Equipment Utilization Rates

[Rodebaugh1]

How, if at all, do SS owners use equipment utilization rates to determine rate increases, employment needs, equipment upgrades etc.? Or is that a number that’s only worthwhile for explaining to the guy that’s sitting in your wash bay detailing his vehicle how much the bay rents for per hour? If your lights are on 24hrs a day, do you use the full 24 hours in the calculation or maybe just the peak hours? In my pre-retirement career, utilization rates determined almost every major expense. I’m thinking the actual rate isn’t so important in this business. When I look at mine, I sometimes wonder how I function at all.

 

[mac]

We guess a lot.

 

[soapy]

ICA did a study years ago that said 5% for most SS bays. 10% utilization would be a very busy wash.

 

[Rodebaugh1]

ICA did a study years ago that said 5% for most SS bays. 10% utilization would be a very busy wash.

Thanks Soapy. I don't feel nearly as bad now. I'm not quite up to the 5% mark but I feel better about the number.

 

[Roz]

And it probably varies significantly by day of the week and time in the year.

 

[PaulLovesJamie]

Years ago I calculated utilization rates as part of analysis to determine/forecast expansion profitability. I tried to look at it several different ways - seasonal, day vs night, weekend vs weekday iirc.
Yes for some washes I agree it could be helpful for the things you mention, but for most washes I suspect its over analysis.

 

[MEP001]

The programmable relays I use should be able to track usage which could be displayed as a graph and viewed by hour, day, month, etc.

 

[soonermajic]

Paralysis by analysis