Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ upcoming Productivity Roundtable is an opportunity to consider what we need to stop doing, start doing and keep doing to increase productivity in Australia.
No doubt the roundtable will focus on issues such as tax reform and education. But even after people agree on the changes that need to be made, it could take months, even years, for productivity to increase.
Without question, productivity matters to those of us in the heavy vehicle maintenance sector. And it also matters to the logistics and transport companies we support that keep people and goods moving across Australia.
As a business owner, I may not be able to influence policy changes, but I cannot wait for others to figure out what we need to do become more productive. Instead, my team and I are focusing on what TRUCK TECH can do to help our customers and our own company become more productive.
Productivity starts in the workshop
Every company has the potential to be more productive; At TRUCK TECH we don’t make tech gadgets or write software – we maintain and repair trucks, trailers and buses.
On paper, it’s not flashy, but last year, TRUCK TECH grew 20 per cent because we enabled more customers to have safer and more compliant fleets that stayed on the road longer.
Our insight was simple and is critical to how our industry can help increase Australia’s productivity: vehicles only make money when they’re moving. When a truck or trailer is stuck on the side of the road or a bus is parked waiting for parts to arrive, that costs companies time and money.
Some operators try to solve this with backup vehicles, but idle trucks, trailers and buses aren’t productive either.
Our company has become more productive by developing a proactive, preventative maintenance system that enables our customers’ fleets to be more productive. We track wear and tear, anticipate failures and schedule service before breakdowns occur.
That means fewer emergency repairs, less downtime and more vehicle time on the road. As a result, our customers have saved millions, increased revenue, and most importantly improved safety
Building a productive company from the inside out
For us, productivity isn’t just something for our customers, it’s the result of the discipline we’re building into our business via people, processes and technology.
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People: Right Folks, Right Fit
We’ve found that a company needs to select and retain the right people in order to be productive. In the past, we sometimes we kept non-performers longer than we should have, hoping things would improve. Not anymore.
Now, we provide informal feedback, hold performance reviews twice a year and set clear expectations. We share our company’s mission, values and growth plans with our employees. We now teach our own Emerging Leaders Program to help our best people develop their full potential.
The result? We now have values-aligned teams that perform at a higher level and push productivity higher every day.
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Processes: Less Waste, More Speed
In our industry, process is key. We mapped our internal processes, such as onboarding, scheduling and approvals. We’re simplifying everything we can, so we have fewer steps, less double-handling and faster results.
Whether it’s streamlining parts procurement or standardising maintenance reports, every improvement means we’re spending less time on administration and more time fixing our customers’ vehicles.
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Technology: Smarter Tools for Smarter Work
At TRUCK TECH we’ve made technology an ally, not a barrier. We use mobile devices for real-time repair approvals, QR codes and telematics for better communications between drivers, fleet managers and service teams.
We’re investing in systems to enable our branch managers, our fleet services team and the customers to know the status of every vehicle, project and invoice. We strive for paperless operations and use AI-driven tools to help us write job descriptions, internal communications, even candidate screening. In short, technology is helping our people become more productive and provide better service to our customers.
From one workshop to an entire nation
None of this is rocket science. We didn’t invent a new industry. But we focused (and continue to focus) on two questions basic to productivity:
- How can we do what we now do, for less money?
- How can we do more for the same amount of money?
In the heavy vehicle sector, we don’t need to wait for the government to figure out how to increase productivity. We can do it ourselves, one company at a time. And if every one of Australia’s 750,000 micro businesses, 250,000 small companies, 60,000 mid-sized business owners asked these questions and made these kinds of changes, Australia could become one of the most productive countries in the world.
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