all repairs are on warranty and the only equipment maintenance taking place at the company is general upkeep: changing filters and oil, cleaning machines, etc.

Other companies purchase equipment, but turn it in frequently so they are operating a fairly new fleet all the time. This means much of the equipment is on warranty and so the dealer manages repairs, and lower-mileage equipment is less likely to go down in the field. Again, the company’s requirements for someone to manage repairs in-house are limited.

Finally, businesses can operate the way Ward's does by hanging on to equipment for longer and managing the majority of repairs in-house. For two-cycle equipment, Ward replaces those hand-held tools every two years so he’s constantly replenishing the stock and never really repairing them. But he purchases trucks every 12 to 15 years. “Our mowing equipment is not turned aggressively because I have not found a way to do that (cost-efficiently),” he adds.

So, based on the three different philosophies for maintenance and equipment/vehicle acquisition, there are about six different ways to manage a shop. Understanding your structure is a critical precursor to identifying who will be the “shop boss” and what that person’s responsibilities will be.

As Ward said, company size also plays into the shop management structure. Once companies cross the $1- to $1.5-million mark, a part-time mechanic becomes a reality. At this point, a production manager is probably overseeing the inventory and maintenance. At less than $1 million in revenue, the owner is likely running parts/maintenance, Ward says. Once a business surpasses $2 million, then more strategic choices are required concerning the equipment purchase cycle and taking on more in-house repairs.

At Mike Ward Landscaping, a “maintenance-intensive cycle” of changing out equipment calls for shop expertise – a full-time prime mechanic and an assistant. The head mechanic is a manager who reports directly to Ward, and he reports to the shop at 4 a.m. daily so he can handle repairs before crews arrive.

“We are supporting $4 to $5 million in sales with our full-time and part-time mechanics, and then we selectively use our outside resources,” Ward says.
 

Keeping shop.

The prime mechanic at Mike Ward Landscaping is basically independent, but consults with Ward regarding purchasing. “He works with our other managers to determine equipment priorities,” Ward says.

The larger the shop, the more involved the equipment and extensive the parts inventory. This makes separating the shop from the rest of the facility even more critical, Ward says. “The shop can’t be a place where you repair equipment and your crews eat lunch and where tools are stored,” he says. “It’s hard for a shop to be all of those things.”

When a shop is only a shop, the department runs more successfully, Ward says. “Mechanics need their space to get their work done, and you want to minimize interruptions,” he adds.

At Longs Peak Landscaping in Longmont, Colo., Mike DePriest acts as the shop manager overseeing the full-time mechanic, who works 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. He was hired when the company hit between $600,000 and $1 million in sales. The company now generates approximately $3 million. “We were too busy selling and producing to manage administrative functions and keep on top of the shop with our ‘extra time,’” he says.

The full-time day mechanic acts as a “parts shop manager,” DePriest says. “He knows each piece of equipment’s history, strengths and weaknesses, and he often anticipates a major repair long before it is critical,” he says.

The company also has a full-time night mechanic, and a full-time materials expeditor who works as an overflow mechanic and provides additional presence in the yard.

DePriest is the one who makes most decisions on replacing equipment, how much to buy and which brands. “Many of those decisions are based on how well we can get parts and service for those brands,” he says.

However, some shop management tasks are handled by other leaders in the organization. For example, the operations managers assign trucks and equipment to crews, and track fuel consumption.

Meanwhile, hiring the mechanic has allowed these managers to mostly focus on getting the crews out the door and overseeing field operations rather than getting tied up in the shop.

Fewer hands in the service and parts area of a facility reduces risk of “losing” inventory, Johns adds. His fleet manager arrives at 5 a.m. and works swiftly in the early hours, repairing machines and fueling up two-cycle equipment before crews arrive at 6:30.

The “fleet manager” role has evolved at Coastal Greenery as the company has grown. He is the head mechanic and part of the management team, and an assistant mechanic works underneath him.

The one standing rule that holds the “shop boss” accountable for everything in the service facility, and reduces liability, is an everybody-out policy. “Our crews are not allowed to step foot in that facility for anything,” Johns says. “Everything has to go through the fleet manager.”

To see Coastal Greenery’s Fleet & Facilities Daily Shop Schedule, click here.