Fleet Maintenance - A5

MULTIUSE TOOLS

Time to multitask

Multifunctional tools offer technicians a variety of benefits,
from saving money to improving safety, and everything in between.
by Emily Markham, Assistant Editor

A

technician uses a
variety of tools to
complete each job.
For some jobs more tools are used,
and for others fewer, but overall the
number of tools a technician is using
comes down to what tools they have
in their toolboxes and what those
tools can do. If a technician owns
a variety of products that have the
ability to be used for a multitude
of applications, that technician
may be able to use fewer tools on
each job they perform and even
increase productivity.
Multiuse tools provide technicians not
only the chance to use fewer tools on the
job, but they tend to be more cost-efficient, safer, and can help save time. It is in
a technician's best interest to keep at least
a few multiuse tools around, such as pry
bars, screwdrivers, sockets, and wrenches
in order to be as efficient as possible.

WHY USE MULTIUSE TOOLS?
When working a variety of jobs, it makes
sense to have a variety of tools. But what
if only a few tools were needed to finish
a job instead of a whole toolbox? Multiuse tools can provide several benefits
to technicians.
Cost efficiency
Can one tool do the job of three? If so,
why buy those other three tools? Buying those other tools would not only be
redundant, but it could also get pricy.
Another factor to keep in mind is, would
the redundant tool even get used or
would it sit in the technician's toolbox?
"You're not buying a [multiuse] tool

Photo from
Mayhew Tools

for a specific application," says
Max Knoell, senior vice president
of Lang Tools. "So, if there [are] fifty
things this tool can work on, you don't
have to buy fifty separate tools."
Safety
Safety is an important factor for every
technician. No one wants to see someone
get hurt on the job, so any tool or protective gear that could help keep technicians
safe should be utilized. Multiuse tools
can improve safety by allowing the user to
focus on the task at hand without having
to pause to switch tools.
"Depending on the type of repair
being done, it could be safer for the technician not to have to stop in the middle
of what they are doing [and] instead simply utilize the tool they already have in
hand," says Eric Mills, vice president of
sales and marketing for Mayhew Tools.
Value
The value a tool brings to a technician
depends on what that tool can do for them.
The more frequently a technician can use
that tool, the more valuable it is to have in
their toolbox.
"Tools are expensive, so finding one
tool that can help a technician make
money on multiple jobs greatly increases
that tool's value," explains Justin Fisette,

senior product
specialist for Bosch.
"Multiuse tools also can
help a technician pay for that tool
faster, completing more jobs in a shorter
period of time because of the versatility
of the tool."
Time efficiency
Time is money. The more time a technician spends on one job, the less jobs
they'll be able to complete in a day. Multiuse tools can cut down on wasted time
while performing a repair because the
technician may not need to search for
an additional tool if a multiuse tool can
be utilized instead.

WHAT TO KEEP IN YOUR TOOLBOX
There are certain items every technician keeps in their toolbox, and when it
comes to multiuse tools there are a variety for technicians to choose from. From
pry bars to wrenches and everything
in between, it can be difficult to know
what's worthwhile.
For example, pry bars are a common

February 2020 I Hand & Specialty Tools I 5
Fleet Maintenance

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fleet Maintenance
