All of us in this industry have been inundated over the years with all kinds of new and better ways to build the mousetrap we call our shops. Many of these ideas are really great, but most shop owners and managers are not sure how to implement these ideas, and generally they fall by the wayside. The day's activities, and the problems at hand seem to get in the way, and not much changes.
After the years pass, you get anesthetized to these changes, and grow even more set in your ways. The talk about “the new idea” kind of gets old, like you, and you just begin to complain about everything under the sun. The new tech is terrible, that insurance guy is a jerk, and these customers are driving me crazy. Then you sit down and look at your numbers, and the shop is falling apart. Costs are up and profit is way, way down. Work is slow, and getting slower. You might start thinking about selling....or retiring, or just quitting to find a new line of work.
Sound familiar?
If it does, it is really time to stop, refocus, and look at some of the ideas that you threw away, that aren't so new, but will bring about some major change in your shop's daily life. One of them might be going lean.
All of us have heard the term “lean”. We have all probably read books or articles about lean, and know that the concept works, but as I said earlier, don't have a clue where to start. Converting to a lean environment takes a huge commitment, and will cause considerable disruption. That is likely why you haven't ventured forward with the idea...its just too hard.
If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth doing. In fact, it isn't as hard as you might think, and actually, you can ease into it slowly, get a foothold in the philosophy, and then go forward with incremental changes. It might even be fun. Especially when you see the improvements that will occur along the way.
Lets first simplistically define what lean is. Its not just cutting back, and doing more with less. That is one result of lean processes, but it isn't the definition. Lean is really the reduction of waste that is defined as non value added work, within each operational process you perform. This is applicable to administration, repair and work flow, painting, parking, and even clean up and washing processes.
Lets look at some really basic examples. These may or may not apply to your shop, but lets ask these questions:
- Do you have excessive supplies sitting around your shop hidden on shelves or in cabinets?
- Do your techs constantly come to you with questions about the where about of parts?
- Does your office staff spend any time looking for supplies like paper or pens?
- Have you ever misplaced a customers key, and spent hours looking for them?
- Do you spend any time looking for your employees throughout the day?
- Have you ever revived incorrect or damaged parts after waiting for them for days?
- Do you have techs that come up to you every time a car is scheduled for delivery with a list of parts they need to complete the job?
- My guess is the answer is yes to not just one of these questions, but to all of them!! Looking at this situation, do you think you are running with top notch efficiency?
Not a chance! Hopefully, I just opened your eyes a little, and have created an awareness that changes are needed. That was the intent.
What I want to do is explore what areas in your shops can be improved, and then provide you with some ideas about how to begin the process without causing lots of pain. Going lean takes a great deal of commitment, and the process needs some one to drive it. That has to be you as Manager or Owner. What I am attempting to do is provide you with suggestions about where opportunities might be in your shop to implement a lean philosophy, work with them for a while, monitor progress, and then really go at the concept full bore. Starting with small steps in specific areas will ease you and your staff into the process.
Administration and office processes
Lets look at your offices first. Again, with the basic definition of what lean is in mind, what processes in your office can you improve upon to minimize waste, and focus on operations that do not add value? To answer that, lets look closer at value. Initially, value to who, is a good starting point. Your customer is only interested in things that add value to their experience. They don't care about the admin things you have to do to get your job done. They want to embrace things that improve the experience for them. Looking for paper or pens, shuffling through folders for customer information, and looking for lost keys are all processes that do not add value.
Something I have talked about for years is organization and cleanliness. Everything has a place , and everything is in its place. Develop a process that streamlines the customer experience when they come into your shop for an estimate. Make sure every one in your shop understands the process, and becomes proficient with it. Arrange your office with specific locations for all the things that you need to use daily. Paper, pens etc. Make a key board for all customers keys, create a system for handling and storing customer paperwork, so that every employee knows where all these things are located, and how to use them. Insist on clean and organized work areas from all your employees, and create an environment that fosters organization and cleanliness. De- clutter your waiting rooms, and front counters, so they are efficient, neat, and organized. Look at all your front offices with new, open eyes, and start your lean experiment there.
