In this article
Almost every installation company has more work than installers. Recruiting helps, but the pool is small and everyone is fishing in it. That makes a different question more important: how many of your installers' hours go to work that does not need an installer?
This article is about those hours. Where they go, how to measure it and which five places give capacity back fastest. AI plays a part, but not the lead. Most of it starts with better recording and better questions at intake.
The numbers
The employment forecast by KBA Nijmegen for the Dutch technical installation industry (2025, in Dutch) paints a sober picture:
- In 2024 the sector had around 151,250 salaried employees, 250 fewer than in 2023.
- In mid-2024 there were an estimated 30,600 open vacancies.
- The average order backlog in mid-2024 was 31 weeks.
- The largest staffing need is for independent installers, followed at a distance by supervising installers, technical staff and apprentices.
According to the research, the slight decline is due more to leavers who could not be replaced because of the shortage than to less work. The work is there. The people are not.
Where installer hours go
An installer's working day is not only skilled work. The hours that are not usually fall into five groups.
- Admin: job sheets, logging hours and materials, sending photos, answering follow-up questions.
- Searching: looking up drawings, manuals, fault codes and the installation's history.
- Extra trips: back to the wholesaler or the yard because the wrong materials came along.
- Return visits: a second visit because the fault could not be fixed the first time.
- Coordination: calls with the office, the planner or an experienced colleague.
General percentages on how much time this takes say little about your company. Measure it. Ask five installers to note briefly at the end of each day, for two weeks, how much time went to each group, and pull from your planning how often a job needed a second visit. It is rough, but it is your number. How to turn hours into money is on what manual work costs.
Five places that give capacity back
1. Better fault reports at intake
A second visit easily costs an installer a few hours, including travel, and pushes other work back. Many second visits happen because information was missing from the report: which unit, which fault code, since when.
Ask the customer to send a photo of the rating plate and the fault code when reporting, via the form, email or WhatsApp. AI turns that into a complete report: make, model, fault code, the customer's description and which parts are likely needed. The planner receives a complete report. The installer makes the diagnosis; the report makes sure they can do it on the first visit.
2. Job sheets and hours without typing
A job sheet dictated on site instead of typed, and checked straight away for missing data, saves the installer time at the end of the day and saves the office the follow-up calls.
3. Making experienced installers' knowledge searchable
Your experienced installers get called all day by younger colleagues with questions that have been answered before. That costs two people time.
Put manuals, fault codes, maintenance history and your own work instructions in one place and make them searchable with an assistant. The installer asks what was done last time for this fault code on this boiler model, and gets an answer with the source. It does not replace learning on the job, but it takes the simple questions away from the people you need most. The source has to be right; see also preventing AI hallucinations.
4. Planning with the right installer and the right materials
A schedule that accounts for certifications, experience with the installation type and travel distance prevents unnecessary trips. That is largely a matter of good planning software and good data. AI helps where the planner now reads and weighs up: interpreting the report, working out the skills and parts needed and making a proposal. The planner decides.
5. Taking load off the office
When the office gets stuck, installers notice straight away: materials not ordered, customers not called back, files they have to complete themselves. So look at office work too: drafting quotes, processing email, processing purchase invoices and compiling the handover file. An overview per process is in automating admin for an installation company.
What AI does not solve
Skilled work. No model installs a heat pump or fixes a fault on site.
Training. An apprentice learns the trade from an experienced colleague on site. An assistant handles the simple questions, but does not pass on the trade.
A messy process. If reports come in through five channels and nobody knows who picks them up, AI just makes it messy faster. Set up the process first; see which business processes suit AI.
Job satisfaction and retention. Less admin helps, but installers stay for the work, the colleagues and the pay. That remains a management question.
How to begin
- Measure for two weeks where installer hours go, using the five groups above.
- Pick one place: where most hours go and which depends least on other systems.
- Record the baseline: hours per week, second visits per month, or whatever the right number is for that place.
- Change one thing and measure again after ninety days.
Conclusion
The staff shortage in the installation industry is structural, and recruiting alone will not solve it. What you do control is how many of your installers' hours go to their trade. The quickest gains rarely come from big systems and often from recording and asking the right questions: a complete report, a job sheet that checks itself, knowledge that is not stuck in one person's head.
Want to know where most hours leak away in your company and what fixing it would deliver? The AI Opportunity Audit maps that process by process. More for your sector is on the installation companies page.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the staff shortage in the installation industry?
According to the KBA Nijmegen forecast (2025), the Dutch technical installation industry had an estimated 30,600 vacancies in mid-2024, against around 151,250 salaried employees. The average order backlog was 31 weeks. The largest need is for independent installers.
Can AI solve the shortage of installers?
No. AI installs nothing and does not replace skill. It can take work off installers and the office that is not skilled work: filling in job sheets, searching for information, taking fault reports and compiling files.
How much time do installers spend on admin?
It varies widely by company. Measure it for two weeks: have installers briefly log each day how much time goes to admin, searching, waiting, extra trips and return visits. That number is the basis for every choice.
Where do you start if you want more capacity without hiring?
With the item that costs the most installer hours and depends least on other systems. Often that is second visits caused by incomplete fault reports, or job sheets filled in afterwards and chased up. Record a baseline first.
Does AI help with onboarding new installers?
Yes, if your knowledge is recorded. An assistant that searches manuals, fault codes and maintenance history answers simple questions without a new installer having to call an experienced colleague. It does not replace learning on site.
