Workshop operations
Recording what happened is only part of the job. Workshop control means seeing which vehicles are in progress, which are blocked, who owns the next action and what needs attention across the front desk and workshop floor.
This guide is about the next-action method for running live work; see workshop management software for the wider team and workshop-floor view, or use the garage management software overview for all the commercial tasks involved in running a garage.
Recording a job is not the same as running the day. Workshop Control is about seeing where each vehicle is, who has it and what happens next.
Whether the next move sits with a technician or the front desk, the team should be able to see it on the job.
See the work booked in, vehicles on site and technician capacity before promising another finish time.
A vehicle waiting for parts or customer authorisation needs a different next action from one being worked on.
When the job moves between the technician and service adviser, notes, status and the customer's decision should move with it.
Every job card on the premises must have a clear Next Action. If you walk into the workshop and ask about a car, the answer shouldn't be a vague "we're looking at it". The answer should be:
If the next action is unknown, the vehicle is just taking up space.
Workshop Display and TV
The front desk, workshop controller and technician work from the same live job and status. Workshop Display puts the working day on a shared screen: who is working on what, what is next, unassigned work, cars waiting for parts or authorisation, work at risk of running late and jobs ready to collect.
Digital T-cards, technician updates, workshop capacity and jobs needing attention are live TorqueOS systems. They help the whole team see the work and decide what to do next.
Workshop (£129/month + VAT) is for garages with technicians to organise and work to keep moving. It brings team allocation, workload and next actions into the conversation, not just more fields on a job card. Complete (from £199/month + VAT) is the wider-business direction for purchasing and reporting. TorqueOS is built to take the plug-in services your workshop chooses as they become available; not every connection is live today. All four TorqueOS packages are available now.
By surfacing what needs attention immediately, TorqueOS helps stop jobs from falling through the cracks between the ramp and the front desk. Workshop is live now and includes team controls, capacity planning, Digital T-cards and Workshop Display/TV.
Start a 14-Day Free Trial to see how TorqueOS could fit your workshop. Our team sets up access manually and gets your trial access ready.
Straight answers
Learn more about implementing strong operational control.
A garage management system keeps the business record around estimates, job cards and invoices. Workshop control helps the team see what is happening now, who is responsible for the next step and what is holding up the job.
A clear next action reduces ambiguity at handovers. It shows whether the technician, service adviser, parts team or customer needs to do something before the job can move.
No. Workshop control is part of TorqueOS, with features varying by package. Follow-up and management views differ by package; check what's included in a demo. Moving to a package with more features does not mean changing systems or moving your TorqueOS data.
Yes. Workshop Display/TV and digital T-cards are available TorqueOS systems. They show live job status, technician work, capacity, blockers and the next action for the team.
Let's talk about the next actions in your workshop and how software can help manage them.