As most of America begins to move toward reopening, many shops are turning their attention toward ways to increase their productivity and employee safety, while also reducing non-essential expenses. Right now may seem like the worst time to be investing in new equipment for your shop, but investing in a safer, more comfortable, and more productive environment can actually give your shop a competitive advantage post quarantine. One cost effective way to set your business up for success is investing in an HVLS fan. Here are five ways that an HVLS fan can help your shop thrive as the economy begins to open up.

Improve Your Productivity

After a slow spring, productivity is more important than ever. The Chicago Automotive Trade Association defines productivity as “the actual time worked in a day versus the number of clock hours available in that day.” So, increasing your employee’s productivity, or actual hours worked, is one key way to increase bay turnover and revenue. A recent study conducted by NASA showed that when workplace effective temperatures rise above 85°, output decreases by 18% — with an effective temperature being defined as a combination of actual temperature, humidity, and airflow on the body. Keeping a comfortable work environment helps to increase employee productivity, affecting not only your employees, but your bottom line.

Increase Your Accuracy

The same NASA report also examined the work accuracy that employees were capable of producing at varying temperatures. The report determined that at the same 85° climate, accuracy declined as well — by 40%. By maintaining an effective temperature of 80° or less, your employees are not only able to be more productive, but the work that they are doing will become more accurate, which means fewer repeated tasks or fixing mistakes and more time focused on work that has positive bottom-line impact.

Enhance Your Safety

Keeping your automotive shop at the height of cleanliness and organization is always important. This report from Employers Insurance cites slips, trips, and falls as one of the top five reasons for injuries to mechanics and technicians. Installing an HVLS fan improves moisture control and can reduce the time it takes for floors to dry. Also, because HVLS fans are ceiling fans, there is less likelihood of injuries due to tripping over cords. This is especially significant, given today’s focus on safety in the new “normal” work environment.

Creating an environment where employees feel that additional protections are in place to help keep them safe from illness is also important. By installing an HVLS fan, you are increasing ventilation, which is a current recommendation from the CDC on how to mitigate the potential spread and impact of communicable diseases, including COVID-19.

Maximize Your Uptime

When your employees feel safe and comfortable, their accuracy and productivity is increased. Increased accuracy and productivity lead to better customer service, as well as faster bay turnover. Greater customer satisfaction can grow your customer base, while faster service could help overcome slowdowns during the COVID-19 quarantine. This in turn increases your current capacity. Investing in an HVLS fan is a cost-effective way to create this comfortable, productive work environment

Accomplishing the first four points mentioned above are great ways to maintain — or even grow — your cost efficiency post quarantine. However, if you are not already using an HVLS fan, the investment may seem daunting. That is why your selection of an air circulation partner is critical. Hunter’s HVLS fan boasts the industry’s lowest first cost to install, as well as the fastest and easiest installation in the business. That coupled with our maintenance-free platform means that you can begin to see real ROI almost immediately after installation.

We are all looking at how things will need to change post COVID-19 quarantine. Making smart investments to get the most value out of your current operations is one way to grow your competitive advantage. As business (and the weather) starts to heat up, create a shop environment your techs can thrive in by increasing air circulation and ventilation.

Contact us today to explore how we can help you make comfort a competitive advantage for your shop.