Most fleets know labor is one of their biggest costs.
Fewer realize it’s also one of the most variable and least understood.
Two technicians can perform the same PM or repair yet it can take one much longer to complete the task than the other. Without a trusted standard for how long a job should take, it becomes nearly impossible to know whether that difference is due to skill, experience, training gaps, or something else entirely.
That lack of visibility affects everything: equipment readiness, scheduling accuracy, technician morale, vendor accountability, and ultimately, even your bottom line.
In a recent Squarerigger webinar, we explored how fleets are using industry-standard budgeted labor times to bring clarity, fairness, and confidence back into their maintenance operations.
Here are the key takeaways.
Labor variance isn’t just an internal productivity issue, it’s an operational blind spot.
When you don’t have a clear labor benchmark:
Schedules become unreliable
Equipment release times are hard to predict
High performers go unrecognized
Training needs stay hidden
Vendor invoices are difficult to validate
Over time, those gaps quietly drain time and money from your operation.
Budgeted labor times give fleets a neutral, data-driven baseline, not to judge technicians, but to understand what “normal” looks like.
Every shop has technicians with different strengths.
Some excel at diagnostics. Others are faster and more consistent with preventive maintenance. Some handle complex repairs more efficiently than anyone else.
The problem isn’t the differences — it’s the lack of visibility into them.
When fleets compare budgeted time vs. actual time, patterns emerge:
Which techs consistently outperform on certain tasks
Where training could have the biggest impact
Which jobs are best matched to specific skill sets
That insight allows managers to assign the right tech to the right job, improving turnaround times and reducing rework.
One of the most important themes we discussed in the webinar was this:
Benchmarking should support technicians, not punish them.
When labor data is viewed in context and over time, it becomes a coaching tool:
Identify tasks with wide performance variance
Spot recurring delays tied to specific repairs or equipment types
Focus training where it actually matters
Instead of guessing where a tech needs help, managers can use real data to guide those conversations fairly and objectively, and provide professional growth opportunities for the entire team.
With today’s technician shortages, retention matters more than ever.
Clear labor standards help fleets:
Recognize technicians who consistently perform efficiently
Support fair bonus or incentive programs
Encourage best-practice sharing across the team
Reduce turnover in a competitive labor market
When expectations are clear and performance is transparent, technicians know what success looks like and feel recognized when they achieve it.
Budgeted labor times don’t just help inside the shop.
They also allow fleets to:
Quote work for customers or outside fleets with confidence
Set realistic labor expectations upfront
Compare vendor invoices against industry standards
Flag discrepancies before costs escalate
Instead of debating hours after the fact, labor benchmarks create a shared reference point that supports better conversations based on actual data and better financial control.
In the webinar, we also showed how fleets apply these concepts using Squarerigger’s Motor-powered Budgeted Time feature, including:
Pulling OEM labor times directly from a VIN
Comparing budgeted vs. actual completion times
Viewing technician performance trends over time
Using data to support smarter scheduling, training, and incentives
The software isn’t the strategy; it simply enables the visibility fleets need to put these best practices into action.
If you want to dive deeper and see real examples of how fleets are using budgeted labor times in practice, you can watch the full webinar on demand.