MADISON, Ind. — Rotary Lift’s free assistPRO professional facility planning assistance service is being expanded to give customers additional options for creating custom shop layouts.

Officials for the vehicle lift company said that the expansion comes as demand for the free service hits an all-time high, with more shops now utilizing assistPRO than ever before.

The assistPRO service is available to any Rotary Lift customer. It aims to help maximize shop efficiency and technician productivity by determining the optimal number, placement and arrangement of vehicle lifts for a new or remodeled facility. Rotary Lift’s in-house assistPRO team works with individual customers and architects to create custom facility layouts.

At the beginning of this year, the assistPRO team reportedly took on 35% more jobs than it did over the same period in 2013. The number of shops taking advantage of the program has more than doubled over the past five years as the economy has improved, Rotary Lift officials said.

“Dealers and independent shops have recovered from the recession and are starting to invest in their facilities again,” said Larry Kendall, assistPRO technical information specialist/facility planner for Rotary Lift. “No matter if they are expanding, moving into new buildings or just upgrading old equipment, it pays to utilize assistPRO. When you include lifts in your shop layout upfront, there is less of a chance you will need to go through a costly redesign and delay the project.”

After determining a facility’s intended use, the assistPRO team draws a floor layout with lifts placed for maximum productivity, according to the company. Turning radii and traffic flow are matched to the types of vehicles serviced. Rotary Lift provides assistPRO layout drawings in CAD or PDF electronic formats or as color prints, based on customer preference.

AssistPRO is expanding its digital offerings to include 3-D SketchUp models of Rotary Lift vehicle lifts. The models will be available for download through SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse later this year.

Rotary Lift currently offers CAD blocks, 3-D BIM models and written specifications for its products through ARCAT, and company officials said that the SketchUp models will give architects and distributors an additional easy-to-use resource for helping customers.

To learn more about assistPRO, contact a Rotary Lift distributor, go to www.rotarylift.com or call (800) 640-5438.