Technician productivity is the amount of useful output a field technician produces per unit of paid time, usually measured as completed jobs or revenue per technician per day.
Utilization asks how much time went to work. Productivity asks what that time produced.
How to calculate technician productivity
Two common versions:
Jobs productivity = Completed jobs ÷ Technician working days
Revenue productivity = Revenue from completed work ÷ Technician working days
Both should be net of rework. A job that needs a callback should not count twice:
Net jobs = Completed jobs − Callback visits
Say a technician completed 110 jobs in 22 days, and 6 of those were callbacks on their own earlier work. Gross productivity is 5.0 jobs a day. Net is 104 ÷ 22, about 4.7. The jobs per day calculator shows how drive time and job length set the ceiling on the first number.
Why it matters for scheduling
Productivity is usually read as a measure of the technician. A large part of it is a measure of the schedule. Two technicians with the same skill and the same job mix can differ by a job or more a day because one has jobs booked close together and the other crosses the territory twice.
That matters when productivity is used for pay, reviews or hiring. Before comparing technicians, compare their days: drive time per job, idle time and jobs per day against the ceiling their schedule allowed. A technician with low productivity and high drive time has a scheduling problem, not a performance one. Revenue per technician per day is one of the metrics in The field service scheduling KPIs that actually predict profit.
A common mistake
Ranking technicians on raw jobs per day. It rewards whoever gets the short jobs and the dense routes, and it rewards speed over quality unless callbacks are netted out. Compare within the same job type, net out callbacks and look at drive time alongside the number.
Related terms
- Jobs per day is the most common productivity measure.
- Technician utilization rate measures time, where productivity measures output.
- Callback rate has to be netted out for productivity to be honest.
- Wrench time is the time productivity is produced in.
Common questions
What is the best measure of technician productivity?
Revenue or completed jobs per technician per day, net of callbacks, compared within the same job type. No single number covers everything.
How do you improve technician productivity?
Reduce the time that is not work: drive time between jobs, idle time and return visits. Then look at training and tools.
Is technician productivity the same as utilization?
No. Utilization is the share of time spent working. Productivity is the output from that time. A technician can be well utilized and still produce little if jobs keep needing return visits.