Every workshop we visited kept its own spreadsheet for unit costs. We drafted a common template and two workshops have adopted it. Proposing it here in case a zone wants to try it at scale.
During the workshop module at NAIR we visited five workshops across three zones. Each one costs its periodic overhauls, and each one does it in its own spreadsheet, with its own headings, its own treatment of overheads and its own idea of what a 'unit' is.
Comparing them was impossible, and comparison is the whole point of costing. So four of us drafted a common template: one sheet, fixed cost heads mapped to the accounting classification, and a standard basis for allocating shop overheads. We tested it on real data from two of the workshops, which have since adopted it for their monthly statements.
This is a proposal more than an achievement. If a zone would like to trial the template across all its workshops, we would be glad to help set it up, and gladder still to be told what is wrong with it. The draft is available through the NAIR faculty.
Reviewed and approved by the association on 10 Sept 2026