Capacity planning
Workshop capacity planning for bays and technicians
A practical guide to workshop capacity planning, technician scheduling, bay utilisation and at-risk bookings.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 2 minute read
An open calendar is not always available capacity
A booking may need a particular technician, hoist, diagnostic tool or amount of working time. Capacity planning for automotive workshops starts by identifying those constrained resources rather than counting empty appointment boxes.
Compare booked hours with available hours
Suppose two usable bays each have eight working hours: that gives 16 bay-hours. Four jobs expected to occupy a bay for three hours each use 12 bay-hours, leaving four. That does not guarantee four more hours of work will fit. Check technician availability, the timing of each job and any equipment they share. Leave room for diagnosis and jobs that run over.
Keep recommendations under management control
A capacity optimiser should explain why a booking is at risk and suggest a possible adjustment. It should not silently move the customer, technician or bay and create a new promise without approval.
How MechAxis Platinum helps
MechAxis scans overlapping technician and bay assignments, records utilisation snapshots and presents recommendations for staff approval. Multi-site owners can review pressure by workshop location.
Questions
Common questions
01What does a workshop capacity optimiser do?+
It compares bookings, technicians, bays, duration and working capacity to identify conflicts, underused time and work at risk.
02Does capacity planning automatically reschedule customers?+
No. MechAxis recommendations require an authorised staff member to approve the schedule change.