The Case for Outfitting Technicians with Professional Grade Tool Bags – Part 2

The Productivity Value Proposition using Professional Grade Tool Bags

A technician should be focused on doing the work rather than spending time searching for the right tools.  When a technician has an organized tool bag whereby tools are readily available, it leads to a good day’s work and a sense of accomplishment.   

1. The Psychological Frustration of the Tool Hunt – The Intangible Factor

Wasting time looking for tools is an exercise in frustration and aggravation:  

Having to stop work to go on a tool “search and rescue” mission in a truck, tool bag, or on a jobsite, interrupts the flow and work routine.  Running back and forth to the truck, losing tools, and digging and dumping to find tools contribute to lost time, lower productivity (fewer jobs per day) and, for the technician, a feeling that it has not been a productive day.

A service company should not put a price on providing its technicians with products, including quality tools and tool bags that eliminate frustration and aggravation at the jobsite (and in front of customers):

 “The XL is best tool bag I have owned by far.  I can carry a lot of tools for the service work that I do. The bag keeps me organized. My tools used to be in a pile in my open top bag. Now I’m forced to stay organized meaning less frustration finding the right tools and fewer trips to the truck for some of the tools that I didn’t carry previously.”

“Your bag changed my life at work, it was a great idea. I can’t imagine reverting back to having a giant tub on wheels with all my tools thrown in the bottom, digging and searching, getting cut and losing tools in the past. Thanks to you guys, great job.”

“My Veto Pro Pac LC makes my work day much nicer. I can find any tool I need with ease. No more digging all day long for every tool on every job. I wish I had purchased your bag years ago.”

“My Veto Pro Pac is a great product – it is wonderful to be able to see everything without digging. Great Job bringing your products to market! I have always wanted a better tool box, just wish I thought of it!!”

“I like how when you open any of the Veto bags you can immediately see what you need without having to peel back layers”

“What did I do without these carrying cases?  I am much excited to have something to put everything in that won’t become a “treasure hunt” to find my working instruments.  Very handy. You’ll wonder where so much time became available when you do service calls because you have back the “hunt & dig” time”

2. Increase Productivity and Labor Savings – Boost the Enterprise Bottom Line with Reduced Trips to the Truck

The most consistent benefit from a professional grade and well organized, easy access tool bag is reduced trips back and forth to the truck on the jobsite.  Veto Pro Pac surveyed more than 3,000 customers and found that switching from other tool bags and storage solutions to Veto Pro Pac tool bags reap significant savings:  

On average, Veto Pro Pac customers save 2.7 trips to the truck every day using Veto Pro Pac tool bags, although 52.7% save more than 3 trips to the truck and 24.3% save more than 5 trips to the truck every day.   Using an average savings of 2.7 trips to the truck day, and assuming 10 minutes per trip and conservatively $30 an hour for labor costs, the Veto Pro Pac saves:

2.7 trips to the Truck x 10 minutes per trip X $30 an hour X 240 working days

=  $3,240 annual labor/productivity savings

X  5 years (Veto Pro Pac Warranty)  = $16,200 5 Year labor/productivity savings

Given that Veto Pro Pac offers customers a 5 year warranty (not including abuse) on defective materials, assuming a technician uses the bag for 5 years, the total labor/productivity savings over 5 years using a Veto Pro Pac is estimated at $16,200.   For a service company, these are significant savings that increase technicians’ productivity rates; each trip wastes time and energy and decreases the amount of time spent working on a job.

The cumulative time saved based on 2.7 trips to the truck equates to 108 hours of lost productivity every year and 540 hours of lost productivity over 5 years.   At a 50% utilization rate, billable hours increase by 54 and 270 hours respectively; at $90 an hour (billing rate), the company gains $5,000 annually per technician and $24,000 per technician over 5 years.  Assuming 10 technicians, the estimated incremental billing time over 5 years just by using a professional grade Veto Pro Pac tool bags is $240,000.

Assuming that part of this lost time would allow technicians to finish jobs sooner, the end result boosts the bottom line of the enterprise due to more billing time for the company and reduced waiting times for customers.  Consequently, there is a very compelling Return on Investment (ROI) for service companies that invest in professional grade tool bags for their technicians.

Veto Pro Pac customers realize this time savings and productivity value proposition:

“I can carry such a variety of tools easily with the bag that sometimes it saves me hours in the course of day!”

“Having the majority of my basic hand tools and electrical testing tools at my disposable allows me to perform my job at a level of efficiency that I never thought possible. Where I work, a round trip to the toolbox can add up to 1/4 mile. A 15 minute repair can easily take twice that because of the unnecessary trips.”

“My Veto Pro Pac saves me A LOT of trips!”

“I work in a very large complex and your veto bags save me many trips to my shop for hand/and power tools!”

“I install fireplaces/stoves. (wood, gas, oil & coal) So other than power tools, EVERYTHING I need is in my bag!”

“I drive a utility/service body truck, and can do 80% of my work with my LC bag”

“Being an HVAC Tech, sometimes, I have to make numerous trips, now I  don’t have to; I can fit everything I need in my Veto tool bag!”

