Organization can affect your business far beyond tidying up. A well-thought-out organization system in your van fleet can improve safety, help meet project demands efficiently, protect your investment in company vehicles, and strengthen your fleet and overall public opinion of the company
Safety hazards abound in the field, and reducing risk wherever possible is imminent. Keeping tools and materials organized and compartmentalized reduces the risk of injury in three ways:
- Loose tools and materials can cause a variety of injuries, from trip and fall hazards to cuts and scrapes from materials on the floor to cuts, scrapes and bruises from saw blades, screwdrivers, hardware, and more. , every piece of hardware and every material. Bulky tools are cubed and/or tied in place. Blades and chisels are placed in cases and drawers. Hardware goes into compartmental organizers and split boxes.
- The most common injuries at work are the most easily preventable: back injuries. Inappropriate lifting, twisting, and straining can be prevented by using storage that can be ergonomically transported and transported on wheels in the shop and on the job site.
- Accidents happen. Whether your employees are at fault is up to the insurance companies to decide, but what is important is that they are safe. It is important to use equipment in your van fleet that is crash tested and includes a safety partition between the cargo area and the cab to protect the driver and passenger from projectiles in the event of a collision.
Efficiency is a clear and measurable metric that directly and visibly affects the organization. If your van is not fully organized and you only waste 5 minutes a day looking for tools or hardware, that time adds up to about 22 hours at the end of the year for each person. Whether you work alone and consider that time wasted on your hourly rate, or you have a workforce with multiple employees and consider it wasted on their hourly rate, that money adds up quickly. This adds up to wasting time making unnecessary trips to get more hardware to the shop or hardware store because it’s lost.
Your van’s organization system should be an ecosystem that makes the transition from workshop to van to job site seamless. This eliminates the hassle of transferring tools to new containers and making extra trips back and forth in the van. Organized and labeled compartments take the guesswork out and take productivity to the next level.
Even without the equipment to turn them into productivity machines, cargo vans and the tools you carry in them are massive investments. Spending tens of thousands of dollars on a product and then sending it to a field synonymous with wear and tear could be detrimental to your investment without any safeguards in place. Fortunately, van organization systems also have options like wall and floor coverings. Finding a mobile storage solution that avoids drilling into the vehicle is also paramount, which is also at the top of the priority list for electric vehicles to avoid drilling into the battery compartment.
Finally, first impressions can make or break your chances of getting a referral from a client. If your team shows up to a client’s project with tools strewn across the floor, carrying a bucket of miscellaneous tools and constantly going to their van to find different tools or hardware, the possibility of getting a referral from this customer Referrals are the best form of fulfillment in the construction business, and they won’t come from a client who can’t fully trust a disorganized worker. A neat and organized work van exudes professionalism, and this can be the difference between a one-time customer and a repeat customer.
With a simple change to make your work vans more organized, you can make dramatic changes to your employee safety and overall job satisfaction, increase the efficiency of your workforce, protect your investment in your vans, and tools and manage your company’s public opinion.
