Do You Really Need More Technicians, Or Just a Better Fleet Strategy?

This article is based on a recent episode of The Fleet Success Show podcast. Watch the full episode here: 

Every fleet manager has heard it:

“You need to cut labor costs.”
“Can we manage with fewer technicians?”
“Why do you need that many people to fix trucks?”

Labor is expensive. And it’s often the first target when budget cuts come rolling in. But the real question isn’t “how many techs can we cut?” It’s “do we actually have the right number of technicians doing the right work in the right way?”

On a recent episode of The Fleet Success Show, RTA’s Josh Turley and Marc Canton tackled this issue head-on. Drawing from their decades of experience in fleet management and consulting, they broke down exactly how to answer that critical question with data, strategy, and ruthless efficiency.

📊 The Real Way to Calculate Technician Needs: AEUs

Most fleets still determine tech staffing based on vague estimates, outdated ratios, or sheer gut feeling. Josh and Marc say it’s time to upgrade that math.

Enter Asset Equivalent Units (AEUs).
AEUs allow you to assign a labor “weight” to each asset type based on how much work it typically requires.

For example:

• A sedan might equal 1 AEU (8–10 hours/year)
  
  
• A half-ton truck might be 1.3 AEUs
  
  
• A fire truck? 5–8 AEUs
  
  

By multiplying the number of units in each class by its AEU value, you get a far more accurate total labor demand, one that accounts for asset type, age, and maintenance intensity.

Now compare that to the available labor hours of your current techs (after subtracting PTO, training, indirect labor, etc.), and you’ve got a staffing model even your CFO will respect.

🚧 Techs Aren’t the Problem, but Your Shop Layout Might Be

Once you know how many technicians you need, the next question is: Are you using them wisely?

One of the most overlooked inefficiencies in fleet shops?
Technicians walking around.
To the parts room. To the one computer station. To go ask someone a question.

Every minute they spend outside the bay is wasted productivity.

Solutions:

• Preload parts into bays
  
  
• Add tablets or laptops at every workstation
  
  
• Don’t let techs go to the parts room—make it delivery-only
  
  
• Move shared resources (like washbasins or computers) to centralized, accessible locations
  
  

This is how UPS legend Ron Turley helped double his fleet size in the 1970s without hiring a single new technician. The lesson? Process beats payroll.

🧠 Not All Techs Are Built the Same

It’s not just about how many people you have, it’s about who’s doing what. Too many fleets are over-relying on highly-paid, ASE-certified techs to do routine PMs.

Instead, split your staffing model into specialties:

• PM techs
  
  
• Heavy-duty techs
  
  
• Diagnostic/repair techs
  
  

Hire or train accordingly. Don’t burn your best wrench-turners on oil changes.

📈 Training Isn’t a Cost. It’s an Investment

When labor budgets get tight, training is often the first thing to go. That’s a mistake.

Every hour spent in OEM or FMIS training pays back in speed, accuracy, and confidence. Your techs should be power users of your Fleet Maintenance Management Software—not frustrated by it.

💥 Bottom Line

If you think you need more technicians, ask yourself:

• Have we done an AEU-based staffing analysis?
  
  
• Are techs wasting time on parts runs or poor layout?
  
  
• Do we have the right tech mix?
  
  
• Are we training our people to be faster and better?
  
  

Sometimes the answer isn’t “Hire more.”
It’s “Manage smarter.”