What the well-equipped dealership shop is featuring this year

Time is money in the service department. Every minute a vehicle is in a bay and a technician is turning a wrench on it, productivity — and profit — potentially grows.

Almost every automaker offers a large portfolio of approved tools that meet its own repair standards and improve shop efficiency. But that hasn't stopped dealers from looking elsewhere for innovative equipment.

Some fixed ops directors have created their own tools — or modified the ones they've bought — in their quest to eliminate unproductive time clocked by technicians. These items might shave just a few minutes off a job, but those minutes add up in high-volume shops, especially when they're spread over many bays. And technicians who work on the flat-rate pay system love timesaving tools.

In our travels since the launch of Fixed Ops Journal in 2016, we've visited many dealership service departments and listened to how they have worked to boost productivity. Tools and equipment have played a major role in helping to reduce service customers' waiting time.

At some dealerships, an oil change can be done in five minutes or less. At others, tire tread and alignment data is collected before customers even get out of their vehicles.

Here's a look at five items that are helping dealerships efficiently service a growing number of vehicles.

Name of tool: Engine Vac

What it does: Enables fast oil changes in warm engines while dramatically reducing technician error

How it works:  A wand is inserted into the oil pan through the dipstick tube. The oil is vacuumed out of the engine in about two and a half minutes.

Key advantages:  Because the tech does not remove the oil drain plug, there is no chance he or she will strip the threads or forget to tighten the plug properly. Oil spillage from draining is eliminated, which reduces the need for cleanups and could lessen slip-and- fall accidents on the shop floor.

Infrastructure requirements:  Wall- or floor-mounted units need a metal pipe to the used-oil recovery tank and an overflow protection system that shuts off Engine Vac when the tank is full. Cost to install is between $1,000 and $2,000, says Jim Moore, a regional manager of Samson Corp., which manufactures the system.

Maintenance required: Waste-oil filter must be cleaned weekly; inner air filter must be cleaned monthly. Suction hose requires monthly inspection

Special training: Techs need to learn how to select the proper size suction hose and insert it into the dipstick tube down to the bottom of the crankcase.

Where it's available:  Engine Vac is marketed to new-vehicle dealerships through a business unit of Motorcars Honda called Next Gen Express. It is also available under its Samson brand name, EvacMaster, from petroleum supply distributors, automotive equipment distributors and several automakers' approved tool programs.

Who bought it: Motorcars Honda, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Cost:  $1,995 for wall-mounted unit and $2,499 for portable unit through nextgenexpress.com. Prices vary elsewhere.

Comment: Oil services are generally not large profit centers for dealership service departments, so reducing time and tech error is crucial. This machine does both. Combined with either a pit or an efficient lift to get techs underneath the vehicle for access to the oil filter, Engine Vac can help dealerships win back business from quick oil change stores.

Name of tool: Ajon Mobility Device

What it does: Enables a vehicle whose suspension system has been removed to be pushed out of a bay easily while it awaits parts, freeing the service bay for other jobs

How it works: Adjustable mounting brackets bolt to a vehicle's frame or unibody after the suspension or subframe is removed. The vehicle can be lowered from the lift and pushed away.

Key advantages: It's light. It's compact. It's simple to use. It's affordable. And because it is adjustable, it fits everything from a Mini Cooper to a Chevrolet Silverado 3500.

Infrastructure requirements: None

Maintenance required:Lubrication for wheels and sliding assembly

Special training: None

Where it's available: General Motors-approved parts program for GM dealers. For other dealers, ajonmobility.com

Who bought it: About 75 dealers, including Martin Chevrolet, Torrance, Calif.

Cost: $895 from the manufacturer; price varies through GM tools program

Comment: A service bay idled by a dismembered vehicle waiting for parts loses revenue. Ajon Mobility Device lets technicians open multiple repair orders at the same time. "This device has saved us from lost productivity due to vehicles down on our racks," says Ben Guetterman, service director at Martin Chevrolet. "What happened before is that the rack was just down while the technician waited for parts. We bought two, and they have already paid for themselves."

Name of tool: Quick Check Drive

What it does: Automatically checks vehicle alignment and photographs the vehicle as the customer enters the service drive; results are posted in about five seconds.

