In the automotive repair industry, efficiency and accuracy in billing are paramount. One key element that ensures both is the Frt Code, or Flat Rate Time code. As an auto repair expert at keyfobprog.com, I’m here to break down what FRT codes are, how they’re used, and why they are essential for both repair shops and customers. This guide will provide a comprehensive understanding of FRT codes, drawing from industry best practices to give you a clear picture of this crucial aspect of auto repair.
What is an FRT Code?
FRT stands for Flat Rate Time. An FRT code represents the estimated time it should take a skilled technician to complete a specific repair procedure on a vehicle. This time is standardized and expressed in decimal hours. For example, an FRT of 1.0 hour means the job is estimated to take one hour. An FRT of 0.5 hours translates to 30 minutes, and you might even see smaller increments like 0.1 FRT (6 minutes) or the minimum FRT of 0.05 (3 minutes) for very minor tasks.
These times are not arbitrary guesses. They are meticulously calculated by trained professionals who perform the repair procedures multiple times in a controlled environment. This controlled setting focuses purely on the “hands-on” time required for the repair itself, excluding administrative tasks, extensive diagnostics, or customer interactions.
The Importance of FRT in Auto Repair
FRT codes serve several critical purposes:
- Standardized Labor Time: FRT provides a consistent benchmark for labor time across different repair shops. This standardization helps in creating fair and transparent pricing for customers.
- Accurate Billing: By using FRT codes, shops can bill customers based on the complexity of the job rather than just the clock time a technician spends. This is especially important as technicians’ speeds can vary, but the FRT reflects the typical time for a skilled professional.
- Efficiency Measurement: FRT allows repair shops to measure technician efficiency and identify areas for improvement in their processes.
- Service Procedure Definition: The process of establishing FRTs often involves detailed procedure validation, ensuring repair steps are well-defined and repeatable, contributing to higher quality repairs.
How FRT Codes are Created: Focusing on Safety, Quality, and Repeatability
Creating accurate and reliable FRT codes is a rigorous process that prioritizes three key pillars: Safety, Quality, and Repeatability. Let’s delve into each of these:
Safety First
Safety is the paramount concern when developing repair procedures and their associated FRTs. The process ensures:
- Technician Safety: Procedures are designed to eliminate or minimize any risk of physical harm to the technician.
- Safe Work Environment: FRT calculations assume a safe and organized workspace, promoting efficient and injury-free repairs.
- Correct Tool Usage: Procedures specify the correct tools and equipment, ensuring jobs are done safely and effectively.
- High Voltage Awareness: Especially relevant in modern vehicles, procedures emphasize awareness and safe handling of high voltage systems where applicable.
Quality Repair Procedures
The quality of the repair procedure is intrinsically linked to the accuracy of the FRT code. The creation process focuses on:
- Procedure Validation: New procedures, or re-validations of existing ones, are carefully reviewed and often involve consultation with engineering teams to ensure they reflect best practices and the latest vehicle specifications.
- Real-World Considerations: The process considers where the procedure is performed (e.g., shop lift, mobile service), necessary equipment (alignment machines, specialized tools), and whether assistance is required.
- Tooling Accuracy: Validations use standardized tool sets, ensuring all necessary and specialized tools are accounted for in the procedure and the FRT.
Repeatability and Time Validation
To ensure repeatability and accurate time estimation, the repair procedure is performed multiple times:
- Multiple Time Trials: A minimum of three time trials are conducted to validate the FRT.
- Step-by-Step Timing: Each step within the overall procedure is timed individually and sequentially.
- Precise Time Recording: Times are recorded accurately, often down to seconds.
- Data Averaging: Times from all trials are totaled and averaged to determine a representative time.
- Decimal Hour Conversion: The final averaged time is converted to decimal hours and rounded to the nearest 0.05 FRT increment.
- Efficiency and Accuracy Focus: Overlapping steps are identified and accounted for to ensure the FRT accurately reflects the technician’s direct “touch time” on the vehicle.
- Peer Review: Documentation and validated procedures undergo a final peer review before being published and used for service operations.
Billing with FRT Codes: Avoiding Common Mistakes
When it comes to billing using FRT codes, a crucial rule to remember is to avoid redundant billing. As illustrated in the image above, and emphasized in best practices:
Do not add the FRTs of subordinate procedures individually to the FRT of a top-level procedure.
Instead, always bill only the top-level correction code FRT. The FRT for a top-level procedure is designed to be all-inclusive. It already incorporates the time for any necessary subordinate tasks, even if those tasks have their own FRT codes listed in service documentation. Billing for both top-level and subordinate FRTs leads to inflated labor charges and incorrect billing.
Recent Updates to FRT: Supplemental Repair Time
It’s important to stay updated with industry changes related to FRT. Recently, as of May 8, 2023, many service correction code FRTs have been adjusted. A common update is a 20% increase in FRTs to better account for the time technicians spend on various support activities directly related to the repair, beyond just the hands-on procedure itself. This reflects a more comprehensive understanding of the total time involved in completing a repair effectively.
Conclusion
FRT codes are a cornerstone of efficient and fair automotive repair. They provide a standardized, validated measure of labor time, promoting transparency in billing and consistency in service procedures. Understanding how FRT codes are created and used is essential for both automotive professionals and vehicle owners alike. By adhering to best practices in FRT usage and billing, the automotive industry can continue to enhance service quality, accuracy, and customer trust.
