The Silent Cost Multiplier In Facilities Total Cost Of Ownership

Facilities leaders are under constant pressure to “do more with less.” Yet even the most disciplined teams are watching repair and maintenance costs climb faster than sales. The usual response is to renegotiate hourly rates. The real driver, though, is not the rate itself. It is how that rate is applied on site, work order by work order, minute by minute.

Time on site is one of the largest and least controlled components of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). It is also the piece many convenience, grocery, restaurant, and retail organizations have the least visibility into.

This article breaks down why time on site matters so much, how it quietly inflates TCO, and what leading FM teams are doing to control it.

The Real Cost Of A Technician’s Hour

On paper, a technician at $95 per hour looks more expensive than one at $85. In practice, the $85 dollar technician often costs more if they:

• Take longer to diagnose
• Make multiple trips
• Spend time waiting on parts
• Do work that triggers callbacks

Here is a simple way to think about it.

Typical labor cost profile for a break fix work order:

• 30 to 40%: Hourly rate itself
• 20 to 30%: Actual time on site
• 10 to 20%: Travel time and minimums
• 10 to 20%: Callbacks and rework generated by poor quality

You can negotiate the rate all you want. If you do not measure and manage how long that rate is applied, TCO will keep rising.

How Time On Site Quietly Blows Up TCO

The problem is not that technicians are dishonest. The problem is that most organizations lack precise time validation. That gap shows up as:

• One hour minimums for work that takes 15 to 20 minutes
• Rounding up to the nearest half hour or hour
• “Windshield time” leaking into on site labor
• Multiple trips for issues that should be resolved in one visit

At scale, those patterns become significant. A 20 minute overage on 10,000 work orders is more than 3,300 extra labor hours. That is the equivalent of adding multiple technicians to your payroll with no added value.

For multi site portfolios, this shows up in metrics like:

• Days to complete creeping up
• Labor per work order growing year over year
• More “nuisance” tickets, often in the same trade and location

When days to complete a repair stretch from, for example, 8.7 days to 14.7 days, it is rarely just about schedule. It usually means more truck rolls, more time on site, and more disruption inside the store.

Why Geo Fenced Time Tracking Changes The Game

The fastest way to control time on site is to start with the basics: accurate, automated check in and check out.

With tools like VixxoLink, technician check ins and check outs are tied to geofencing around actual store locations. That means:

• The technician must be physically on site to start billing
• Time on site is captured to the minute, not rounded buckets
• Travel and on site time can be separated and analyzed
• Work orders with unusual durations can be flagged automatically

This is where time turns from “we think” to “we know.” Once you have that level of visibility, patterns surface quickly:

• Providers who consistently bill just over minimums
• Trades or regions where duration is 20 to 30 percent above peers
• Specific assets that always require longer labor

Instead of arguing over rates, you can sit down with your providers and talk about facts.

Turning Time Data Into Dollars

Data only matters if it translates into measurable savings. That is where automated invoice validation comes in.

With VixxoVerify, invoices are checked against historical data on parts, labor, and fees. If a technician bills for more time than is typical for that task, trade, or asset, the system flags it in real time. In 2025, this type of dynamic audit capability drove more than 2 million dollars in verified cost savings for large convenience customers by correcting labor durations and related costs.

That is TCO control in action:

• Overstated time on site is identified before the invoice is paid
• Time anomalies become conversations about process, not accusations
• Savings accumulate one corrected ticket at a time

A common pattern emerges once this is in place. After a few months of audits and conversations, labor durations flatten out. Excess time drops. Callbacks decline because poor workmanship is no longer invisible.

Linking Time On Site To Quality And Callbacks

Time on site is not just a cost metric. It is a quality signal.

Consider these scenarios across convenience, grocery, and QSR portfolios:

• A technician spends two hours on a refrigeration issue, but the case goes down again within 10 days.
• A plumber returns three times in 30 days for similar backups in the same rest room.
• An electrician spends hours troubleshooting lighting when the root cause is left unresolved.

Each repeat visit multiplies the original time on site and inflates TCO. In some portfolios, 15 to 20% of break fix work orders repeat within 30 days. That is not just wasted time. That is asset lifecycle damage, sales risk, and higher emergency repair volume.

When you connect accurate time tracking with callback data, you can:

• See which providers deliver real first time fix
• Identify trades where training or standards are lacking
• Tie performance conversations to facts, not anecdotes

The best FM teams no longer treat first time fix as a vanity metric. They treat it as a TCO lever.

Practical Steps To Take Control Of Time On Site

If you want to reduce TCO in the next 6 to 12 months, start with time. Here is a simple roadmap:

1. Capture accurate time data
   • Require geo fenced check in and check out at every location.
   • Mandate technician notes that explain unusual durations.
2. Benchmark what “good” looks like
   • Compare average time on site by trade, region, and asset type.
   • Identify outliers that sit 20 to 30 percent above benchmarks.
3. Audit invoices automatically
   • Use tools like VixxoVerify to compare billed time against expected norms before invoices are approved.
   • Flag invoices with unexpected labor durations, multiple minimums, or patterns of over billing.
4. Close the loop with providers
   • Share duration and callback data in regular QBRs.
   • Align on expected ranges for typical tasks and trades.
   • Reward providers who hit targets on both cost and first time fix.
5. Feed the insights back into your operating model
   • Use time data to refine troubleshooting scripts, parts stocking, and dispatch rules.
   • Adjust your PM strategies where repeated reactive visits signal deeper issues.

The Bottom Line For Facilities Leaders

If you are a facilities director or VP of Facilities, you do not control inflation, wage pressure, or material cost increases. You do control how time shows up on your work orders.

When you treat time on site as a strategic TCO lever, not just a line item, you can:

• Reduce labor spend without cutting provider rates
• Lower callback volume and protect asset life
• Increase predictability in your FM budget
• Free up capital for strategic initiatives, not avoidable overtime

Total Cost of Ownership is built minute by minute, ticket by ticket. The organizations that win are not the ones with the lowest hourly rate. They are the ones who know, in detail, how every hour is used and who are willing to manage it.

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