View Full Version : production rates
I think a large number of guys here do lawn/landscape care too. Im working on standardizing my bidding process and that relies on accurate production data. My crew has been keeping track of their times on most tasks very well. The problem is in some cases I cant tell if they are in absolute hours or man hours. One way or another really makes a difference.
Im good on all but trimming/edging (both with line trimmer) and blowing for lawn maintenance. Im coming down to around 7500 linear feet per hour for the first and 10k ln ft per hour for the second. Any input or comparisons to what you are seeing from your guys? TIA
maelawncare
12-13-2011, 07:00 PM
There really is no way to standardize this. Because there are just to many variables.
Not only is every single lawn different but every day is different. It could be wet and cold one day then super hot and steamy the next. There are hundreds of variables that can effect production hours. I can say that I can edge 20k ft in a hour all day. But the next day it could only be 4k. Just to many.
no offense but with that attitude, how in the world are you able to lock down a bid for a client? BTW, 20k an hour would be doing great. 4mph is a very brisk walk.
BSDeality
12-14-2011, 02:29 AM
i'm in the middle of your two points. I do think you need an average production rate, but still have to go out and look to see if all that edging is continuous or if there are huge gaping spaces between. that's going to take more time than say, a cemetary where everything is lined up and you just snake back and forth.
maelawncare
12-14-2011, 05:18 AM
no offense but with that attitude, how in the world are you able to lock down a bid for a client? BTW, 20k an hour would be doing great. 4mph is a very brisk walk.
I know how much it costs me to run an hour. For me with my crew its $75 an hour to break even. You have to know all your base costs.
Production rates do not equal costs. Every yard is going to have different production rates. None will be exactly the same. You have to know how much it costs you to run your business then estimate how long it will take you to complete your job. I have been doing this long enough that 29 out of 30 times I can just look at a yard and know how long it will take. I am not near perfect, but once you get a feel for it you know. And the 1 time I do get it wrong, it is not off by much.
Trying to figure out a base production rate for such things as mowing and trimming individually will wind up costing you money. I can look at a yard and know that it will take 10 mins to trim and 13 mins to mow. But the next will be 20 mins to trim and 10 mins to mow and they are next door neighbors. The first yard is bigger than the second and the houses are the same size. The difference is the landscaping. The bigger one only has trees while the smaller one has 4 good size beds in a 10k sqft back yard.
I know how much it costs me to run an hour. For me with my crew its $75 an hour to break even. You have to know all your base costs.
Production rates do not equal costs. Every yard is going to have different production rates. None will be exactly the same. You have to know how much it costs you to run your business then estimate how long it will take you to complete your job. I have been doing this long enough that 29 out of 30 times I can just look at a yard and know how long it will take. I am not near perfect, but once you get a feel for it you know. And the 1 time I do get it wrong, it is not off by much.
Trying to figure out a base production rate for such things as mowing and trimming individually will wind up costing you money. I can look at a yard and know that it will take 10 mins to trim and 13 mins to mow. But the next will be 20 mins to trim and 10 mins to mow and they are next door neighbors. The first yard is bigger than the second and the houses are the same size. The difference is the landscaping. The bigger one only has trees while the smaller one has 4 good size beds in a 10k sqft back yard.
Please dont lecture me on knowing my costs. Im formally trained as an accountant. As an accountant, we are trained to identify cost drivers for any given process. In this business, Ive identified a number of cost drivers for each service. Realistically, it boils down to each unique task for each service, including drive time. The client needs to pay for each cost driver and successful co's will find ways to minimize cost drivers for every service. TGCL spraying their fert is an example where they dont have to blow granules from sidewalks after treating a lawn.
What I doubt you realize you said is that you have identified cost drivers too - the extra trim time for each property and the reduced turf area for the other house. Our process accounts for these also. ;) So with our spreadsheet, we wont be wrong that 30th time.
maelawncare
12-15-2011, 05:30 AM
Please dont lecture me on knowing my costs. Im formally trained as an accountant. As an accountant, we are trained to identify cost drivers for any given process. In this business, Ive identified a number of cost drivers for each service. Realistically, it boils down to each unique task for each service, including drive time. The client needs to pay for each cost driver and successful co's will find ways to minimize cost drivers for every service. TGCL spraying their fert is an example where they dont have to blow granules from sidewalks after treating a lawn.
What I doubt you realize you said is that you have identified cost drivers too - the extra trim time for each property and the reduced turf area for the other house. Our process accounts for these also. ;) So with our spreadsheet, we wont be wrong that 30th time.
Yes I realized that as I was typing that paragraph. lol. It is still very hard to figure out hard costs for mowing. You can know you base, but it will change daily.
what are your variable costs with mowing? Labor, fuel, repairs? What else?
If you can get your guys to take a piecework pay system for pay, you are left with two very small variable costs for mowing...
glad we had this discussion... :rolleyes:
do none have this info or are we all unwilling to share?
Big Dog D
12-28-2011, 09:27 AM
what are your variable costs with mowing? Labor, fuel, repairs? What else?
If you can get your guys to take a piecework pay system for pay, you are left with two very small variable costs for mowing...
Just an observation. IMHDAO paying piecework most likely will lead to shortcuts being taken, poor quality of work and will cause client relations to suffer. The crew will not want to answer Mrs. Jonses' question about her lawn because they will be more interested in getting to the next customer on the list.
As for your original question we figure on abbout 2 minutes to edge and blow-off 100 ln. ft. of sidewalk being done on a frequent basis, not corrective.
oakwood1
12-31-2011, 03:26 PM
i'm in the middle of your two points. I do think you need an average production rate, but still have to go out and look to see if all that edging is continuous or if there are huge gaping spaces between. that's going to take more time than say, a cemetary where everything is lined up and you just snake back and forth.
Hey guys i dont know what kind of properties you have experiance with, but i'd like to jump in on the cemetary point of this. We maintain 3 of the largest cemeteries in our area. The oldest was started in the late 1800's. if they were like Arlington itd be great. But theyre so crazy theres no way you could ever put an exact time on them. You may trim an area all lined up and the next may be just a jumble of stones in no certian order. You should be able to come up with a rough production rate but the best way to figure is just the experiance
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