Wrench Time

What is Wrench Time?

Wrench Time—also referred to as tool time—is a metric used in facilities management to quantify the amount of time maintenance personnel are actively engaged in productive work. It specifically refers to the time spent on tasks such as tightening bolts, lubricating parts, or performing equipment repairs—essentially, the time when a wrench is in their hands, and they are directly contributing to equipment upkeep. This term does not include time spent on other activities such as traveling to job sites, attending meetings, retrieving parts, or taking breaks.

Importance of Wrench Time:

Wrench time is a critical metric for understanding and improving maintenance efficiency. By measuring wrench time, organizations can:

• Identify inefficiencies: Determine the amount of time spent on non-productive activities and find ways to reduce this time.
• Improve productivity: Focus on strategies to increase hands-on time, such as better job planning, scheduling, and resource allocation.
• Benchmark performance: Compare maintenance efficiency across different teams, shifts, or facilities to identify best practices and areas for improvement.

Increasing wrench time typically involves minimizing delays and ensuring that maintenance technicians have everything they need to perform their tasks without interruptions. This optimizes the overall maintenance process in a few different ways.

How is Wrench Time Calculated?

To measure wrench time, track the actual working time of maintenance staff against the total available time. The formula is expressed as a percentage and can be calculated using the following steps:

1. Measure the Total Available Time (TAT) for a maintenance worker, which is the total time they are available for work during a shift, excluding breaks and non-working periods.
2. Record the Actual Working Time (AWT), which is the time spent performing direct hands-on maintenance tasks.
3. Divide the Actual Working Time by the Total Available Time.
4. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.

The tracking wrench time formula is as follows:

Wrench Time (%) = (Actual Working Time / Total Available Time) x 100

For example, if a maintenance worker has an 8-hour shift (480 minutes) but only spends 300 minutes performing hands-on actual maintenance tasks, the Wrench Time would be:

Wrench Time = (300 minutes / 480 minutes) x 100 = 62.5%

This means that the technician spent 62.5% of their available time performing productive maintenance work. The rest of the time was likely consumed by administrative duties, waiting for materials, equipment availability, or other non-productive actions.

How Wrench Time is Used: Practical Examples

Wrench Time is used in various ways within facilities management, including:

• Productivity Analysis: It helps in assessing the productivity of maintenance teams by indicating how much time is spent on actual maintenance work.
• Process Improvement: Identifying non-productive time can lead to process improvements that maximize Wrench Time. Determine which are non-wrench time tasks and which are wrench time tasks.
• Scheduling Efficiency: It can inform better scheduling by highlighting when maintenance staff are waiting for equipment, parts, or instructions.
• Performance Benchmarking: Facilities can track Wrench Time against industry standards to gauge their maintenance team efficiencies.

For instance, a facility manager may notice a low Wrench Time and investigate further, discovering that maintenance staff spend a lot of time waiting for parts. This could lead to a change in inventory management practices to ensure parts are more readily available, increasing Wrench Time and reducing poor maintenance planning.

Ways to Reduce Non-Productive Time and Increase Wrench Time

Increasing wrench time means reducing non-productive time in the maintenance department. Here are strategies to achieve this:

• Streamlined Processes: Optimize maintenance workflows to minimize the time technicians spend on non-productive tasks and reactive maintenance.
• Improved Parts Management: Ensure that necessary parts are in stock and easily accessible to reduce waiting times.
• Effective Training: Train maintenance staff on efficient work methods and multitasking to reduce time spent on each task.
• Enhanced Communication: Implement better communication tools and protocols so that maintenance staff spend less time seeking instructions or information.
• Job Planning and Scheduling: Improve planning and scheduling to ensure that maintenance tasks are well-coordinated and downtime is minimized.
• Tool Organization: Organize tools and equipment efficiently so that workers can quickly find what they need without unnecessary searching.

For example, a facility could implement a mobile tool crib or parts kiosk near work areas, which could significantly reduce the time maintenance personnel spend retrieving parts. This would increase Wrench Time and overall productivity.

Wrench Time is a valuable metric for assessing the effectiveness of maintenance operations within facilities management. By focusing on increasing Wrench Time, facilities can enhance their maintenance efficiency, reduce downtime, and optimize overall operational performance.