Estimating and appraisal
How do you handle your estimates? Do you look at them as opportunities, and approach each one with a certain level of interest? Have they become a source of interruption? Probably. This is one area where consistency really will have an impact on your bottom line. Every one in your shop that writes estimates, should all write them the same. The only way to do that is to develop, and initiate a universal methodology for writing all estimates. This will take some time, but the exercise will be worth it. What you are really doing is “standardizing” the estimating process, so that it is consistent and repeatable. If you need more detailed information on how to do this, e mail me. I will be happy to provide you with some methodology to get this accomplished.
Parts and production
An area that can benefit really quickly from lean principles is in your parts and production departments.
An incorrect part that is discovered at time of reassembly can really kill a shops CSI, and on time delivery ratings. Its very frustrating to find an incorrect part right after you just updated a customer with a delivery expectation. Especially when the part needed is hard to get, and critical in the reassembly process. Develop a process of checking parts in upon arrival that involves the input of the tech. The key word here is a process, that is followed every single time, not just once in a while. Look at what you do today, and try to find solutions to the problems that you encounter in the daily job. Ask for feedback, and input from every one in the shop. Part of lean is a process of continuous improvement. By this I mean, tweaking the process over and over. Try new things, to see what happens. Once a solution works, Implement it as part of the process. If you involve your people in developing a process that works for you, buy in will be high, and the ideas will work well. If you just jamb change down your employees throats, you will fail quickly.
Body repair and supplemental processes
When a vehicle rolls into the shop today, do you have a process that involves a thorough tear down, and supplement standard? When a vehicle is torn down for inspection, where are all the parts stored? Are they labeled so that every one in the shop knows where and what they are for?
My best guess is that every shop believes that they do a pretty good job of handling the repair process. I also know, that most shops can gain great efficiencies in this area by utilizing lean culture and ideas here. I would bet that your most efficient tech has a tool box that is highly organized, and neat. Every tool is easily accessed, and he or she hardly ever spend any time looking for a tool. When he or she needs a ten millimeter socket, its right where it should be. They grab it, and go. Implement the same idea with your repair process. Create standard that allows every one to easily follow any repair plan.
Do your techs fully understand what needs to be done to a car when one comes into their stall for repair? I know of one shop, that had a tech, that literally, came up to the office, in one day, 25 times. If each trip took 3 minutes, that is well over an hour of wasted time per day. That's just the techs time. Whoever the tech was asking questions of, also spent that same hour or so, wasting time, when one minute of clear explanation, or direction could have probably avoided the time loss.
Painting and detail
In my experience, the paint shop is the biggest area of constraint in any collision shop. Usually multiple techs are funneling completed collision work into a paint shop, and the paint shop has to determine what to do to handle that large work flow with limited personnel. Process implementation is paramount here. Managers must direct the work flow so that the “gravy” jobs don't get done first. I create a numbered paint list, that directs the paint shop daily with regard to paint order, so that I control what jobs get painted, in what order. Not only is work flow important here, so is material usage. Waste of materials in all departments is important to control, but especially in paint. One Idea is to Consolidate priming, so that many vehicles are primed at one time, in stead of several times throughout the day.
This area is ripe for improvement in every shop, and as I have said many times over, use your jobbers knowledge to help you here. All paint manufactures have technical people that will look at all of your processes and help you outline a game plan for improvement. This advise is generally free, and will net you great results. I also highly recommend that you, and your staff, all of them, attend lean training seminars and workshops. The entire shop needs to understand the lean concept, and the benefits its implementation will provide them directly.
What I am saying here, with this article, is that every single phase of your operation can benefit from implementing lean processes.
Opportunities exist in every department, not just in the shop, but in the offices, paint shops, collision shop, and detail areas. Every single department has opportunity for improvement. Don't be scared. Get started slowly, and grow as your knowledge grows. Your bank account will thank you.
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