Auto repair Capacity with a Contingency Buffer
Deliverable units = floor(hours × (1 − buffer) / hours per unit)
Gather repair orders, parts invoices and technician time logs. Include parts, technician time, and shop overhead. The starting figures are examples. Replace them with your own records.
Formula and worked example
Deliverable units = floor(hours × (1 − buffer) / hours per unit)
| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Available delivery hours | 640 |
| Hours reserved for disruption | 15 % |
| Hours per repair order | 4 |
| Calculated result | 136 units |
Choose reliable inputs
Separate parts, technician time and bay availability for each repair order. For this auto repair calculation, use repair orders, parts invoices and technician time logs and a consistent definition of one repair order.
- Parts: include the portion belonging to this repair order or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
- Technician time: include the portion belonging to this repair order or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
- Shop overhead: include the portion belonging to this repair order or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
Use the same currency for every money input. Do not mix weekly costs with monthly revenue, or count the same expense in both an itemised cost and allocated overhead.
Should every available hour be sold?
The reserve is your scenario assumption; it is not a universal staffing recommendation.
What if this input changes?
If available delivery hours rises by 10%, this example changes by 13 units. This shows the effect of one change; it does not predict what will happen.
Open the calculator, save your baseline, then change the input supported by the least reliable estimate in your records. Compare both scenarios before committing to a price or capacity promise.