Page 48 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine May-June 2022

ALIGNMENT & MEASURING
48
PAINT&PANEL MAY / JUNE 2022
RACK OFF!
DOES A FLOOR RACK STILL HAVE A PLACE IN A MODERN COLLISION REPAIR SHOP? IF IT DOES, THEN IS IT CLINGING ON BY ITS RUSTY BOLTS? SAM STREET POSES THE QUESTION.
B
EAU KNOWLES IS EQUIPMENT
division manager at SAPE and he knows a thing or two about repair equipment. And yes, let’s acknowledge that it’s his job to sell equipment to bodyshops – but it has to be
the right equipment for that shop.
We discussed how we have often ob- served the wrong alignment equipment in shops. A huge system suitable for heavy structural repairs in a shop that doesn’t do any of that kind of work but doesn’t want to get rid of the bench — which is taking up a bay that could be making them money — just in case. Or, a floor rack system being used for 4WD ve- hicles with no electronic measuring sys-
tem to check the chassis after the pull. “Yes, the big benches cost more,” he says, “but you can’t realign a 4WD on a speed bench or get a diamond out with a
floor rack.
“If you repair 4WDs – and given that the two best selling cars in Aus- tralia are the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger then it’s very likely that you do — then you have to have the right equipment to repair them to safe, OEM standards.”
REDUCE BACK STRAIN
Then there are all the ergonomic bene- fits of using a bench versus a rack. Crawling around on a cold concrete floor, technicians putting their knee or back into the pull versus working with the vehicle at the ideal height and letting the bench do the work.
While there is an initial investment in the bench, time saved by the team work- ing more efficiently, faster and more pro- ductively – not to mention more comfort- ably – could make the return on investment a swift one.
SAFETY HAZARD
Gary Wilcox of safety app MONIT says that by taking out your floor racks and replacing them with a bench you are dramatically limiting your OHS expo- sure. “Aside from the fact that racks are notorious for coming out of the floor and that many shops have put them in un- suitable concrete creating more risk, racks are a trip hazard and have bolts sticking out that can injure.”
Liam Hugo, sales manager of Car-O-Lin- er Australia, says: “I can see why some cus- tomers may find the floor rack an attractive option in their body shop. Pulling out a beaver panel or radiator support before they R&R them for instance. They take up no room and are quite cost effective.
“But are they the best option long term? Not in my opinion.
“With the use of a scissor lift the repair comes to the technician. You raise the lift to a height that suits you, which means you are also repairing a vehicle while its level. How many times do you see a car jacked up on one corner while they are replacing the quarter panel then wonder why they are having gap issues when fit- ting up? Clamping on a repair bench as per the OEM specifications is far safer for the technician and the vehicle than just chaining to the floor.
TOP: Floor racks should never be used for structural work on late model cars. Right: The floor rack is no friend to knees or backs and many can introduce serious WHS risks.