“I call it my fast attack bag.  I drive a service truck with an 11′ utility box, and I can do more than 75% of my work out of this bag”

“I have been an electrician for 24 years and always wore a tool belt with bags.  I now don’t have to carry all that weight on my hips and shoulders, plus I have more room for tools I would normally keep in my truck.  I now work in the solar industry, and having the majority of my tools in one container on the roof is extremely beneficial. You have an awesome product!”

“I never realized how helpful it is to have all you tools you need in one location.  Veto Pro Pac has saved me many times”

3. Reduce the Probability of Losing or Misplacing Tools – Save Money and Aggravation

While the labor savings associated with a professional grade tool bag are clear and unequivocal, there are additional benefits, including technicians’ losing fewer tools when their tool bags are designed with vertical storage compartments around a center panel configuration.   When technicians are organized, can always see their tools, and have easy access to their tools, muscle memory kicks in and they are aware of tools that might be missing from their tool bags.   Consequently, professional grade tool bags consistently reduce the number of tools that technicians lose on an annual basis (either as a result of loaning the tools out to other technicians or simply misplacing those tools).

In the Veto Pro Pac survey of more than 3,000 customers, the average customer saved $102.10 every year as a result of switching to a Veto Pro Pac tool bag from other products.  19.5% save between $100 and $250, 5.6% save between $250 and $500 and 2.1% save more than $500 every year. From an investment standpoint, the savings are meaningful and easily validate the purchase of the bag.  Not only does a technician (and possibly the company) save money by losing fewer tools, they are also saving time and aggravation going to the store to replace the lost tool(s).

Veto Pro Pac customers understand the value of this benefit:

“One look and I can tell if a tool is missing.”

“I’ve only owned the bag for a short while, but with the visibility of the tools in their proper spot I would know if something was missing. Unlike other bags I’ve owned where I would have to dig everything out of the bottom to get a count.”

“Keeps co-workers from walking off with tools.”

“At the end of the job a quick visual check and you can see everything is in its place.”

“My tools are so organized with my Veto Pro Pac that I can tell when something is out of place or missing.”

“Every tool had its place & goes back in there after use or at the end of the day.”

“YOU KNOW WHEN SOMETHING IS MISSING.”

“I haven’t had it more than a year. It’s great when I’m packing up getting ready to leave the job site, a quick check of my bag and I know that I have all my tools. Before when I had a canvas bag I couldn’t tell what was or wasn’t in the bag because I couldn’t see all my tools.”

“I love your product. It keeps me organized. At one look I can tell if a tool is missing. As a result since purchasing your tool bag I have not lost a tool. thank you.”

Validating the Survey Results –  Gault Energy Field Service Case Study

Although the survey of 3,000 technicians was statistically significant, it was important to validate its findings in the field with technicians. 20 technicians at Gault Energy were outfitted with Veto Pro Pac tool bags of their choice.  Veto’s founder rode along with each of the technicians over a three month period to observe their daily work routines and document the changes from their old tool bags to their Veto Pro Pac tool bags. 

After using Veto Pro Pac tool bags for three months, the findings were highly consistent with the original survey.   92% of Gault Energy technicians believe that the quality of tool bag used in their profession is either very important or extremely important.   The average value of tools that Gault Energy technicians carry in their tool bags is $538 (with 30% carrying more than $500 and 15% carrying more than $750), and 85% believe that Veto Pro Pac tool bags save them time and aggravation over their previous tool bags.  In addition:

1. Ironically, Veto Pro Pac tool bags saved the average Gault Energy technician 2.76 trips to the truck every day, equaling the average for the 3,000 technicians taking the larger survey; 54% saved more than 3 trips to the truck every day.
2. The average Gault Energy technician estimated that they would save $72 every year as a result of switching to a Veto Pro Pac tool bag from other products, a bit lower than the average from the larger survey; however, 53% believe that they would save more than $75 annually.
3. 92% of Gault Energy technicians believe that Veto Pro Pac tool bags convey a more professional image to their customers.

Comments from Gault Energy technicians included:

“The Veto Pro Pac keeps me more organized.”

“Because everything is organized and has its own place in the bag it makes it easier to find tools and put them back instead of just throwing them in the bag”

“I can now carry everything I need in one bag”

“It looks so much more professional, like I care about my tools and it shows that I am not some kind of hack”

 

CONCLUSION:

Veto Pro Pac tool bags have proven through thousands of end-users to:

1. Save time and reduce frustration and aggravation searching for tools, thus increasing technicians’ productivity
2.    Reduce the opportunity to lose or misplace tools to the tune of an average of $102.10 every year
3.   Reduce the number of trips to the truck each day by an average of 2.7, which translates into less frustration for the technician, substantial time/labor savings, the ability to complete more jobs on an annual basis, reduced waiting times for customers, and incremental service calls and revenues.

Taken as a whole, outfitting service technicians with professional grade tool bags is an exceptional investment for service contractors.  An investment in professional grade tool bags from Veto Pro Pac will improve the brand and image of the service organization and its employees, increase productivity in the field, improve customer service, and generate significant incremental revenues.

Contact us with any questions about the right tool bag for your line of work.