In September we launched our eBook, Small Changes, Big Differences in the Bodyshop, looking at how marginal gains can improve the bottom line of modern vehicle repair businesses. In this fifth blog in our ‘small changes’ series, we are exploring the impact that keeping productive employees productive can have on improving the bottom line.
With the demand for faster and smarter repairs growing constantly, bodyshops can only perform at their best when productive staff are utilising their time in the most effective way. For decision makers, this means assessing the tasks that each productive carries out when completing a job, and finding ways to reduce the time spent on non-value work in the process.
How are they collecting parts or checking availability? When a job is complete, do they have to find the workshop controller to be allocated their next tasks? If so, how long does this take them – and are they at risk of getting distracted from work while doing so? Asking these questions can give managers a better understanding of any areas where the opportunity for high value work is being overshadowed by other workshop formalities.
Minimising this potential for unproductive downtime amongst productives, by enabling technicians to complete lower value tasks quickly and independently, can be achieved with the right technology in place. Integrated management systems, which utilise information from other solutions to automatically move assessments into repair jobs when an estimate is approved, can save valuable time previously spent on processing this manually.
These systems can also help to streamline job allocation across the bodyshop. Having a centralised portal, which can be accessed from anywhere, enables and encourages staff to log job updates in real-time and allocate any tasks for technicians at the next stage of a repair, without input from workshop controller or lengthy breaks in between productive work.
For bodyshop owners, this level of visibility is vital for maintaining an essential 360-degree view of all work being carried out by productive staff, to help identify areas which could be improved for a greater impact on repair performance and overall operations.
As with any technology, implementing new systems and ensuring employees are up-to- speed will require an initial investment of both time and resources from the decision maker. Yet, keeping your ‘productive staff productive’ and focused on completing physical repair work at hand will not only ensure that these systems eventually pay for themselves, but will free up time for even more repair work and deliver those all-important marginal gains to your bottom line.
To read more, download the full eBook here: https://www.audatex.co.uk/news/small-changes