How it works: Sixteen lasers check alignment of the front and rear wheels in seconds while cameras take 40 pictures of the vehicle from all angles to detect body damage before the car is turned over for service.

Key advantages: Can boost service department revenue is several ways. Quick Check Drive can help service advisers sell more alignments — a repair that is almost always pure profit — and alignments frequently lead to tire sales. Alignment specs are shown immediately on a screen and can be printed for the customer. The photos of the vehicle can help reduce false claims of body damage.

Infrastructure requirements: Dealerships must provide an Internet interface, as scanned data is stored in the cloud. Stores that typically sell 18 to 20 alignments a day likely will need to dedicate a second alignment bay and staff it to reduce customer wait times.

Maintenance required: Provided by manufacturer Hunter Engineering Co.

Special training: The machine requires no interaction by dealership personnel other than booting it up daily. Hunter trains service advisers about how to present the alignment data to customers and how to sell an alignment.

Where it's available: hunter.com

Who bought it: Cable Dahmer Chevrolet, Independence, Mo.; Jay Wolfe Toyota of West County, Ballwin, Mo.

Cost:$59,000 installed; training and maintenance included

Comment: Quick Check Drive can pay for itself quickly. Johnnie Andrawos, managing partner at Jay Wolfe Toyota of West County, says the devices have not noticeably increased the dealership's electric or Internet bills. Because it costs only pennies per vehicle to check alignment and take photographs, he says, all vehicles that enter the service lane are checked.

Name of tool: Mini-Ductor II/Mini-Ductor Venom

What it does: Safely loosens rusted nuts and bolts

How it works: Uses inductive heat to expand and contract metal quickly and safely. It also can loosen badges and decals.

Key advantages: Eliminates the need to use torches to heat rusted bolts and nuts and other hard-to-loosen components. Mini-Ductor can be used near fuel tanks and plastic trim parts with no danger of fire or parts damage from excessive heat.

Infrastructure requirements: Standard 110-volt wall socket

Maintenance required: Coil tips must be replaced after about 200 uses; tips cost between $10 and $15 each.

Special training: None. Instruction videos from manufacturer, Induction Innovations, at theinductor.com

Where it's available: Automaker tool programs as well as most major tool distributors, such as Snap-on, Matco Tools and Mac Tools

Who bought it: Bowman Chevrolet, Clarkston, Mich.

Cost: $499 for Mini Ductor II; $599 for Mini-Ductor Venom

Comment: "This is the single best tool I've ever used. I use this on new cars as well," says Bob Welker, ASE certified master technician with 39 years of experience. "Seat-belt bolts are very tight. I'll put a T-50 [screw head] on a seat bolt, and I lean on it, and I know I will break it or break my tool. I put the Mini Ductor over it for two seconds, and then I can break it loose and take it out."

Name of tool: G1 cart

What it does: Brings vehicle schematics, parts numbers and other data to service technicians, speeding repairs

How it works: Shaheen Chevrolet uses a self-modified version of the G1 as a parts cart. Parts employees work in the service department, close to technicians. When techs are ready to order parts, they consult with the parts employee in their bay to find and order parts directly. The parts are added to the repair order and delivered to the bay.

Key advantages: Technicians no longer lose time walking between the service and parts departments.

Infrastructure requirements: None

Maintenance required: The two 6-volt batteries that power the cart's computer or tablet must be recharged. The wheels require occasional grease.

Special training: None

Where it's available: Most distribution is through auto body shop suppliers, but it also can be ordered through the manufacturer at goliathcarts.com.

Who bought it: Shaheen Chevrolet, Lansing, Mich.

Cost: $2,750 for base model; $4,300 for fully loaded version with computer and screen

Comment: Eliminating the walk from the service bay to the parts department boosts a tech's efficiency and paycheck. "Industry statistics say every time a tech leaves his bay to go to the parts counter, he loses between three-tenths and five-tenths of an hour of productivity," says Dave Wright, Shaheen's fixed ops director. "We are minimizing the amount of time he's out of his bay. The only time we make money is when the tech is in his bay working."