Page 46 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Sep-Oct 2020

Bodyshop Efficiencies
46
PAINT&PANEL SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020
AFTER MORE THAN 30 YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY IBODYSHOP’S
STEVE O’BRIEN THOUGHT HE’D
SEEN IT ALL.
NEVER LET A GOOD CRISIS GO TO WASTE
“HOW NAIVE WAS THAT CONSIDERING
the last six months.” O’Brien says. Historically, many shops have experi- enced regional/solo downturns caused by the weather, loss of a work provider, etc but nothing like this, so dramatic so
widespread.
Of course, most of us will recover, but
it does make you think - how you would have coped if not for the government, landlord and supplier assistance? The fi- nancial help will end soon – are you ready? It’s the wrong time to think “I’m OK I’ve survived” as the true state of the economy will soon be evident as the fi- nancial support is wound back.
It’s often quoted how Australian busi- ness, government and population rise to the occasion in a crisis but in the good times we waste our opportunities with “she’ll be right mate” while jumping on the same old treadmill and we change or improve nothing. Potentially, the crisis is only just beginning – as the predicted businesses go bankrupt, unemployment
lines grow coupled with the working from home will result in less traffic on the roads which translates to fewer cars to repair.
A few questions to ask yourself:
• Everyone knows wages are your biggest overhead but are your staff as efficient
as they could be? Time is money.
• Have you updated their tools to im- prove efficiency or just keep doing it
the same old way?
Don’t forget the office needs new tools as well. It’s well known that no matter how efficient the shop floor, a poorly run office will destroy any advantage.
• Shop floor job costing is simply a must – on too many occasions technicians work longer on a task than you are being paid for. Do you know if that is true or not?
• How often do you examine your Profit & Loss report looking for trends in sales, costs and expenses that look out of kilter?
• Are all your eggs in the one basket? How diverse is your work supply?
There is a potential silver lining looming. It is anticipated driving holi- days, caravanning and car rentals will dramatically increase traffic in all cor- ners of the country resulting in an in- creased number of jobs in the new year.
Don’t waste this crisis, prepare now for 2021. At iBodyshop, we have liter- ally helped hundreds and hundreds of shops to stay competitive by improv- ing their office and shop floor efficien- cy, O’Brien says. “Just the simple step of changing to iBodyshop will deliver a massive improvement in efficiency even before you start to implement some of the advanced tools.”
“With 33 staff and over 1100 shops us- ing iBodyshop we now have the scale to really make a difference. Ten years ago, we only had four programmers, now we have 14 and we’re growing. It takes this kind of resource to design and imple- ment truly innovative features that the industry desperately needs to compete in this tough market.”