Idle Time does not mean that the Technicians are standing around idle doing nothing; it simply represents the time spent at the dealership that cannot be charged out to the customer.
Typically this could be time spent locating keys or vehicles, waiting for parts and other such issues.
The mathematical formula is simply Hours Attended minus Hours Worked and this is always shown as a monetary value, which can usually be found within the Variable Expenses of the Service Department.
Example:
A) Hours Attended = 320 B) Hours Worked = 304 C) Hours Idle = 16 (A - B) D) Prime labour Cost = R8,40 E) Idle Time = R136 (C X D)
Discussion:
In addition to this, some financial reports might show the monetary value of Idle Time as a percentage of the Departmental Gross Profit.
Related Terminology:
This is also known as Diverted Time, Unrecovered Time or Lost Time.