Labor Productivity
Get more done with the team you have.
When nobody can see where labor time goes, overtime becomes normal and some lines are buried while others wait. We find where the hours really go, then build the system that helps you balance the work.
Free 30-minute call, no obligation
Sound familiar?
Overtime is high, but nobody can say exactly why.
Hiring is hard, so every hour counts. But labor time is usually tracked at the time clock, not at the job, so it's hard to tell which work takes longer than it should, where people wait, and why overtime keeps climbing.
- Overtime has become a regular part of the week
- Some lines or shifts are overloaded while others wait for work
- Labor hours aren't tied to specific jobs
- People spend time searching, waiting, or retyping information
- Standards for how long work should take are outdated or missing
- Staffing decisions come down to gut feel
Why it happens
It's rarely a people problem. It's an information problem.
Time is tracked at the clock, not the job
You know who worked, but not what the hours produced.
Waiting and searching are invisible
Time spent looking for parts, tools, or information never shows up in a report.
Work isn't balanced to demand
Staffing follows habit instead of the schedule, so some areas run short while others wait.
Standards drift
When job standards aren't updated, nobody knows what good looks like anymore.
None of this means your team is doing a bad job. It means they're working without the information they need.
Step 1: Labor assessment
See where your labor hours really go.
We compare labor hours with output, watch how work is assigned and done, and find where time is lost. Then we put a dollar value on what we find.
What we look at
- Labor hours against output: by job, line, and shift
- Overtime: when it happens and what triggers it
- Lost time: waiting, searching, and rework
- Work assignment: how work is balanced across lines and shifts
- Standards: how current estimates compare with actual times
What you get
A report with the cost of overtime and lost hours by cause, the root causes, quick wins you can act on right away, and a recommended plan with expected payback.
Timeline: About 2 to 3 weeks as a Single Area Assessment, or combine it with other areas in a Multi-Area Assessment.
Step 2: Labor tracking and balancing
Put people where the work is, and keep overtime under control.
We build simple tools that tie labor time to the work and show where people are needed, so supervisors can balance the load before overtime becomes the answer.
Depending on what we find, it can include:
- Labor time captured per job with a quick tap
- A live view of workload by line and shift
- Staffing suggestions based on the schedule and demand
- Overtime tracking with the reasons behind it
- Job standards that update from actual times
- Digital work instructions that reduce searching and mistakes
After launch, we track overtime hours and output per labor hour month by month, so you can see the return.
Results
Half the labor per count, with 99.9% scan accuracy.
The City of Appleton counted inventory on paper, and errors were common. We built a cycle counting app for rugged Zebra scanners that guides every count and keeps each record traceable.
50%
less labor per count
99.9%
scan accuracy
We're not a staffing firm, and this isn't about monitoring people. We help you get more from the team you have.
Common questions
Questions about labor productivity
Is this about monitoring employees?
No. The goal is to see where the work and the system slow people down, like waiting, searching, and unbalanced workloads, not to track individuals.
Will this tell us whether we need to hire?
It shows how much capacity you really have, so you can tell whether you need more people or need to use the hours you have differently.
Does it work with our time clock or payroll system?
We connect to the systems you already use where we can, so hours aren't entered twice.
How fast will we see results?
Quick wins from the assessment can often be acted on right away. The system itself is built in phases, so the most valuable piece goes live first.
Get started
Find out where your labor hours are going.
Talk to an expert about your overtime and staffing challenges and whether a labor assessment is the right first step.