Tips to reduce cycle time

Nov. 11, 2015
For many years, repairers have sought new ways to reduce cycle time. Here are some practices that might be helpful to adopt.

For many years, repairers have sought new ways to reduce cycle time. Axalta Coating Systems Strategic Account Management team, which works with regional multi-shop operators (MSOs) to implement process improvements, has identified some key processes designed to help reduce cycle time.   

The team has gained tremendous insight into this topic from True Collision Centers’ John Sweigart and Marshall Auto Body’s Aaron Marshall. In addition, information technology systems providers who have developed systems to track and monitor cycle time or length of rental have also provided key information. Thanks to set-up reduction time and visual management tools, many of our customers are now able to repair vehicles much faster. Here are some practices that may be helpful to adopt:

It starts with the estimate

We recommend that the estimator focus on three key elements:

·  Determine the level of the job for scheduling purposes.

·  Identify all the painted parts that need to be replaced and get them ordered and received prior to the vehicle’s arrival.

·  Write a 100 percent estimate on all small or fast-track jobs.

This will allow time for pre-painting upon arrival and help save time by eliminating the need to wait for parts after completing repair planning.

Job is scheduled

Strive to get a level flow of incoming work:

·  Schedule by job level to mirror the staff’s production capabilities.

·  Implement a job-scheduling board to enable scheduling visibility; often repairers have three boards representing the upcoming three weeks. This tool can be replaced by an automated tool like the one in the ProfitNetTM Collision Shop Management System, version 11.0.  

·  Schedule Friday to Monday to fill the level schedule. 

·  Monitor sales work in process (WIP) and never over- or under-schedule by more than a certain limited number of vehicles.

A level flow of incoming work based on job sizes helps to ensure the right amount of work on site.

Confirm and Pre-wash

·  Confirm actual arrival times with phone calls to customers in order to help minimize cancellations, and help to ensure vehicles’ on-time arrival and minimize the need for excess WIP.

·  Use confirmation calls to ask customers to remove valuables before appointment.

·  Pre-washing should make damage more obvious to better justify a repair time or approach. But more importantly, it should save detail time later in the repair process.

Pre-paint parts to help minimize reassembly time on jobs calling for replacement parts.

·  Mirror-match replacement parts for accuracy upon vehicle arrival, and identify paint-code and paint on both sides prior to repair-plan completion.

·  During reassembly, transfer the inner components from the part that will be replaced and the new pre-painted part.

·  Identify type (P1, P2 or P3) of paint approach:

̶     P1 = Jobs in which new parts can be painted off the vehicle or blend panels can be removed and painted off the vehicle

̶     P2 = Jobs in which some pre-painting and inner component transfers can be done to save time, but the vehicle will still need to go in to spray booth

̶     P3 = Jobs where ALL parts are painted in the spray booth WITH the vehicle

·  Begin repair planning during reassembly. Transfer the inner components from the part being replaced to the new, pre-painted part.

Pre-painting parts and immediately transferring inner components helps to improve efficiency and should eliminate the need for the repair planner to bag and tag clips and fasteners, which can improve output by 10 percent to 15 percent.

100 percent Teardown to avoid second supplements at all costs

Collision repair expert, Mike Anderson, presents this principle in Axalta’s Repair Planning class, but it seems that not many repairers actually fully implement the following key components:

·  Remove all parts and, if possible, transfer inner components to the replacement part.

·  Take images of reassembly steps and then label with reassembly sequence and connections.

·  Pre-pull the frame to determine the extent of damage and observe if inner shields or other parts are damaged. Work to complete the repairs to make the vehicle moveable again.

·  Complete as much mechanical work as possible to avoid a mechanical supplement.

The goal here is ZERO second supplements. We teach shops to log these supplements as defects and refine the process to remove them in the future.

The ProfitNet Collison Shop Management System enables shops to customize to hours per level of repair. Based on the defined levels, the ProfitNet Collision Shop Management System displays a daily calendar view of what has been scheduled, and tracks total vehicles and hours scheduled per day

Document the damage and audit your work

Nobody gets paid if it is not written down.

·  Don’t put items on the dedicated parts cart without documenting the damage first. Tag the parts with red representing replace, yellow representing repair and green representing reassembly.

·  Document using the quick codes with the pre-determined rates per insurer or fleet as found on the Axalta quick-codes mouse pad.

·  Have a lead body technician come into the repair planning area and rough out the dents to verify part repairability.

·  Audit your work to determine all items are documented, identify paint approach and approved work.

·  Inspect all parts and mirror-match for accuracy to ensure the job is fully kitted and ready to repair in the flow line.

Again, the goal is ZERO second supplements and these audit steps help to ensure the repairs needed are properly documented.

Keep Small Damage Small

Frankly, we have found 95 percent of cycle time process improvement comes from improving administrative processes, so strive to eliminate barriers and let the technicians do what they do best—fix vehicles right the first time.   

Once in production, look to minimize repair area and complexity to reduce the cycle time further, and implement repair techniques including Axalta’s innovative 1.5 coat coverage basecoat with no flash time between coats, to help reduce production time. 

Linear flow & production board

Implement temporary visual control boards, which enable repairers to see all the vehicles on site. They provide a view of the mix of “in-production” to “inventory” or WIP vehicles. We have learned there is a direct correlation between the number of vehicles on site (with the same staff) and repair cycle time. Fewer vehicles can mean faster cycle time.

·  Implement a production board that lists all the vehicles in the shop.  Identify the number of vehicles in the production flow line and then show the rest as “inventory.”

·  The goal is to limit the inventory, while optimizing the “flow” of vehicles through the shop.

·  Eventually, this board can be replaced by identifying stalls on the shop floor by status to reduce WIP.

Inventory reduction has been proven to be a real key to optimizing the on-site car count and is a “hill worth climbing” to help reduce cycle time. Axalta partnered with www.BodyShopMarketingTools.com to create scheduling and production boards with per-vehicle magnets to enable repairers to implement these processes.

The ProfitNet Collision Shop Management System can display the calendar for as many weeks as necessary, and displays a three-week view.

Minimize & eliminate the “hospital”

 Every shop has vehicles that cannot go directly into the flow line.  There could be heavy hits in the lot after a big storm, vehicles waiting for backordered parts or vehicles with mechanical gremlins. These vehicles should be isolated with the goals of minimizing their numbers and quickly putting them back into the flow line on the production board.

Assuring level flow

In order to achieve a level flow, each department must have consistent input and output. We have worked with many repairers to identify the number of labor units each department should take and produce per day. It is the manager’s job to regulate inventory, staffing, floor space allocation and tooling to achieve the daily goal per department.

In summary, every project is unique and requires facility and staff flexibility. The key is to identify the root causes of your shop’s delays or supplements and to continuously improve every day. Good luck on your journey!

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