The bodyshop and vehicle repair industry is going through a significant period of transformation, and has had to adapt to this technology driven change by altering repair processes and increasing staff knowledge of the latest repair methods.
With this change in mind, Audatex surveyed 250 independent and franchised bodyshops in the UK, forming the ‘An Extra Hour in the Day’ report. The overarching finding is that workplace inefficiencies cost UK bodyshops on average one hour per day, per employee.
This Insight Paper, the second in the four part series, focuses on how employees can be better enabled and ultimately save an extra hour in everyday. As the market continues to digitise to remain competitive, one of the most important areas to focus on when getting digital transformation right is enabling employees. The research found that managing technician efficiency is the biggest challenge (58%) for UK bodyshop and repair businesses, ranking significantly higher than estimations (46%), parts procurement (44%), invoicing (20%) and workshop task planning (20%). The majority of job allocation in the bodyshop (56%) and technicians (60%) is still being done manually, despite the many benefits that an automated process can bring, such as reduced scope for human error and time saving. Manual processing of tasks such as job allocation drains valuable time away from repairs and also involves a high risk of human error.
With bodyshops and repair centres increasing their adoption of operational and strategic technology, ensuring staff have the right skills to maximise efficiency becomes a necessity. Along with training on the latest repair methods, it is also possible to better enable employees by ensuring that they are provided with the tools they need to get cars back on the road efficiently and quickly.
Solutions such as bodyshop management and vehicle damage assessment software can free up ample amounts of time for employees within the repair sector, ultimately streamlining the claims process and reducing key to key times for customers. Combining this with enhanced and dedicated training will ensure that businesses in the sector are meeting customer needs and remaining competitive.
Read the full Insight paper here
